Today is the 2nd Sunday of Easter and with it we conclude the Octave of Easter. We know that Easter is the most solemn of all Christian feasts. And it is so great an event that one day of celebration does not suffice. We needed eight days of liturgical celebrations to contemplate and assimilate the Easter mysteries.

On this 2nd Sunday of Easter, every year we have the same Gospel Reading. It begins with the narration of the first appearance of the Risen Lord to his disciples on the day of Easter. It then goes on to narrate the appearance of the Risen Lord to Thomas, who was absent on the day of Easter, along with the other disciples. The latter incident took place on the eighth day of Easter (like today).

The 2^nd Sunday of Easter is also known as the ‘Divine Mercy Sunday.’ Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Sr. Faustina and promised that he would bestow his Divine Mercy to any sinner who totally repents of his/her sins, no matter how grave, our Lord would not refuse any soul that seeks his mercy. In brief, this Sunday invites us to contemplate the mercy of God. We experience this Divine Mercy very tangibly in the sacrament of reconciliation and all that God gives to us out of His compassion and merciful love. So, today is also the feast of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In today's Gospel, Jesus gives authority to his disciples to forgive sins saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” This is a Divine power given to his disciples and handed down to his Church and to our priests. But it is God who really gives pardon and peace. This understanding is still maintained in the formula of absolution that the priest says during the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation:
“God, the Father of mercies, through the death and the resurrection of His Son has reconciled the world to Himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is always an experience of God's Divine mercy upon us.
 
It is on the very day of his resurrection that Jesus Christ, risen and triumphant, made his first appearance to his disciples who in fear hid behind locked doors. The appearance of the Risen Lord was meant to calm their fearful hearts and to change their doubting minds. To further strengthen the fear-stricken disciples to continue from where He stopped, the Risen Lord appeared to them again eight days later and stood in their midst and again said to them, “Peace be with you.” Jesus confronted the doubt of Thomas with the stigmata of his passion. Thomas’ resistance and unbelief broke down completely in the face of the Risen Lord. He then uttered the ultimate Christian profession of faith: “My Lord and my God!” The Risen Lord, however, exhorted him to a greater faith by asking; “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Today’s Gospel thus is also an exhortation to us 'to believe without seeing.'

Therefore, the Gospel is apt for the celebration of Divine Mercy as well as to confront doubt. Do you know why Christ, showed the Apostles His hands and His side? A clean or stylized crucifix does not tell the whole story. This may explain why Christ kept the marks of his wounds on his risen body. You would think that a risen body should be perfect. On the contrary, the wounds were necessary to help the Apostles remember or recognize him.
 
As we are celebrating “Divine Mercy Sunday” and are joyfully proclaiming - “I WILL SING OF THE MERCIES OF THE LORD...” Let us remember that the message behind the Upper Room appearance is that Jesus wants the disciples to know that His Church is founded on forgiveness and has a mission to bring about peace through forgiveness. This is why he did not only forgive them but also commissioned them to continue his mission of salvation and forgiveness of sin. It is also to be noted that while the first gift of Easter is joy, the second one is peace. Anything that comes against joy and peace in our lives is not good for us. Therefore, the person who fails to forgive his/her neighbor does lose his/her identity as a Christian. In the same way, the one who doubts his/her faith loses true peace of mind and body. As ambassadors we are to represent Jesus and become channels of his peace. And this is the Good News of today.

May our Spiritual Communion today, we pray, help us to experience the mercy and love of God in our life.