April 27, 2025・Second Sunday of Easter (C)・Divine Mercy Sunday

Acts 5.12-16・ Psalm 118.1+2,16+17,22+23・ Revelation 1.9-11a,12-13,17-19・John 20.19-31

Second Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday. We together celebrate the infinite mercy of God, and His forgiveness. We are being encouraged to trust in Jesus, to believe in His Resurrection, to always seek His forgiveness and share Christ`s peace to others.

Our readings today present to us how the Apostles received Christ` Peace brought about by His Resurrection. Jesus dispelled the doubts of some of His Apostles about the truth of His Resurrection. Without any doubt, the same Peace of Christ has led them to embrace the work/ministry of healing, and to courageously accept even the mandate of forgiving sins. The apostles` participation in the so-called Jesus` healing ministry became their means to proclaim the Peace that they received from the Risen Christ. Receiving the Holy Spirit from Jesus made them worthy also to forgive or retain sins.

We can perhaps link the passing (death) of Pope Francis last Easter Monday to our reflection today. We can probably find wisdom on how Jesus has been so literally faithful, loving and merciful to the Church that He Himself (Jesus) founded through the patience, sacrifice and inclusivity that our former Pope had well expressed in his tenure. In lieu of pains, sorrow and inevitable physical death, and many other forms of loss, the truth of Christ`s resurrection (Easter) continues to give us hope even to many cases we often assume to be hopeless. The former Pope Francis, before his passing, and despite his serious illness, managed to impart Easter greeting to us, to the whole Christendom and to the whole world. We call it a very special grace and guidance of the Holy Spirit in the ministry.

We always put our trust and faith in the Divine Mercy.