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 nail marks
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.
REFLECTION
Jesus, I trust in you
In 1931, Jesus Christ appeared to Sister Faustina Kolwaska. There were two rays of light, one in red, the other in white. His right hand is lifting up on high as in the motion of the High Priest granting a blessing of forgiveness for all our sins; and His left hand is pointed at His Sacred Heart urging us to trust in Him Who is the source of our salvation and sanctification. The two rays denote Blood and Water. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls; the white ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. At the command of Jesus, an image was painted according to the vision. (1) The Divine Mercy
The Divine Mercy Novena began on Good Friday; Divine Mercy Sunday is the second Sunday of Easter.
Since 2000, the second Sunday of Easter has been known as Divine Mercy Sunday.
St Pope John Paul II presided over the canonization of Sister Faustina Kowalska on April 30, 2000. This is a summary of a portion of his sermon. She received His messages between First and Second World Wars. Jesus told St. Faustina: "Humanity will not find peace until it turns trustfully to divine mercy." It helps us relive the Gospel of Easter more intensely, to offer it as a ray of light to the men and women of our time. It helps re-establish the relationship of each person with God, also creates new relations of fraternal solidarity among human beings. (2)
We not only receive and experience the mercy of God, but we are called to practice mercy towards others. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." (2)
Sister Faustina wrote in her diary:
"I feel tremendous pain when I see the sufferings of my neighbors. All my neighbors' sufferings reverberate in my own heart; I carry their anguish in my heart in such a way that it even physically destroys me. I would like all their sorrows to fall upon me, in order to relieve my neighbor." (2)
(1) The Divine Mercy Perpetual Novena, Father Michael J. Truongluan Nguyen, C.Ss.R, 2015, all rights reserved.
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