Today we celebrate the Mercy of Jesus! Sometimes we forget that Jesus always is ready to bestow His Mercy on us, we just need to ask. Some people might ask “Why doesn’t He just give it without my asking?”. Jesus never forces anything on us, He waits for us to ask.
The Gospel for today:
GospelJN 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.
The Word of the Lord! Thanks be to God!
In this Gospel Jesus gives the Apostles and priests the power to forgive sins, the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The best aqueduct of Mercy there is!
There is another point in the Gospel, Doubting Thomas. Sometimes we are all like Thomas saying “I won’t believe until I see!”. We are also the people in the Gospel that Jesus says “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”. Most of us have never personally seen Jesus, we hope to one day, yet we still believe!
As we come to the close of the Easter Octave, may you continue to have a Blessed Easter Season!