DIVINE MERCY: THE HEART OF THE RISEN CHRIST

Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter, Year C

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Biblical Texts: Acts 5:12-16; Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31

Every Second Sunday of Easter, the Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday - a feast formally instituted by Pope St. John Paul II in 2000 at the canonization of St. Faustina, the Apostle of Divine Mercy. It is a special invitation to contemplate the infinite ocean of God’s mercy poured out through the Paschal Mystery. Through his passion, death, and resurrection, Christ opened for us the inexhaustible treasury of Divine Mercy. Today, the Church invites us to enter this mystery deeply and allow God’s mercy to transform our lives.

Today’s Gospel reading takes us back to the evening of Easter Sunday. The disciples were gathered in fear behind locked doors (John 20:19). Fear, shame, and confusion dominated their hearts. Then, suddenly, Jesus appeared in their midst. He entered into their fear, not with reproach and condemnation, but with peace: “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). The peace Jesus offers is not simply the absence of conflict; it is the shalom - the fullness of blessing, reconciliation, and right relationship with God. Peace is therefore the first fruit of the Resurrection. 

Jesus then breathed on them: “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). This breath reminds us of the creation of man in Genesis 2:7, where God breathed life into Adam. In the Resurrection, Christ breathes new life into fallen humanity, creating a new people redeemed by mercy. Then, he entrusted them with a sacred mission: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them” (John 20:22-23). This is the institution of the Sacrament of Reconciliation - the concrete channel through which Divine Mercy flows into the world through the Church.

During the first appearance of Jesus, Thomas was absent and refused to believe without empirical proof (John 20:25). Thomas’ doubt was not just skepticism; it is the cry of every wounded heart seeking certainty. A week later, Jesus appeared again and addressing Thomas personally, he said: “Put your finger here and see my hands” (John 20:27). Note, Jesus did not reject Thomas in his doubt; rather, he met him in his weakness. Divine Mercy accommodates human frailty, leading it to deeper faith. 

Thomas’ confession, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28), is the highest Christological confession in the Gospel. When we encounter Mercy Incarnate, doubt gives way to adoration. Jesus’ beatitude extends to all future believers: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Faith becomes the new mode of encountering the Risen Lord - a faith rooted in trust in God’s mercy.

The mercy Christ breathed into the apostles continues to manifest in the life of the early Church, as the first reading from Acts shows. The miraculous healings through Peter were not magical performances but signs of the Risen Christ working through his Church. Mercy is not just a message we preach but a life we live. The Church must become a home for the wounded and the broken (Acts 5:12–16).

Today’s celebration reminds us: No sin is greater than God’s mercy; no darkness is stronger than the light of the Risen Christ. If we open our hearts, he will fill us with peace, heal our wounds, and send us forth as missionaries of mercy. As Jesus said to St. Faustina: “Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My Mercy” (Diary, 300). As such, filled with the peace of the Risen Lord and renewed by his mercy, let us go forth - bringing hope, forgiveness, and healing to a world thirsting for mercy. Amen.