Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Missal, March-April 2025
Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday (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, however, were added to the Lord, a multitude of men and women, so much so that they even brought the sick into the squares, placing them on beds and stretchers, so that, when Peter passed by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. Crowds from the towns near Jerusalem also flocked there, bringing the sick and people tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. - The word of God.
Commentary on the first reading
The Acts text describes the life of the community that is taking shape and the “signs and wonders that were taking place among the people through the apostles.” Among them all, the figure of Peter now stands out, and people brought the sick before him even in the squares because “when Peter passed by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them... and they were all healed.” The preaching and signs performed in the name of Jesus led many to join the Christian community. The evangelist Luke - who also authored the Acts of the Apostles - sought to support the first Christian communities and encourage them not to give up in the face of difficulties: when testimony is firmly grounded in the risen Lord, it also becomes credible. Our testimony begins by showing the love that has looked upon us and raised us up. This is what it means that the Church grows not through proselytism, but through attraction, because the beauty of God's love attracts the beauty of hearts. And with the words of the psalm we can pray: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
SECOND READING
From the Book of Revelation of Saint John the Apostle (Rv 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19)
I, John, your brother and companion in tribulation, in the kingdom and in perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was caught up by the Spirit on the Lord’s day and I 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 to me, and when I 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 I hold the keys of death and of the underworld. Write therefore the things you have seen, those that are and those that are to happen afterwards». – The word of God.
Commentary on the second reading
When John - also the author of the Gospel - writes the Book of Revelation, he is «on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus». He is therefore exiled because of his testimony. «I was caught up by the Spirit on the Lord’s day (Sunday) and I heard behind me a voice… saying: “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven Churches». The features presented here recall the revelation of Sinai, when God spoke with Moses. John must turn around, that is, convert, and precisely because he converts, he sees. The «seven golden lampstands» were present in the temple, and if John now sees «in the midst of the lampstands, one like a Son of man», this means that the new temple is the Son of man, the risen Jesus. Moreover, the fact that this man wore a «long robe reaching to his feet and a golden sash around his chest» - the garment of the priest - indicates that Jesus is the new priest. Faced with all this, John fell «as though dead», but immediately heard: «Do not be afraid! I am the First and the Last, and the Living One», that is, the one who is Life. May John’s testimony - expressed here through rich symbols - support and inspire our faith.
GOSPEL
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 of the place where the disciples were had been closed 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; 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 the disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were closed, and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands; reach 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.” Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, performed many other signs 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, believing, you may have life in his name. - The Gospel of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel
“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week” - An obvious reference to the day of the Resurrection - Jesus bursts into the room, into the lives and hearts of the disciples: “Jesus came and stood among them and said to them: ‘Peace be with you!’” The first gift of Jesus, despite disbelief, denials, and abandonment, is and remains peace. “When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side”: Jesus identifies himself with the Crucified One; he does not hide his identity. He is the Man of Sorrows, crucified, dead, and now risen. This will be the core of the apostles’ first catechesis and of ours. To these fragile men, Jesus renews the task he gave them at the beginning: “As the Father sent me, so I send you”... he breathed on them: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven.” Mercy must be at the heart of the proclamation. In all this, however, Thomas is missing, and he does not believe what he hears from the others. “Eight days later,” Jesus returns among them and, in this case too, does not judge Thomas’s struggle to believe, but meets him where he is and starts precisely from where he stopped: “Put your finger here and look at my hands.” God’s pedagogy deeply respects the pace of our growth, and this experience will enable Thomas to express one of the most beautiful professions of faith: “My Lord and my God!” Let us therefore not fear our struggles, because just as Jesus respected Thomas’s, so he respects ours.
