“Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.”

What is Divine Mercy Sunday?

Divine Mercy Sunday is a relatively recent addition to the Church's liturgical calendar, established by Pope John Paul II in the year 2000, the same day he canonized St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who received mystical visions of Jesus in the 1930s. In these visions, Jesus expressed his desire that the Sunday after Easter be dedicated to His mercy—a mercy greater than sin, fear, or death. This devotion emphasises trust in Jesus, the practice of mercy toward others, and the belief that God's mercy is the source of hope for the world.

Quick Glance Summary

Theme: Divine Mercy and Mission Key Message: The risen Christ brings peace, breathes the Holy Spirit, and entrusts us with mercy — to receive it and to share it. Faith is deepened not by seeing, but by believing and being sent.

First Reading (Acts 5:12-16): In Acts, we see the early Church radiating the healing power of Christ’s mercy in action—mercy becomes visible in the lives it touches

Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 117:2–4, 22–24): We are reminded again and again that God’s love is steadfast, enduring, and unshakable—mercy as the ground of our joy.

Second Reading (Rev 1:9-13.17-19): The glorified Jesus assures us he is alive forever and holds power over death and fear—mercy as strength in suffering..

Gospel (John 20:19–31): Jesus appears with peace and forgiveness, entrusting the disciples with the mission to continue his merciful love. Even Thomas, with his doubts, is met not with rebuke but with a merciful invitation to believe—mercy as patient, personal, and transforming.

Gospel for the Second Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy Sunday (Year C) – 27th April 2025

John 20:19–31

It was evening on the first day of the week, and the doors were locked for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

But Thomas (called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later, the disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Overview of the Gospel Passage

The Gospel recounts two appearances of the risen Christ — one on Easter Sunday, the other eight days later. In both, Jesus brings peace to His frightened followers, shows His wounds, and offers the Holy Spirit. His first words are not of judgment but of peace. His wounds are not hidden, but displayed as signs of love and victory.

Thomas’s story is deeply human. His scepticism echoes that of many — yet Jesus responds with patience. He invites Thomas to touch, to see, to believe. But He also points to a deeper blessedness: faith that trusts without seeing.

In this passage, mercy flows freely — through Jesus’ greeting, through the gift of the Spirit, through the ministry of reconciliation. This is the Gospel: mercy received, mercy given, peace bestowed.

Connecting the Gospel to Cultural and Spiritual Life Today

Illustration: The Gift of a Second Chance

Many today, like Thomas, live behind locked doors — doors of fear, doubt, disillusionment, or cynicism. In an age that often values certainty and proof, belief can seem fragile. Yet this Gospel tells us: Jesus still enters closed spaces. He still offers peace. He still breathes new life.

In his reflections, St John Paul II saw Divine Mercy as the answer to the world’s deepest wounds. Not condemnation, but compassion. Not vengeance, but healing. Today’s culture wrestles with guilt, unforgiveness, and a thirst for justice. Yet mercy is what breaks the cycle.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation — often neglected — is a tangible experience of the scene in this Gospel: Christ offering peace, breathing His Spirit, forgiving sins. It’s not a cold transaction. It’s an encounter with love.

And Thomas? He’s not the doubter; he’s the one brave enough to voice the doubt we all carry. His journey becomes our invitation: to move from seeing to believing, from scepticism to surrender.

Speaking to Today’s Culture

Thomas’ doubt reflects the modern mind: “Unless I see… I refuse to believe.” Jesus responds not with rejection, but with gentle invitation. He affirms the value of honest struggle while commending the deeper freedom of faith.

Forgiveness as mission resists a culture of cancellation or grudging tolerance. Instead, it proposes a radical new path: reconciliation as the fruit of divine mercy.

Healing and signs invite us to imagine the Church not as a moral institution or social service, but a sacrament of the risen Christ’s compassion—a place where mercy is experienced, not just preached.

God’s mercy is personal and universal. In an age where identity is contested and community fragmented, the readings insist: you are not your wounds, and no one is beyond the reach of divine mercy.

