Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today is the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday which was started under St. Pope John Paul II. I am sure you are familiar with the image which has two rays coming from the heart of Jesus, one is white, and the other is red. Jesus said to St. Faustina that the white ray symbolizes water which makes us holy (in Baptism), and the red symbolizes blood that is the life of souls.
God speaks to us from the heart of Christ and with the words of his Son. We surely need the Lord today and he has something for us today and always. I know for sure that the Lord loves you and me today. He shows us this love in two very important ways that are simple and almost silly. He speaks to us. When you fight with your spouse or a friend, what is the first thing you do? You stop talking to them. You may even block their number. When the fight is over, you unblock it. It is a clear sign of God’s love that he continues to speak to us and gives us a word. He will always love us and hopefully today you have the certainty of his love and mercy.
There is another simple sign as well. It is the Paschal candle, which will burn for fifty days. In this parish it will never burn out because it is three feet tall and four inches thick. It is never spent and therefore is a sign of his love. At the Easter vigil we heard in the words of the Exultet, may the morning star find this flame still burning, the morning star that never sets. It is a sign of the Risen Lord. It is a light that enlightens us, helps us and makes the Lord’s love visible to us. Whenever we see a lit candle, it means that God is loving us.
Also, the Paschal candle has five wounds or symbols of the wounds still in the body of Christ. They are a sign of his mercy and his love for you. We see in the gospel the glorious body of Christ, which is different from his body that he had here on earth. We don’t know how it will be in heaven when we see him face to face and perhaps what was recorded in the gospels are hints of how his body and our body will be in heaven. In the gospels this week Jesus was not recognized when he appeared. Mary Magdalene thought he was a gardener and did not recognize him until he said her name. She responds to him and calls him Master. He then said to her, do not touch me until I have ascended to the Father. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus spent the whole day with him, walking, talking, eating and did not know him until the breaking of the bread, which was the Eucharist.
The glorious body of Christ is different from his physical body. Notice there is no blood, no thorns from the crown, it is not disfigured from the beatings he received. Those signs are gone, and his body is like new except for these five wounds. Why does his body have those five wounds and not the other marks? I sense it is because he wants you to realize the mercy of God that you can see in the Divine Mercy image. His body has the five wounds that are open out of love for you. We can be like Thomas and able to touch them.
St. Thomas has a bad reputation because he doubted, or was ungrateful, but today we see that he is the greatest of the Eleven. He is the most sincere. The other apostles had seen Christ the week before and probably even touched him. All of us need to touch him to believe, everyone, everyone. Even Mary Magdalene touched him, and he stopped her. It is good to hear the witness of the others, but all of us need to touch him. What joy that you can put yourself into Jesus Christ. That is amazing! And today you can have a better grace even than Thomas’. Not only can you touch the Risen Lord, but he can also enter inside of you. Thomas would did of envy.
Today I don’t enter him, but he enters me in Communion. What a wonder that you can touch his love and mercy. If you have a serious sin, you should confess your sins before receiving him. The disciples are like mirrors for us. You can see yourself in them. I see how I am locked in fear many times. After the Easter Vigil I was free of it, but now I am back locked up again. Why? Out of fear of death, like the apostles who were afraid of death that they would be crucified. It was because of fear of death. If you love you spouse unconditionally, you think you will die. She or he will take advantage of me; I will have to suffer injustice; I will be a slave. If Christ conquered death I don’t have to be afraid of dying. I can love the other. I can die to my disordered sexuality or my selfishness or my always having the last word. I am no longer closed in a bubble, working on my projects. I don’t need to return to my sins.
Jesus stands into the middle of the room, and he doesn’t have a stick to correct them. He says several times, “Peace be with you.” How can you tell if a word is from God and not the Evil One? When it is from God, you have peace. If it is not from God, you will be anxious, uneasy, not at peace. St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Founder of the Jesuits was very good at discerning what was from God and what was not. Christ always brings peace.
And how do I know that Christ passed for me tonight or in any Eucharist? You can tell because of your deeds, your spirit of service. His presence transforms us. The road to hell is paved with pretty words but when we have Christ we act, we love, we die to ourselves.
Ask for this gift of faith, for the gift of prayer, which is always a battle. Prayer makes it possible to see that God loves you. He will help you and me to do the works of eternal life.