2nd Sunday of Easter – The Divine Mercy Sunday; Year (C) April 27, 2025
Readings:
Acts 5:12-16; Rev. 1:9-11, 12-13, 17-19; Jn. 20:19-31
The
Wonders of the Resurrection of Christ - His Divine Mercy
Easter is a celebration that encompasses both
the sacred and the secular, the celestial and the mundane, faith and doubt,
absence and presence. It acknowledges both hate and love, the merciless and the
merciful. Ultimately, it is a celebration of God’s mercy towards humanity.
Today, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, is Divine Mercy Sunday. St. John Paul II
promoted this devotion. On April 30, 2000, during the canonization of Faustina
Kowalska, the Pontiff officially designated today as Divine Mercy Sunday.
This devotion is rooted
in Sister Faustina’s relationship with Jesus. According to her diary, Faustina
received significant promises of grace associated with the devotion of Divine
Mercy. One of the most notable promises is that anyone who goes to sacramental
confession and receives Holy Communion on this day will obtain total
forgiveness of all sins and punishment. In his message on April 22, 2001, a
year after establishing Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope John Paul II emphasized, “Humanity
will never find peace until it turns with trust to Divine Mercy.” The
Church receives this Easter gift from the Risen Christ and offers it to
humanity.
Today’s readings
highlight God’s mercy in a profound way. Signs and wonders were performed by
the apostles, and God’s people were united in mercy and love as they prayed and
shared their new life in the Risen Lord. The Lord blessed them with the gift of
healing. The healing of those afflicted with sickness and pain brought great
joy to the community. The disciples felt broken, yet they were filled with
hope. Their testimony of the Risen Lord attracted many to join them. In this
community, some denied Christ, many had run away from Him, one was absent from
communal prayer, and others had longed for a share in the restored kingdom of
Israel. Yet, Christ met them all and wished them peace. There was no
condemnation, judgment, malice, or anger—only unconditional love, forgiveness,
and mercy. “Come, touch my wounds, and be healed. Doubt no longer; it is
I, so do not be afraid.”
There was healing and
forgiveness; faith was restored, and Thomas made a profession of faith in the
Risen Lord: “My Lord and my God!” This embodies what mercy means:
having a heart for those who suffer or being willing to suffer for others. As 1
Peter 2:21 reminds us, “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example
that you should follow in his footsteps.” But that is not all. Christ
bestowed the Spirit on His apostles and entrusted them with the power to
forgive sins. We experience God’s mercy more fully when we humble ourselves
and approach Him in the sacrament of reconciliation and penance. It is
there that we meet the God of mercy and love, a God of forgiveness, who
declared through Ezekiel the prophet: “As I live, says the Lord God, I
take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but rather in the wicked man’s
conversion, that he may live” (Ezekiel 33:11). When God forgives, He
forgets; He does not keep a record of sins: “Their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).
With God’s mercy, we are
assured that good always triumphs over evil, life is stronger than death, and
God’s mercy and love are more powerful than our sins. In the Paschal mystery we
celebrate, God our Father reveals Himself as a tender-hearted Father who does
not give up in the face of His children’s ingratitude and is always willing to
forgive. As Paul reminds us, “Where sin increased, grace overflowed all
the more, so that as sin reigned in death, grace might also reign through
justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans
5:21-22). We experience God’s mercy prominently in the story of the prodigal
son and the merciful Father (Luke 15:11-32), who waits with compassion and
forgiveness, regardless of our sins and transgressions. His love for us is
boundless.
The opening prayer
addresses the Father as the “God of everlasting mercy,” and the
psalm reminds us repeatedly, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
These readings exemplify God’s mercy in action. We are called to share what we
have with others, feed the hungry, fight injustice, stand up for the truth, and
recognize that God’s mercy is everlasting. When we see ourselves as unworthy
recipients of God’s mercy and love, we realize that true mercy stems not from
human effort but from God’s free gift to humanity.
Today, the Church invites
us to experience God’s mercy, especially if we want to forgive others. In the
Lord’s Prayer, we ask, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us.” The cycle of hatred and violence staining
many individuals and nations around the world can only be broken and healed
through the miracle of forgiveness and mercy. God’s mercy is His response to
a broken world and a humanity driven by an insatiable hunger for power. Let us
continue to seek and spread this divine mercy. Amen.
Rev.
Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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