Sunday, April 24
Second Sunday of Easter
Readings
First Reading
Acts 5:12-16
Many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon’s portico. None of the others dared to join them, but the people esteemed them. Yet more than ever, believers in the Lord, great numbers of men and women, were added to them. Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them. A large number of people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered, bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
R (1) Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.
I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:
R Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.
Second Reading
Revelations 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19
I, John, your brother, who share with you the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance we have in Jesus, found myself on the island called Patmos because I proclaimed God’s word and gave testimony to Jesus. I was caught up in spirit on the Lord’s day and heard behind me a voice as loud as a trumpet, which said, “Write on a scroll what you see.” Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and when I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest.
When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead. He touched me with his right hand and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld. Write down, therefore, what you have seen, and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards.”
Gospel Acclamation
John 20:29
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are those who have not seen me, but still believe!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.
“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.”
Reflection
On this second Sunday of Easter, also known as Divine Mercy Sunday, we see the full effect of God’s mercy in the lives of the people of Jesus’ time. The sick continue to find wellness, the Kingdom of God continues to be preached, and the doubtful are counseled by Jesus himself. In the first reading the apostles’ teaching has had a great effect and many people have now come not just to listen to their teaching but to seek cures for their illnesses. All that the apostles do is done in the name of Jesus and it is Christ who grants healing through their actions and words.
The Psalm reminds us that the love of the Lord has no end. This endless love is manifested in the mercy of God; a mercy that called for Jesus coming to earth as the incarnation of God and implementing a solution to the sinful nature of mankind—nothing less than the sacrifice of a spotless lamb in the form of Jesus himself. Our second reading comes from the opening chapter of Saint John’s Revelations in which John tells us that he has been imprisoned for having preached the word of God. During this imprisonment he had a vision from God in which he is visited by Christ who tells him that he has not died but lives forever.
In our gospel we see Jesus appearing to the disciples where they have locked themselves away in fear of the Jews. He gives them his Spirit and sends them out to preach in his name. Of particular importance to us is the absence of Saint Thomas. When the others told him that Jesus had appeared he refused to believe and only believed when Jesus appeared eight days later. Thomas represents all of us who find the idea of resurrection difficult to grasp and the reading also reminds us that the first apostles were also slow to come to full belief. He also represents us when he makes his great declaration of faith – ‘My Lord and my God!’ This is the declaration which we too must make if we are to inherit eternal life through the Lord’s resurrection. Today, let us embrace the Lord’s divine mercy and share our love for both our God and our neighbor.
Peace,
Deacon Dare
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