Divine Mercy Sunday

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Sunday, 19 April 2020 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the Second Sunday in the season of Easter we celebrate what is known as the Divine Mercy Sunday as instituted by Pope St. John Paul II in the Jubilee Year of 2000 AD. This Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted according to the visions of St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who saw the vision of the Lord in His aspect of the Divine Mercy a few times and wrote about her experiences, which took a few decades before they were officially approved and accepted by the Church.

In those visions of the Divine Mercy, St. Faustina Kowalska saw the Lord appearing to her and showing her His infinite and great mercy, His love and compassion for all of us mankind. The Divine Mercy of God manifested to her in His divinity, pouring forth from His heart two bright rays of red and white shining forth showing the outpouring of the love of God to us mankind, His divinity and humanity mingled into one, and by His Most Precious Blood we have received, we have been healed from our sins.

The Lord called for this devotion to this Divine Mercy to be made popular and spread among His people, dedicating the second Sunday in the season of Easter to be the Divine Mercy Sunday, as a kind reminder that this joyful and wonderful Easter season is a time for us to appreciate just how fortunate we have been that the Lord had gone through the worst of sufferings and humiliations that He bore in His Passion and death, that through Him and His Resurrection, we now receive the assurance of life eternal.

The Divine Mercy devotion calls on us all mankind to focus our attention once again on the Lord, to ask Him for His mercy on us and the whole world through His wondrous saving work, in the shedding of His Body and Blood, as a perfect offering for the redemption of our sins. That is why the Divine Mercy devotion has in particular become very popular and widespread as the world and many people seek healing from the Lord for their many ailments, the sickness of sin and the corruption of evil in our lives.

Through the Divine Mercy of God, all of us are brought to remember that Christ our Lord is our Eternal High Priest Who has offered Himself for the atonement for our sins, as we recall this whenever we recite the Divine Mercy chaplet and prayers with the words, ‘Eternal Father, I offer You, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world,’ and the other one ‘For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and the whole world.’

Through all of these, and linking with what we have just heard in our Scripture passages today, we will realise that we have to have faith in the Lord and believe that through Him there is a hope for us and for our salvation. That is why we heard of the story of the doubt which St. Thomas the Apostle had in our Gospel today, when he, usually the most doubtful and cynical of the Apostles, refused to believe that the Lord had risen from the dead, and wanted tangible proof before he was to believe that the Lord had indeed been resurrected.

It was only when the Lord Himself had appeared before him and the other disciples that St. Thomas came to believe in the Lord and in His Resurrection. St. Thomas from then on became a firm believer, and since then he laboured hard for the sake of God and His people, ministering to the various communities and proclaiming the truth of the Gospel to many others, founding the community of Christians in the southern parts of India, known as St. Thomas Christians who endured for many centuries and beyond after until this very day. St. Thomas himself was martyred in the defence of his faith in God.

What we have heard thus far is a reminder for each and every one of us to have more faith in God, to believe in His ever generous and wonderful mercy. God has always been merciful to us, loving and ready to forgive us, and He extends this rich offer of mercy without any hesitation at all. But it is us mankind who have hesitated, took our time, being stubborn and resisted the efforts of the Lord Who has tried to be reconciled with us. We are like St. Thomas who doubted the Lord, who refused to believe fully and unconditionally, or worse still, like many of the Pharisees who hardened their hearts and minds, refusing to believe in God’s truth.

Many of us carry on living in the state of sin, living our lives as we have lived them so far, indulging in all sorts of evils and wickedness. But we must realise that sin is truly dangerous and unless we get rid of ourselves these sins and wickedness, we are in great danger of falling into eternal damnation because of those sins. This is because death and hell are the consequences for our sins, and unless we repent from them and are forgiven and reconciled with God, we may end up in an eternity of regret and despair.

It is God alone Who is capable of healing us from our sins, making us good and whole again. No one else has the power to forgive our sins, and that is why we need to have this forgiveness and healing by the Divine Mercy of God. In this Sunday, we are all called to focus our attention on the Divine Mercy, His loving face and countenance directed towards us, His ever present care and compassion towards our fallen state and our wretched situation. This is why we need to focus our attention to the Lord and embrace His mercy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we are all called to be the disciples of the Lord in all things, to be His followers and to bring forth His mercy, His light and love to all the people of God. We are all called to share this faith which we have, to embrace this love and mercy and show them in the same manner to our brethren out there who are still living in the darkness, to those who are still ignorant of the truth of God, those who have yet to know of God’s infinite love and mercy.

