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.

Mercy

1. The doors were locked. Nowadays, many people have closed the doors of their hearts; they are locked up in their thoughts, in their fears and worries. And where fear dwells, there’s only anguish and disillusionment. When you are immersed in fear, you close yourself off and create a world of fantasies and melancholy, in which you can’t find what you love. That’s what makes you isolate yourself and feel depressed because what you’d planned for your life is no longer there. Everything is different. Something like this is what the Apostles were going through. Don’t close yourself in a world of melancholy.

2. Peace be with you. The Apostles were together and knew that Jesus had risen, but they didn’t have peace in their hearts. You can do many things, but if there’s no peace in your heart everything can fall apart. Peace is not achieved with activities and events; peace in your heart is achieved by coming together with the Risen Christ. Jesus comes into your life and brings peace. Peace yields confidence and joy. Your heart has peace when it trusts, and as it trusts and has peace, it’s full of joy. Today Jesus comes into your life to fill you with him and give you what you need: peace in your heart.

3. Mercy. Today is the feast of the Divine Mercy. As a Church we celebrate this feast on the second Sunday of Easter. We should live mercy today more than ever. We must recognize that we have a heart full of sins and miseries, but that Christ fills us with his faith, peace and love. Mercy is the fruit of the love and peace that God gives us. God gives mercy lovingly and He wants us to do the same. He wants us to show kindness, forgiveness, and compassion towards others, stemming from our miserable heart that has been forgiven by a God who is love. May the Divine Mercy always give comfort to your life and open you to be a person surrendered to what God wants of you, and open to the experience of the risen Christ. 

Always remember that something good is on the way!

God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.