Divine Mercy Sunday

Happy Easter and Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

As we reflect on today’s gospel, I’d love to look at the reality that it is the Lord who always comes to us first, and it’s from this move that He comes to offer us His Divine Mercy.

Often, we think that we must go to God first to receive forgiveness. That He is waiting with arms crossed withholding His love until we come back to him crawling on our knees. That is not the case!

Looking at Thomas, we see clearly that he lacks faith in the Resurrection of Jesus. However, notice how Jesus comes first to meet Thomas in his unbelief. “Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.’” Upon revealing Himself to the Apostles, Jesus could condemn Thomas right then and there for his lack of faith, or He even could’ve ignored Thomas until he came and repented. Thankfully, we know this is not the nature of our God! We have a God who came all the way down from heaven to become one with us in our humanity. He embraced the limits and sufferings of our fallen state. He came down to die with us. All of this, to invite us to receive His Divine Mercy and rise with Him!

So how can we begin to receive this same Divine Mercy? What if we continue to turn to the places in which He is perpetually coming down to meet us? The Sacraments, the Scriptures, in the Poor. In all of these, Jesus comes to meet us where we are and then invites us to rise with Him anew. If we are moved by this reality of the Incarnation, of God coming to us, let us consider which of these numerous ways we are being called to encounter Him and rise anew through His Divine Mercy this Easter Season.

-Timothy Broderick, Penn FOCUS Team Director