DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY - SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Jesus said: ‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’ JN 20:29

ACTS 4:32-35 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

It takes an absolute and wholehearted love for God and love for neighbour as oneself to live as the first Christians did. Love alone makes it possible because by nature we are selfish hoarders. We lack the kind of faith that is necessary to believe that if God cares for the sparrows and the flowers in the field how much more will He care for the children He created in His image and likeness.

There is nothing more joyous than in sharing and yet we are so afraid to give fearful that if we give away what we have today we will not have anything left for ourselves tomorrow. The leaders of the the early Church together with its members were united in the Holy Spirit. It was a vibrant Church. It was a Church that was alive with the love of God. The experienced first hand giving and sharing all they had with open hearts and open hands.

Today we are cynical, selfish, tight-fisted, we put our trust in what we own, like the rich man in the parable who had a great harvest and decided to build larger barns so he could live in comfort and not worry about anything anymore. We forget that death can come at any moment and death judgment. 

Beloved, grant us the grace to keep our gaze on the Cross and to make the happy discovery that the more we give away the more we receive. 

None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from them, to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any members who might be in need.

PSALM 117 (118):2-4,15-18,22-24 ©

Let the sons of Israel say:

‘His love has no end.’
Let the sons of Aaron say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let those who fear the Lord say:
‘His love has no end.’

The Lord’s right hand has triumphed;

his right hand raised me up.
I shall not die, I shall live
and recount his deeds.
I was punished, I was punished by the Lord,
but not doomed to die.

The stone which the builders rejected

has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.

1 JOHN 5:1-6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You are the Son of God and since we become members of Your Body through Baptism we are sons and daughters of God. We believe and because we have faith the Spirit of God abides in us.

If we are to be happy we must must be holy and pure like our Father in heaven and we can do so if we keep His Commandments. Sin severs our relationship with Him and we soon discover that apart from God we can do nothing. The Commandments are not given to us to steal our joy and freedom rather we function best and are truly happy when we keep them.  

We are reminded that if we truly love God victory over the world, the flesh and the devil is ours and it will not be difficult to keep His commandments. Today, as the Church celebrates the Feast of Divine Mercy, we thank You Lord, that we have overcome the world because we are Yours.

 

Who can overcome the world?

Only the man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God:
Jesus Christ who came by water and blood,
not with water only,
but with water and blood;
with the Spirit as another witness –
since the Spirit is the truth.

We stand at the foot of the Cross with Your Virgin Mother, the faithful women, and the beloved disciple who represents all the faithful, and as the centurion pierces Your Side we are bathed and washed clean in the flood of mercy that gushes from it. Keep us ever at the foot of the Cross, Lord, so we will always be immersed in Your mercy.

JOHN 20:19-31 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Many of us are paralyzed by fear. Like the disciples, who for fear of the Jews, had locked themselves in the room, so too, do we become locked in ourselves. We place constraints and limitations on ourselves impeding our freedom to be who God has called us to be in You, our Savior, Redeemer and Lord.

Thanks be to God neither locks, walls, or closed doors can prevent You from coming to us and freeing us from the chains which enslave us. The disciples were filled with awe, wonder and joy when You appeared to them and said, 'Peace be with you.' How the human heart longs for peace, Beloved, in a restless, violent, hatefilled world. You O Lord, are our peace. Rooted and grounded in You, Lord, You give us peace that the world cannot give and the world cannot take away.

Thank You, for counting us amount Your disciples. We are members of Your Body and we have been given a mission. It is the same mission given to the disciples - 

‘Peace be with you.
‘As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you.’

Thank You, Lord, for instituting the Sacrament of Reconciliation, without which we would be unable to eat and drink of Your Body and Blood, lest consuming it when we have sinned gravely, we eat and drink destruction to ourselves.

Your breathed the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and You gave them Your own power to forgive sins.

‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’

We thank You for the Church who has faithfully preserved all that Your said and did in the treasury of her Sacred Tradition.

My Beloved, when like Thomas, we ask to see the scars on Your hands and feet and to put our hand in Your side, in order to believe, You do not reject us but invite us to do so. By Your wounds O Lord our wounds are healed and like Thomas we fall on our knees before You in grateful thanks for all You have done for us. For paying a debt we owed but could not pay, and say with gratitude surging from our hearts,  ‘My Lord and my God!’ 

Lord Jesus, I also thank You for counting me in the number of those who are blessed and happy for believing even though we have not seen. 

Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him:
‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’

Beloved, once again I wish to thank You for the Church You founded with You as its Cornerstone and Peter as the Rock on which it is built. In her is found all we need to reach safe harbour - Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium. Thank You!

There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.