Christ, Conduits
of Divine Mercy!
Homily Second
Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) ABC: Fr. Michael U. Udoekpo
· Acts 2:42-47;
· Ps
118:2-4,13-15,22-24;
· 1 Pet 1:3-9 (A);
· Acts 4:32-35;
· 1 John 5:1-6 (B);
· Acts 5:12-16; Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13,17-19 (C)
· John 20:19-31(ABC)
Today the Church
celebrates “Divine Mercy Sunday” commemorating Jesus’ revelations to Saint
Faustina on the Divine Mercy. Pope John Paul II granted this Feast to the
Universal Church on the occasion of his raising Sr. Faustina, a young Polish
woman to Sainthood on April 30, 2000 and was decreed to be celebrated on the
2nd Sunday of Easter.
It is a
teaching Sunday that invites us to embrace Christ’s enthronement
on the Cross, his Resurrection and his multiple appearances to his seemingly
disillusioned and doubting disciples as nothing, but acts of love and
divine mercy towards us. Christ went to the cross freely to save us!
(Song- "all the way to Calvary... went for us..."). Peter in the
Second reading, particularly of Year A recognizes this when he says
“Blessed be the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet
1:3-9).
Christ’s disciples
particularly those who lived through the events of Palm Sunday to Easter needed
the power of Christ’s Peace to calm their fears and be strengthened in the
supernatural gifts of faith and fortitude through the Holy Spirit., wherever
they were hiding for fear of the "Jews."
I am sure we still
recall the other day, in Luke Chapter 24: 13-35, at Emmaus, when Jesus walked
besides Cleopas and his friend on their return from Jerusalem, clouded in sad
conversation they did not recognized Jesus until the Risen Christ spent time
breaking bread with them. Besides, walking with his disciples, or breaking
bread with them in other appearances, he ate baked fish with them (Lk
24:35-48) and also gave them encouraging instruction by the beach at the Sea of
Tiberias (John 21:1-14)
Today again in
John 20:19-31 the Risen Lord appears to the restless and frightened disciples
with blessings of Peace (Shalom)! He breathes on them and commissions them on a
preaching mission with the power to forgive sins, “whose sins you forgive are
forgiven them and whose sins you retain are retained” (Jon 20:23).
On a day like
this, Divine Mercy Sunday, I would think that Our Lord encourages us to be
merciful to one another, in our homes, families and communities, and to
continue to appreciate the gift of the sacrament of reconciliation in the
Church. And when this celebration in done in a Seminary, a house of formation
of future priest for our parishes and dioceses we cannot but continue to pray
for our priests and would be priests to see themselves as ministers of Divine
Mercy and agents of shalom. And this is confirm in 2011 documents from
the Congregation for the Clergy, The Priest, Minister of Divine Mercy….p.
3 which says, ‘ the priest is a minister, that is to say that he is at the same
time both a servant and a prudent dispenser of Divine Mercy…”
The Holy Father,
Pope Benedict the XVI in his 2010 Pastoral Letter to the Catholics
of Ireland, which is also applicable to every priests (and all of us)
urges priests themselves (and us) who have wrong others, “not to be “despair of
God’s Mercy,” that “Christ’s redeeming sacrifice has the power to forgive even
the gravest of sins, and to bring forth good from even the most terrible evil.”
Divine Mercy is
sufficient unto each of us, all the disciples- mom, dad, children, clergy,
priests, Seminarians, as it was for all men, and women we hear in Scriptures.
Besides
encouraging us to be "masters of divine mercy", Christ invites
us like Thomas to touch his wounds (John 20:19-31); wounds that would
heal Thomas’ wounds of disbelief and faithlessness; wounds that replaces lack
of peace with Peace of Christ; wounds that replaces the spirit of darkness with
God’s Spirit of Light. Christ’s wounds, a catalyst for testimony of the healing
truth, courage, unlimited mercy and inexhaustible love of Christ. Thomas
touches wounds of love, unity; wounds that would empower communion, the sharing
(konoinia) and the preaching of the early Christian Community.
This we are told
in Acts of the Apostle,
“All who believed
were together… (as we are today in this church) they devoted themselves to the
teaching of the apostles and to the communal life (konoinia), breaking of bread
and praying together….” (Acts 2:42-47).
Moreover,
“They were of
one heart and mind and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common…they bore witness to the Resurrection of
Christ…” (Acts 4:32-35).
Like Thomas, Mary
Magdalene, Peter, Cleopas, and the Eleven Disciples, we all do have moments of
doubt, uncertainties, confusions, disbelief, hopelessness, selfishness and
frustrations. Conscious also of those moments we might have acted
uncharitably or mercilessly towards our neighbors, we are invited today to deep
our hands into those wounds of Christ! And be filled with faith and
strengthen by Christ, our wounded healer!
