Divine Mercy

Happy Easter! The celebration of the resurrection of our Lord continues as we are in the Second Sunday of Easter, also known as the Sunday of Divine Mercy and the Third Sunday of Easter. The Gospel readings are taken from St. John and focus on the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection, offering peace and mercy.

Peace of mercy (Jn 20:19-31)

“Peace be with you.” Spoken by Jesus to the apostles, the first words of our resurrected Lord are an invitation to peace. Amidst the storm Jesus offers peace. Peace of mind. Peace of trust. Peace of security. Peace of love. Peace of hope. Peace of faith. Peace of truth. Peace of mercy. It is by his very act of dying to self that we will rise in his merciful peace, life united to God the Father and in the Holy Spirit. 

Mission of mercy (Jn 20:19-31)

It is this invitation to peace where the apostles, frightened and fearful, witness Jesus resurrected as he breathes on them the Holy Spirit.  Immediately following, Jesus ordains them to his mission of mercy … the forgiveness of sins. All, but one, were present. St. Thomas. Where was he? We do not know. But we do know he did not believe their testimony of an encounter with the risen Lord and insisted on physical evidence to touch. How many times do we proclaim Jesus as resurrected only to be met with a demand of physical proof, to see so as to believe?

A week passes, and St. Thomas, now with the apostles, is granted the gift to not only see the risen Lord, but to also touch his hands and side, marked with the wounds of his crucifixion. “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.” (Jn 20:28-29)

It is the Lord (Jn 21:1-19)

We also read the account of Jesus’ appearance to Simon Peter and some of the other disciples as they fished on the Sea of Tiberius. Recall the initial call of Simon Peter? He was mending his nets after a long night of catching zero fish. Jesus gets into Simon’s boat to preach, then afterwards tells St. Peter to put his nets out again. Reluctantly he does and catches more fish than the boat can hold. Fast forward to this post-resurrection appearance, St. Peter is once again night fishing. By dawn they had caught nothing. A man from the shore asked if they had caught anything. They did not recognize it was the risen Lord, until he advised them to cast their nets off the “right side of the boat.” They immediately caught an over-abundance of fish. St. John told St. Peter, “It is the Lord.”

Mercy received

St. Peter immediately jumped in and swam to shore to see Jesus, as the disciples came in on the boat. Jesus had already prepared a fire on which to cook the freshly caught fish. After they had eaten Jesus, turning to St. Peter, asked him one question three times, “Do you love me?” Then following each he gave St. Peter three commands: “Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep.” St. Peter affirms his love for the Lord three times in front of a charcoal fire, the same love he previously denied in front of a fire the night of Jesus’ arrest. Three times St. Peter acknowledges his willingness to deeply love Jesus and accept his calling as chief shepherd of the followers of Jesus. Despite his transgression, his weakness he is made strong by the power of the God’s mercy. 

We too are made strong by our Lord’s divine mercy.  So we pray, 

Mercy: A Salvation Story

To you, Lord, my soul does seek,

A restless one, humble and weak;

You, the One, incarnate Real,

You the One who does reveal.

Son of God, most holy birth,

Laid upon the wood of earth;

Feet so free to walk the fields,

Hands so pure to tend and heal.

Walked to set the prisoners free,

An open path to eternity;

Arrested, beaten, bruised, forsaken, 

A now the wood upon You laiden.
 

Stumbled the path to Calvary,

Trodden alone, carried the tree;

Arms extended far to reach,

Crucified to fill the breech.

From the height of the cross,

Came the Word, God’s very voice;

Father forgive for I so love,

Hence, Divine Mercy there did flood.

Pierced to know He indeed, died,

Out gushed graces from His side;

Blood and water, hence they poured

Water to sanctify, blood to restore.

Yes, Mercy flowed on that Good day,

As Mercy still pours on us this day;

Open hands do we receive,

Fount of Mercy, gushed forth from He.

Carry His mercy, God thus 

commands.

Disciples, us, who walk this land;

To Him we kneel in praise and glory,

For this is our salvation story.

Amen

Dow is the director of the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis