Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 20, 19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week,
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 nailmarks
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.

Peace be with you

1) He showed them. How much this speaks of God and of us! We are unbelieving, we live in a world of distrust and suspicion. This leads you to fall into a vicious circle in your life, because being mistrustful leads you to become insecure, being insecure leads you to look at everyone with suspicion and all of this leads you to isolation and great fear. Today Jesus comes to show you that if you put your trust in God you will achieve great things. You have a lot to give to others but maybe distrust and suspicion have led you to lose the freshness of life and to forget to trust even in yourself.

2) Mercy. It’s beautiful to know that everything in this life is forgiven to those who have a repentant heart! Yes, “God forgives every repentant heart”. Never forget this because it’s the core of God’s love. Those who love, forgive and when they forgive, they do so because they have experienced love. I know that it’s difficult, that’s why forgiveness is a divine gift.

3) Happy. It’s important that you should trust and believe again, do not be distrustful either of God or of yourself. Life is not only about what you see; it’s much more than that.  Life surprises us and the most beautiful thing is that God comes into your life at the least expected moment. Trust in God, for God trusts in you.

God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Always remember that something good is on the way!