The Eucharist we
shall soon move up to celebrates provides us a fitting opportunity to deep our
fingers into these wounds of Christ. As we come up today to receive, May
we be strengthen with mercy, love (1 John 5:1-6), hope (1 Pet 1:3-9), faith and
unity to say with Thomas “my Lord and My God.”
And may our
families, streets, neighborhoods, churches and workplaces continue to be true
channels and conduits for the transmission of Divine Mercy and faith in the
Risen Christ.
Reflection
Questions
1.
Do we act
mercifully unto our neighbors?
2.
What prevents us
from recognizing Christ’s presence in our midst?
3.
How do we relate
to today’s scripture readings?
Deeping our Hands
into the Wounds of Christ!
Homily Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)
ABC: Reflections - Fr. Michael U. Udoekpo
·
Acts 2:42-47;
·
Ps 118:2-4,13-15,22-24;
·
1 Pet 1:3-9 (A);
·
Acts 4:32-35; 1 John 5:1-6 (B);
·
Acts 5:12-16; Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13,17-19 (C)
·
John 20:19-31(ABC)
From Easter Sunday
to Pentecost the Church celebrates those fifty days that the Risen Jesus goes
around by his appearances strengthening the faith of his “seemingly”
disillusioned disciples over the events of the victory of the Cross; that
supernatural event beyond the powers of Anna, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin and
Pilate other opponents of Jesus. Even it took a while, for friends of Christ,
his mother, Mary Magdalene, his disciples, the apostles, especially Thomas,
being human like any of us to come to terms with the mystery of the
Resurrection (John 20:24-29). He needed to deep his hands in his wounds!
They needed the
power of Christ’s Peace (love, reassurance, well-being, “okeyness”) to calm their
fears and be strengthened in the supernatural gifts of faith and fortitude by
the Holy Spirit, wherever they were hiding for fear of persecution. You will
recall the other day, in Luke Chapter 24: 13-35, at Emmaus, when Jesus walked
besides Cleopas and his friend on their return from Jerusalem, clouded in sad
conversation they did not recognized Jesus until the Risen Christ spent time
breaking bread with them. Besides, walking with his disciples, or breaking
bread with them in other appearances, he ate baked fish with them (Lk
24:35-48) and also gave them encouraging instruction by the beach at the Sea of
Tiberias (John 21:1-14)
In today’s
Gospel the Risen Lord invites Thomas to touch his wounds (John 20:19-31);
wounds that would heal Thomas’ wounds of disbelief and faithlessness;
wounds that replaces lack of peace with Peace of Christ; wounds that replaces
the spirit of darkness with God’s Spirit of Light. Thomas touches wounds of
testimony to the healing truth, courage, unlimited mercy and inexhaustible love
of Christ. He touches wounds of love, unity; wounds that would empower
communion and the sharing and the preaching of the early Christian Community.
We are told in
Acts of the Apostle,
“All who believed
were together… (as we are today in this church) they devoted themselves to
teaching of the apostles and to the communal life (konoinia), breaking of bread
and praying together….” (Acts 2:42-47).
Moreover, “They
were of one heart and mind and no one claimed that any of his possessions was
his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the Apostles bore
witness to the Resurrection of Christ…” (Acts 4:32-35).
You want to see
what unity and the power of togetherness can offer, as individual, families,
Church, religious/seminary communities and even as a nation
Their witnesses
and togetherness were blessed with the spirit of sharing, faith, communing with
one another; that same communion that our first communion friends and children
will be sharing with us during these Sundays, between now and the Pentecost.
Like Thomas, Mary
Magdalene, Peter, Cleopas, and the Eleven Disciples we all do have moments of
doubt, uncertainties, confusions, disbelief, hopeless and frustrations.
Conscious of those moments we are invited today to deep our hands into
those wounds of Christ! And be faith- filled, healed and strengthen by
Christ our wounded healer!
The Eucharist we
shall soon move up to celebrates provides us a fitting opportunity to deep our
fingers into the wounds of Christ. As we come up today to receive, May we
be strengthen with mercy, love (1 John 5:1-6), hope (1 Pet 1:3-9), faith and
unity to say with Thomas “my Lord and My God.”
Also may our
society and the Church be blessed with fruitful Evangelization, Spirit of
Sharing, Peace, Love (1 John 5:1-6), hope (1 Pet 1:3-9), faith and unity. And
may our families, streets, neighborhood, churches and workplaces continue to be
channels and conduits for evangelization and transmission of faith in the Risen
Christ.
Reflection Questions
1.
What prevents us
from believing?
2.
When we believe
finally like Thomas, do we invite our neighbors to do same?
3.
How often do we
allow ourselves, and families to act as agents and channels of evangelization,
including agents of divine mercy?
