Texts taken from the Missalette “On Your Word” March-April

2nd Sunday of Easter or of Divine Mercy (C)
Proper

FIRST READING

From the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 5:12-16)
Many signs and wonders were taking place among the people through the apostles. They all used to meet together in Solomon’s Portico; none of the others dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. More and more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were added to their number, so that they even carried the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and stretchers, hoping that when Peter passed by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed. – The Word of the Lord.

Commentary on the first reading

A distinctive characteristic of the first believers, who gathered with the apostles, was the charismatic outpouring of miracles. Great miracles of healing took place continually. Life in the Spirit does not consist only in teaching, learning formulas, or following certain rules of conduct, but in being drawn into a “new world” in which everything shares in the life of the Holy Spirit. Physical healing is never an end in itself: it points to the victory of good over evil, of (eternal) life over (eternal) death. Miracles are the sign that truly “the finger of God is here.” A Church without miracles, even today, is a Church without the Spirit, and holiness for canonization is demonstrated precisely through the gift of miracles. It is often said that the time of the early Church was a privileged, unrepeatable period, but this is written nowhere. Therefore, we must have the same faith as the first Christians, so that in the Church we may be healed of every infirmity, both physical and spiritual.

SECOND READING

From the Book of Revelation of Saint John the Apostle  (Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19)
I, John, your brother and companion in tribulation, in the kingdom and perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was caught up in the Spirit on the Lord’s day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, saying: “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches.” I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me, and when I had turned I saw seven golden lampstands and, in the midst of the lampstands, one like a Son of Man, wearing a long robe reaching to his feet and a golden sash around his chest. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and the netherworld. Write therefore what you have seen, what is now and what will happen afterward.” – The Word of the Lord.

Commentary on the second reading

The Book of Revelation begins with an invitation to love from Jesus, the “Son of Man.” He wishes to speak to the Churches (seven: fullness, therefore all the Churches) in order to guide and direct them in a time of persecution. Jesus never leaves us alone. In the seven letters, he urges Christians to grow stronger in faith, rekindle love, and not fear trials. Whoever writes a letter wants to communicate something important. Let us therefore put ourselves in the place of those who receive Jesus’ letter: let us listen, meditate, and then respond with our lives. Today, we too receive his letter in the Church. The one who writes is love incarnate, the One who passed through death and is now eternally the Living One. He declares that he holds the “keys of death and the netherworld” to say that they are under his power, defeated and destroyed by his sacrifice and resurrection. Looking to him who raises us up, we find ourselves, like John, strengthened. Revelation is not only the book of the future, but also and above all of the present, of today.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John (Jn 20:19-31)
In the evening of that day, the first day of the week, while the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them: “Peace be with you!” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then 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.” 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, one of the Twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told 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 mark of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Eight days later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood among them and said: “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas: “Put your finger here and see my hands; stretch out your hand and put it into my side; and do not be unbelieving, but believe!” Thomas answered him: “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; 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 so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, through believing, you may have life in his name. – The Gospel of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

Thomas, with his disbelief, drew from the Savior’s lips the beatitude that concerns us: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” It is not important to see with our eyes; what matters is to believe with our hearts and see with the inner eyes of faith. Then we will truly be blessed, because we will have the true experience of the risen Christ. By believing, John says, “we have life in his name.” Whoever truly believes has already crossed the barrier of death and fully shares in divine life; indeed, that person possesses all the richness of Christ’s grace. They live another life. We must, however, have great trust. On the Feast of Divine Mercy, we read what Jesus said to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska about his goodness and our trust: “Your task is complete trust in my goodness. My task is to give you everything you need. I myself become dependent on your trust: if your trust is great, my generosity will know no limits.”