Sunday of Divine Mercy

Dear brothers and sisters, I am sure that most of us have seen a young child learning to walk. When the child falls, the parents will try to help them stand up and walk again. No matter how many times the child falls, the parents will reach out and help them rise again and again. So, it is with our God. With His fatherly love, He always reaches out His hand to help us rise from our falls (our sins).
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, since the year 2000, Pope John Paul II established the second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. This designation is based on Jesus’ message to St. Faustina: “I desire that there be a Feast of Mercy. I want this image, which you will paint with a brush, to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy” (Diary no. 49). The Feast of Divine Mercy reminds us to continually come to God, the Source of Divine Mercy. No matter how often we fall into sin, no matter how broken our lives may be, He always opens His heart and grants forgiveness to all who come to Him and repent.
Today’s Gospel reading provides a clear picture of God’s patience and mercy towards the apostles. When one of His disciples did not believe in His resurrection, Jesus returned to the same place, among His disciples and repeated the same greeting, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19, 26). With His merciful love, Jesus always reaches out His hand, raising us from our sins and disbelief. It was this patient and faithful mercy that eventually awakened Thomas until he declared his faith: “My Lord and my God!” On this day of Mercy Sunday, let us come to God, ask for His forgiveness, and together with St. Thomas, let us cry out: “My Lord and My God, have mercy on us!”
Bro. Henrikus Suharyono SCJ