Reflection Questions with Responses

1. Who or what groups might find these readings especially helpful?

• Those struggling with doubt or faith — Thomas becomes a companion, not a cautionary tale.
• People burdened by guilt or sin — The gift of the Spirit and the forgiveness of sins speaks directly to them.
• Those in trauma or isolation — Jesus enters the locked room, offering peace, not reproach.
• Those working for Christian unity — The early community in Acts reflects the call to unity, charity, and witness.
• Priests and confessors — This Gospel grounds the sacramental ministry of reconciliation.

2. What human weaknesses do they address, and what virtues do they aim to strengthen?

• Weaknesses: Fear, doubt, guilt, spiritual isolation, mistrust.
• Virtues: Faith, mercy, courage, unity, joy, and peace. This passage strengthens our conviction that mercy is stronger than shame and peace is stronger than fear.

3. What is the feeling tone of each reading?

• First Reading: Harmonious and generous — a joyful Christian witness.
• Psalm: Jubilant and assured — rooted in God’s enduring mercy.
• Second Reading: Reflective and victorious — belief as a sign of new life.
• Gospel: Intimate and merciful — Jesus enters gently and transforms.

4. Which saints or well-known figures exemplify the message of each reading?

• St. Faustina Kowalska — Apostle of Divine Mercy, whose diary inspired this feast.
• St. Thomas the Apostle — A model of honest faith that leads to profound belief.
• St. John Paul II — Canonised on this very feast, he proclaimed Divine Mercy as the heart of the Gospel.
• Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati — Lived a hidden, joyful witness of faith, especially among the poor and marginalised.

5. What works of art, poems, or pieces of music provide insight into the message?

• The Divine Mercy image — Jesus’ heart radiating rays of mercy: “Jesus, I trust in You.”
• Caravaggio’s The Incredulity of Saint Thomas — Dramatic and touching, capturing Christ’s gentle response to doubt.
• Hymn: “O Sons and Daughters” (O Filii et Filiae) — Tells the Easter story, including Thomas’s encounter.
• John Donne’s poem “Batter My Heart” — Reflects a heart longing to believe more deeply.

6. Where has the message of these readings been true in my life or those close to me, and is there a story I can share about that? A priest once shared how a young adult, away from the Church since Confirmation, wandered into a Divine Mercy liturgy by “accident”. He later said, “I didn’t know why I cried, but something in me broke open.” That young man later returned to the sacraments and now serves in youth ministry. He said it wasn’t the homily or hymn — it was the silence, the image of Christ, and the words: Peace be with you.

First Reading – Acts 5:12–16

The faithful all used to meet by common consent in the Portico of Solomon.No one else ever dared to join them, but the people were loud in their praiseand the numbers of men and women who came to believe in the Lord increased steadily.

So many signs and wonders were worked among the people at the hands of the apostlesthat the sick were even taken out into the streetsand laid on beds and sleeping-matsin the hope that at least the shadow of Petermight fall across some of them as he went past.

People even came crowding in from the towns round about Jerusalem,bringing with them their sickand those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were cured.

Second Reading – Revelation 1:9–13, 17–19

My name is John, and through our union in Jesus I am your brother and share your sufferings, your kingdom, and all you endure. I was on the island of Patmos for having preached God’s word and witnessed for Jesus. It was the Lord’s day and the Spirit possessed me, and I heard a voice behind me, shouting like a trumpet: “Write down all that you see in a book.”

I turned round to see who had spoken to me, and when I turned I saw seven golden lamp-stands, and, surrounded by them, a figure like a Son of man, dressed in a long robe tied at the waist with a golden girdle.

When I saw him, I fell in a dead faint at his feet, but he touched me with his right hand and said, “Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last. I am the Living One, I was dead and now I am to live forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of the underworld. Now write down all that you see of present happenings and things that are still to come.”.

Would you like the newsletter for the 3rd Sunday of Easter (4th May 2025) next, Father?