DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY (B) 8th April 2018

The reflections for Sundays and Solemnities is an activity of Society of St Paul, India

A Reflection by:
FR THOMAS MJ, SSP,
SOCIETY OF ST PAUL, MUMBAI, INDIA.
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We are on the second Sunday of Easter and we have two important themes for our reflection: first, the faith proclamation of St Thomas the apostle and secondly, reflections on the feast of Divine Mercy.
Without mentioning the word “mercy”, the readings of today illustrate mercy in action. What does this mercy mean to us? It comes from the Latin word misericordia, which is composed of two words—miseri and cordia. Put together it means to possess a heart for those who suffer or more precisely, to have a heart willing to suffer for others.
The first reading of today from the Acts of the Apostles presents an ideal situation that we all dream of—a situation where the early Christians translated mercy into action. They were so filled with the Holy Spirit that “no one claimed any of his/her possession as his own. Rather they sold everything and brought the proceeds to the apostles who in turn distributed to it to the members according to their need.”
The idea is to receive from each according to his/her ability and to distribute to each according to his/her need. Indeed an ideal situation because here we have people who have one heart and one soul, people who considered their personal possessions as belonging to others as well, and they willed to share with those in need, and all are happy. Is this not the ideal we all long to see in our society?
The Acts of mercy calls us to corporal works of mercy like—to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, and spiritual works of mercy like—to convert the sinner, counsel the doubtful and bear the wrongs of others patiently.
The gospel narrative we read today starts on that first Easter Sunday. After Jesus has appeared to Mary in the garden, He goes to the room where the rest of his disciples are holed up. They don’t come out because of fear of the Jews. And suddenly Jesus appears, despite the locked doors, and he says “peace be with you”. Thus the Risen Lord comes as the source of peace. This peace that Jesus won for us had cost him his blood, his very life.
For the bad luck of Thomas, he missed Jesus on his first visit to the disciples after the resurrection. May be Thomas was out to get the errand or to know the latest developments around. For whatever reason, Thomas missed a wonderful opportunity and when he returns, the other disciples tell him what had happened. Naturally he was upset and demanded a personal encounter with Jesus.
Eight days later we witness Apostle Thomas’ encounter with the Risen Lord. Thomas is permitted to touch his wounds as he wished and recognize the human and divine identity of Jesus of Nazareth and declared with deep personal conviction, “My Lord and My God!”
The wounds of Jesus shown to Thomas are wounds of Mercy. Our Lord took his wounds with him to eternity. He is a wounded God; He let himself be injured because of his love for us. And he continues to allow himself to be wounded for our sake. Every time you and I are ill-treated and suppressed, undergo suffering, our Lord continues to get wounded.
Today Jesus invites us to behold these wounds, to touch them as Thomas did, in order to heal our lack of belief. Above all, he invites us to enter into the mystery of these wounds, which is the mystery of his merciful love.
Through these wounds, we can see the entire mystery of Christ and of God: His life – filled with compassion for the weak and the sick. God's mercy accompanies us daily. To be able to perceive his mercy, it suffices to have a heart that is alert. Saint Bernard, reflecting on the Canticle of Canticles says that “through these sacred wounds of Jesus we can see the secret of Christ’s heart, the great mystery of love, the sincerity of his mercy with which he visited us from on high”.
Today we stop to ask ourselves: what’s my contribution towards making my home, my community and my society an ideal place for all to live? What’s my attitude towards the wounded humanity and what works of mercy do I undertake in order to heal their wounds?

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