R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are those who have not seen me, but still believe!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
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.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

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

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

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

Twenty-five years ago St. Pope John Paul II declared this Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.

In his remarks, Saint John Paul II said: “I wish solemnly to entrust the world to divine mercy. I do so with the burning desire that the message of God’s merciful love, proclaimed through St. Faustina, may be made known to all the peoples of the earth and fill their hearts with hope.”

Both of his successors, Popes Benedict XVI and Pope Francis spoke of the significance of Divine Mercy Sunday.  In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI stated, “Outside the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for human beings. Mercy…is the name of God himself.” Five years later Pope Francis would state, “A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just.“

This Jubilee Year of Hope is a time to deepen one’s faith and experience God’s boundless mercy in our lives and is a great cause for hope in our lives and in the world.

Each year on this Second Sunday of Easter, Holy Mother Church gives us the Gospel reading aboutThomas not believing the other disciples’ testimony that Jesus had risen from the dead.

Today’s Gospel account began by stating “On the evening of the first day of the week, when the doors were locked…”.  What does that statement have to do with us?

It alludes to the fact that the brightness of day has given way to the darkness of night. Often in the scriptures, sin and death are depicted as darkness and nothing good – except for Christ’s Birth- comes of night.

Yet, despite the locked door and loss of light, Jesus stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”  He is the Light of the World and through His Resurrection has come to banish the darkness of sin and death and bring us peace.

Just as Jesus comforted the disciples in their darkest hour He is with us in the bleak times of our lives; the times of  adversity or trial; times of hate, fear, or illness; times of doubt or despair. Jesus stands in our midst to proclaim His love and care for us and offers us the nail marks in his hands and feet and his wounded side to remind us that He has triumphed over sin and death. These marks of His Passion remind us that even though we live in a fallen world, we too can rise above our adversities to be one with Him.

Jesus bore the marks of crucifixion. What marks of strife do we bear? Do we bear the wounds of alienation or addiction? Are we pierced with difficulties in our marriage, family, or in the workplace? Has our faith been beaten down? Do we wear the crown of depression or anxiety? Yet, through all these miseries, Jesus shows us his scars and says “Peace be with you.”

He has paid the price of our Salvation. We are here, in this fallen world but He, having won victory over the darkness of this world is in heaven; encouraging us, strengthening us to remain faithful to His Gospel of love and forgiveness.

Jesus’ response to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” is also a response to each of us.

No door; no lock; no wall; no level of unbelief can keep Jesus away. He invites each of us to probe His hands and side and, by doing so, enter into the depths of His humanity and divinity. Just as the lance entered His side, He invites us to place our hand into His side. He has unlocked the entrance to His unfathomable mercy; the mercy contained in His Sacred Heart.

The Lord expressed His will with regard to this feast in His very first revelation to St. Faustina. The most comprehensive revelation can be found in her Diary entry 699:

My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners…The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are opened all the divine floodgates through which graces flow. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity… It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My mercy.

And isn’t that what Easter is all about?; God’s Mercy poured out on humanity. He loves us so much that He sent His Son to redeem us with His Blood.

As the song goes, “We walk by faith and not by sight… We may not touch His hands and side nor follow where He trod yet in His promise we rejoice, and cry, “My Lord and God”!

Blessed Sunday of Divine Mercy. “Peace be with you”.

Deacon Mark Izzo, Permanent Deacon , Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Saint Anthony Parish

Many signs and wonders were done among the people
at the hands of the apostles.
They were all together in Solomon’s portico.
None of the others dared to join them, but the people esteemed them.
Yet more than ever, believers in the Lord,
great numbers of men and women, were added to them.
Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets
and laid them on cots and mats
so that when Peter came by,
at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them.
A large number of people from the towns
in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered,
bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits,
and they were all cured.

R  (1) Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R  Alleluia.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R  Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R  Alleluia.
I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:
R  Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.

or:
R  Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R  Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R  Alleluia.

I, John, your brother, who share with you
the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance we have in Jesus,
found myself on the island called Patmos
because I proclaimed God’s word and gave testimony to Jesus.
I was caught up in spirit on the Lord’s day
and heard behind me a voice as loud as a trumpet, which said,
“Write on a scroll what you see.”
Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me,
and when I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands
and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man,
wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest.

When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead.
He touched me with his right hand and said, “Do not be afraid.
I am the first and the last, the one who lives.
Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever.
I hold the keys to death and the netherworld.
Write down, therefore, what you have seen,
and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards.”

It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacramental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.

Spiritual Communion Prayer

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,

Come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace you as if you were already there

And unite myself wholly to you.

Never permit me to be separated from you.

Amen.