Divine Mercy Sunday was officially instituted in 2000 by Pope St. John Paul II. In the 1930s, Jesus appeared to a young Polish nun (now St. Faustina) and entrusted the message of Divine Mercy to her in a particular way for our time. Our world is full of so much evil, and Our Lord wants to remind us of his Divine Mercy and the need for repentance. This Sunday is also the last day of the Octave of Easter, and so, in a sense, it is the climax of our celebration of Easter. As we reach the height of our Easter octave, the readings focus on God’s mercy. Why is that? God’s merciful love is the Good News of the Gospel, and the reason why Christ suffered, died and rose again. The Catechism goes so far as to say that, “The Gospel is the revelation in Jesus Christ of God’s mercy to sinners.” God’s mercy reached down to us in our sinful state and sent us a Savior, who took on human flesh so that we might have life with him.

In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus institutes the Sacrament of Reconciliation, giving the Apostles a share in his authority by granting them the power to forgive sins. Instead of rebuking the Apostles for abandoning him in his time of suffering, Jesus breathes the gift of the Holy Spirit upon them and confers on them his own mission to seek out and save the lost. Through this beautiful gift of mercy, Jesus demonstrates his desire to forgive our sins and restore us to full communion with him when we do fall into sin. This assurance should bring us peace and joy. Sometimes it can be difficult to believe in the forgiveness of sins, and St. Thomas reminds us how difficult it can be to believe in Christ even by one who had walked with him. But, like Thomas, Jesus invites us to touch his wounds and be healed of our doubts. St. Peter tells us that “by his wounds, you have been healed.” Through the healing power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we too can touch Christ’s wounds and proclaim with Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” According to Jesus’s words, our belief in the teachings handed down by the successors of the Apostles is merited as great faith: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” This faith, John writes, allows us to “have life in his name.”

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a nice Easter and relaxing vacation. We are now in the home stretch of the school year.

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