April 16th, 2023 - Second Sunday of Easter/Divine Mercy Sunday

The patron saint for doubters is featured in today’s gospel. At first, Thomas stubbornly insisted on seeing and touching the nail marks in Jesus’ hands and the spear marks in his side before letting go of his doubts that Jesus had risen from the dead.  So, Jesus obliged him. As a result, by the end of this gospel episode, Doubting Thomas becomes Thomas the Apostle, and he speaks powerful words of faith to his risen Savior, “My Lord and my God!”

St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun in the 1930s had a series of visions of Jesus.  In one of these visions, Jesus said to St. Faustina: “There is no human misery that could be a match for my mercy.  The soul that trusts in my mercy is fortunate… because I myself will take care of it.”  Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, a day in which the Church gives us a golden opportunity to acknowledge our lack of faith, our struggle to trust, and the burden of our human weakness and sins, whatever they may be.  And, in turn, it is a day to receive the Lord’s mercy in abundance.