The Lord wants us all to bring forth this light of hope, the hope for the Divine Mercy to our fellow brethren, just as how St. Faustina Kowalska tried for many years to bring forth the attention to the devotion to the Divine Mercy according to the visions that she had received. And this is important especially in our troubled and darkened times, during this particularly difficult year when the whole world is facing so many challenges, from the pandemic that occupied the minds of most people and made many suffer, to the other forms of natural disasters and also political instabilities suffered by several communities.

During this time, many people do not know where they ought to turn to for help, and many people has lost their path. They sought consolation in other things, either to distract themselves from the sorrow, or to find temporary happiness or pleasures, which would not last. This is why we should be the witnesses of Christ our Lord, the Divine Mercy in our communities and in our families, among every brothers and sisters whom we encounter in our daily lives and whom we interact with, and even with the strangers and other people we encounter as well.

Let us all, through our words and actions bring forth the exemplary Christian faith and life that shine brightly as beacons for others to follow, to inspire others and to guide many in their path of life, that they may find true consolation, happiness, joy and peace in God, the Divine Mercy, Who is ever ready to forgive us and to be reconciled with us, and Who is always ever filled with love, in each and every moments of our lives. May God continue to guide us all in life, and may He grant us the courage and strength to be ever more faithful, now and always. O Divine Mercy, we trust in You. Amen.

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Sunday, 19 April 2020 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 20 : 19-31

At that time, on the evening of the day when Jesus rose from the dead, the first day after the Sabbath, the doors were locked where the disciples were, because of their fear of the Jews. But Jesus came, and stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” Then He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples kept looking at the Lord and were full of joy.

Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.” After saying this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit! Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; those whose sins you retain, they are retained.”

Thomas, the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he replied, “Until I have seen in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe.”

Eight days later, the disciples were inside again and Thomas was with them. Despite the locked doors Jesus came and stood in the their midst and said, “Peace be with you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; stretch out your hand, and put it into My side. Do not be an unbeliever! Believe!”

Thomas then said, “You are my Lord and my God.” Jesus replied, “You believe because you see Me, do you not? Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

There were many other signs that Jesus gave in the presence of His disciples, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Believe, and you will have life through His Name!

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Sunday, 19 April 2020 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 Peter 1 : 3-9

Let us praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for His great mercy. In raising Jesus Christ from the dead He has given us new life and a living hope. The inheritance that does not corrupt nor goes bad nor passes away was reserved to you in heavens, since God’s power shall keep you faithful until salvation is revealed in the last days.

There is cause for joy, then, even though you may, for a time, have to suffer many trials. Thus will your faith be tested, like gold in a furnace. Gold, however, passes away but faith, worth so much more, will bring you in the end praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ appears.

You have not yet seen Him and yet you love Him; even without seeing Him, you believe in Him and experience a heavenly joy beyond all words, for you are reaching the goal of your faith : the salvation of your souls.

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Sunday, 19 April 2020 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 117 : 2-4, 13-15, 22-24

Let Israel say, “His loving kindness endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His loving kindness endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say, “His loving kindness endures forever.”

I was pushed hard and about to fall, but the Lord came to my help. The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. Joyful shouts of victory are heard in the tents of the just : “The right hand of the Lord strikes mightily.”

The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing and we marvel at it. This is the day the Lord has made; so let us rejoice and be glad.

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Sunday, 19 April 2020 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 2 : 42-47

The people were faithful to the teaching of the Apostles, the common life of sharing, the breaking of bread and the prayers. A holy fear came upon all the people, for many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the Apostles.

Now all the believers lived together and shared all their belongings. They would sell their property and all they had and distribute the proceeds to others according to their need. Each day they met together in the Temple area; they broke bread in their homes; they shared their food with great joy and simplicity of heart; they praised God and won the people’s favour.

