Reading I
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.
Gospel
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.
Reflection
On this Divine Mercy Sunday, we read the story of the risen Jesus appearing to His Apostles in a locked room and then again for the doubtful Thomas. What does this Gospel passage of unbelief turned to faith have to do with the Lord’s mercy?
Remember, this reading begins after Peter and the beloved disciple have seen the empty tomb and after Mary Magdalene has told the disciples about the Resurrection. Yet, the Apostles have locked themselves away in fear. So, we see that it is not just Thomas who needs to confront the Risen Lord in order to have faith. Jesus, rather than resentfully holding back His presence and His grace from His fickle friends, comes to them and shows them Himself so that they will believe.
While this Gospel lauds those who do not see and believe, it also reveals to us that Jesus knows our doubts and our weaknesses, and that He wants to meet us where we are so we can know and love Him. This lesson is a message of mercy.
Jesus cannot be held back by our hardness of heart—His love and desire to be with us far surpasses any lock we could affix to the doors of our souls. Both appearances in this reading occur in rooms locked from the inside, and Jesus repeatedly offers the same message: “Peace be with you.” Our Merciful Lord brings His peace and love no matter what. We cannot keep Him away—we can only deny His inevitable presence.
While Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and believe,” He does not ask us to believe in Him without truly meeting Him. Rather, He longs to encounter each of us personally through His Sacraments and in our lives of prayer. No, we will not physically see Him, but our flesh does connect with His flesh in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. This Gospel also shows Jesus ensuring our personal encounter with His mercy by bestowing on His Apostles the authority to forgive sins. The Sacrament of Confession is a gift of mercy from Our Lord, and it is the way Jesus comes to us in our own brokenness and locked rooms.
Yes, we may be blessed for not physically seeing and still believing, but do not assume that Christ doesn’t offer us the same personal encounter that He offered to Thomas and the Apostles. His limitless mercy comes to us as embodied individuals through the Church that He instituted for us. He comes to us constantly, entering the locked rooms of our hearts, drawing us to Himself.
Rather than flee from His grace, we are invited to pay attention to His presence, praying “My Lord and my God!” and cultivate it through prayer and the Sacraments. On this Divine Mercy Sunday, we also pray for the repose of the soul of our Holy Father, Pope Francis. May Christ, who conquered death, envelope him in His mercy and bring him to his Heavenly home.
Please be assured of my prayers for you before Our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
+ Bishop Schlert
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