In today’s readings for the Second Sunday of Easter we hear two accounts of Jesus appearing to his followers. The first account comes from the Gospel of John when Jesus appeared to his disciples in a locked room where they were cowering in fear. The second account is from a vision of Jesus in his glory found in the Revelation to John. In both these accounts Jesus assures his followers that he has conquered death and that they are not to be afraid.
What really struck me in the readings today was the remarkable transformation of the disciples from timid cowards hiding in a locked room that we see in John’s Gospel to bold and forthright apostles carrying on Jesus’ work that we see in the Acts of the Apostles (our first reading today). The force of the Holy Spirit that God bestowed on the apostles was so powerful that people believed Peter’ shadow falling on them could heal them. St Luke tells us that while many people were still afraid to join the apostles in their ministry, they “esteemed them” and became believers.
Just as Jesus came to the disciples hiding behind locked doors, he comes to us today empowering us to rejoice in his Resurrection. He invites us to share in his Resurrection and life of glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He invites us to join his pain and suffering with our own pain and suffering so that dying with him we may also rise with him. In our confirmation we receive the same Holy Spirit that was given to the apostles. The words Jesus said to them he says to us “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (JN 20: 21). Over the next seven weeks we have the opportunity to reflect on the Resurrection of Jesus and the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. This feast is especially significant for us when we reflect on what is happening in our world. Rather than becoming fearful or despondent, Divine Mercy Sunday focuses our attention on the gifts of mercy and love given through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. As Pope John Paul II stated, “Divine Mercy reaches human beings through the heart of Christ crucified.”
And so, we pray:
God, merciful Father,
in your Son, Jesus Christ, you have revealed your love
and poured it out upon us in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter,
We entrust to you today the destiny of the world
and of every man and woman.
Bend down to us sinners,
heal our weakness,
conquer all evil,
and grant that all the peoples of the earth
may experience your mercy.
In You, the Triune God,
may they ever find the source of hope.
Eternal Father,
by the Passion and Resurrection of your Son,
have mercy on us and upon the whole world!
St Pope John Paul II