And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

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Sunday, 28 April 2019 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, the second one in the entire season of Easter, we celebrate also the occasion of the Divine Mercy Sunday, which was instituted by Pope St. John Paul II in the year of 2001, after many years since the vision of St. Faustina Kowalska, to whom the Lord appeared in His aspect of Mercy, instructing her to celebrate the Feast of the Divine Mercy on the Second Sunday of Easter.

And she was also instructed to spread the practice of the Divine Mercy Novena, a nine days devotion which lasts in the period between Good Friday, the day when Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died for us on the Cross, and that of the Feast of the Divine Mercy itself on this day, the second Sunday of the Easter season. Therefore, we can clearly see the link between what we celebrate on this day with the moment of the Lord’s Crucifixion and death, the hour of which, at about 3 pm, is called as the ‘Hour of Mercy’.

In this season of Easter, it is most fitting indeed for us to focus our attention of the Lord, the Divine Mercy, as in truth it was the boundless, enduring and ever-present love that God has for each and every one of us sinners and unworthy people, that has allowed Him to extend such a wonderful and gracious mercy towards us. He does not want us to be destroyed and annihilated because of our sinfulness, and therefore, wanted to give us another chance.

That is why there is an emphasis on the work of mercy that Our Lord has done on Good Friday, on the very day when He willingly laid down His life, by bearing the heavy burden of the Cross, so that each and every one of us may be saved from damnation for those sins that we have committed. He loved us all so much that He was willing to lay down His life, as the sacrificial Victim, by Whose death we have been reconciled with God, our loving Father.

The Lord has shown us such great love and mercy, in reaching out to all of us, who are sinners and wicked, and He wants to heal us from all of our brokenness and unworthiness. He Himself showed us all throughout His life and ministry, in how He reached out to the worst of sinners, to those whom the rest of the community had dismissed as being hopeless and unworthy to be saved, like the tax collectors and prostitutes.

And that was what the disciples in our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles had done, continuing the good works of the Lord’s merciful love, by ministering to the poor, the sick and the dying, providing them with both physical and spiritual care, and healing those who were sick by the virtue of the power granted to them by the Lord. And they ministered to the people in various places.

It is what all of us have also been called to do, to follow in the footsteps of the Lord Himself and His disciples, in doing the works of mercy in our daily living. Why is this important, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because, after all, we must not forget that God has forgiven us all and shown mercy to all of us, despite of our countless and enormous, unimaginably wicked and despicable sins born out of our disobedience against Him.

And if God is willing to forgive us all these wickedness and all the countless wicked things we have done, then we too should show this same mercy towards one another, to all those whom we encounter in our own lives, following what God has first done for us. Otherwise, our faith and our love for God is not complete, as if we do not do what He Himself has done, then how can we truly call ourselves as those who believe in Him?

But many of us have not been able to show mercy in our own actions and deeds in life, especially because we acted in the manner as how St. Thomas the Apostle had done, as mentioned in our Gospel passage today. St. Thomas has shown us all in our Gospel today, his lack of faith and doubt in the Lord’s resurrection, and he has always been the skeptical one, to the point of sarcastically commenting before the other disciples that the Lord was leading them all to their death when He was about to go to Jerusalem for His Passion.

And when the disciples saw the Lord and witnessed His resurrection, St. Thomas doubted and refused to believe the words of the other disciples, to the point that he publicly mentioned that he would not believe unless he was able to prove it by his own hands, that the Lord Jesus truly rose from the dead and not just an apparition or a ghost. He wanted to see if the One Who appeared was truly the crucified Christ.

This is exactly what many of us are suffering from as well, this inability to have that genuine faith in God, in His love and in His mercy. And the main reason for this is exactly because of the pride and the hubris, the ego and ambition that are within each and every one of us. It was ego and pride that prevented St. Thomas from acknowledging the truth and the reality of the Lord’s resurrection from the dead as he could not accept what might seem to be improbable and illogical to him.

That was how many among the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council also refused to believe in the Lord and in His teachings even though they should have been the ones who would have recognised Him first as the Saviour and Holy One of God. Pride and ego, their refusal to admit their mistakes and shortcomings, caused them to harden their hearts and to close their minds to the Lord.

That was how many of us also refused to accept God’s mercy and love in our lives, thinking that we have no need for healing or that we are all good and perfect. But this is where we are exactly very, very wrong brothers and sisters in Christ. All of us are wounded by sin, and by sin we have been corrupted and made unworthy, and unless God’s mercy and healing grace come upon us and heal us, we will have no part in God.

And if we close ourselves to God’s mercy and love, we will also likely have no mercy and love in ourselves, and our lives will end up very miserable, for to us, everything around us will become filled with fear, with hatred, with jealousy, ego and pride. And we will be drawn even deeper into sin, into defilement and corruption, and eventually, unless God’s mercy come towards us and we accept His mercy, we will face nothing else but annihilation.

That is why, all of us on this day, on the great Feast of Our Lord, the Divine Mercy, first of all we must lay ourselves humbly before God, humbling ourselves and dying to our pride and ego, and casting out from ourselves all these stumbling blocks and obstacles that can prevent us from seeking and from receiving God’s mercy and forgiveness. And when we have opened ourselves and given ourselves to God’s loving mercy, it is when God will complete His merciful works in us.

And then, having received God’s mercy and understood the truth and the meaning of His mercy, I am sure that we will be able to appreciate how we should also be loving and be merciful in our lives. Let us not forget that all of us mankind are equally sinful before God, equally wicked and unworthy, and we should show God’s mercy and love through our own actions, that more and more people will come to see God, the Divine Mercy through us all.

All of us as Christians are called to follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and His Apostles, who have shown mercy in all things. Let us all be humble, be merciful in everything we say and do, and let us all be role models and guides for each other that we may grow in mercy and love, and draw ever closer to Him, Our Lord, the Divine Mercy, by Whose love we have all been saved. May the grace of God, the Most Divine Mercy remain with us always, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 28 April 2019 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 20 : 19-31

At that time, on the evening of the day when Jesus rose from the dead, the first day after the Sabbath, the doors were locked where the disciples were, because of their fear of the Jews. But Jesus came, and stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” Then He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples kept looking at the Lord and were full of joy.

Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.” After saying this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit! Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; those whose sins you retain, they are retained.”

Thomas, the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he replied, “Until I have seen in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in His side, I will not believe.”

Eight days later, the disciples were inside again and Thomas was with them. Despite the locked doors Jesus came and stood in the their midst and said, “Peace be with you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; stretch out your hand, and put it into My side. Do not be an unbeliever! Believe!”

Thomas then said, “You are my Lord and my God.” Jesus replied, “You believe because you see Me, do you not? Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

There were many other signs that Jesus gave in the presence of His disciples, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Believe, and you will have life through His Name!

by

Sunday, 28 April 2019 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 1 : 9-11a, 12-13, 17-19

I, John, your brother, who shares with you, in Jesus, the sufferings, the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island of Patmos, because of the word of God and witnessing to Jesus. On the Lord’s day, the Spirit took possession of me and I heard a voice behind me, which sounded like a trumpet, “Write down all that you see, in a book, and send it to the seven churches.”

I turned to see who was speaking to me; behind me were seven golden lamp stands and, in the middle of these, I saw Someone, like a Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, tied with a golden girdle. Seeing Him, I fell at His feet, like one dead; 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 alive, for ever and ever; and Mine are the keys of death and the netherworld.”

“Now write what you have seen, both what it is and what is yet to come.”

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Sunday, 28 April 2019 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 117 : 2-4, 22-24, 25-27a

Let Israel say, “His loving kindness endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His loving kindness endures forever.” Let those who fear YHVH say, “His loving kindness endures forever.”

The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. This was YHVH’s doing and we marvel at it. This is the day YHVH has made; so let us rejoice and be glad.

Save us, o YHVH, deliver us, o YHVH! Blessed is He who comes in YHVH’s Name! We praise You from the house of YHVH. YHVH is God; may His light shine upon us.

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Sunday, 28 April 2019 : Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 5 : 12-16

Many miraculous signs and wonders were done among the people, through the hands of the Apostles. The believers, of one accord, used to meet in Solomon’s Porch. None of the others dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. So, and ever-increasing number of men and women, believed in the Lord.

The people carried the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and on mats, so, that, when Peter passed by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those who were troubled by unclean spirits; and all of them were healed.