“FIRST IMPRESSIONS”
2nd SUNDAY OF EASTER (A) April 12, 2026
(Or Sunday of Divine Mercy)
Acts 2: 42-47; Psalm 118; 1 Peter 1: 3-9; John 20: 19-31
By: Jude Siciliano, OP
Dear Preachers:
In the Catholic community today, the Second Sunday of Easter is called “Sunday of Divine Mercy.” Actually, any Sunday could be called Divine Mercy Sunday—or any Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, etc. Today we are invited to see the Resurrection not only as a victory over death, but as the opening of God’s heart in mercy. The Gospel today (John 20:19–31) shows mercy in action through the risen Jesus Christ and his encounter with his fearful disciples and with “the doubter,” Thomas the Apostle.
Note the encouraging details in today’s story. The disciples are hiding in fear, shame, and uncertainty. Yet Jesus does not wait for them to get their act together and become brave or faithful. Instead, he comes to them as they are and says, “Peace be with you.” On this Divine Mercy Sunday, the Word proclaims that God’s mercy reaches us where we are – in our locked rooms of grief, regrets, failures, and anxieties. He reassures them, and us, that we do not have to be perfect to receive God’s mercy. The risen Christ comes to fearful hearts, not just to faithful ones.
Jesus breathes the Spirit on the disciples and gives them the ministry of sharing what he has given them – the ministry of forgiveness. “Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you forgive are forgiven them….” We are not only forgiven and comforted today for our failures as Christ’s disciples; we are also given a mission. We believers become a people called to extend patience, reconciliation, and compassion in families, workplaces, schools, and parish life.
Mercy is the Church’s identity, not just one of our devotions. We knock on the door of one who has offended us. When they ask, “Who’s there?” we answer, “It is I, a forgiving person, and I have come to forgive.”
However, mercy also makes room for doubt. The disciples, like Thomas, have doubts, questions, and struggles. Jesus did not reject Thomas, nor does he reject us. He invites us to touch his wounds. On this Divine Mercy Sunday, our faith community must be a safe place for honest questions – yes, even our own honest questions and fragile faith. Have you ever shared your doubts with another member of your faith community? Did you receive a compassionate hearing, without judgment or the imposition of guilt?
Who does not have doubts, especially during personal struggles that push our faith to its limits? Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it can be the doorway to deeper faith. The bottom line: mercy listens before it judges. The wounds of Christ have not disappeared; they are the source of mercy. Jesus shows them to Thomas. His wounds are not erased by the Resurrection; they are transformed into signs of love. As Pope John Paul II taught, the mercy of God flows from the wounded heart of Christ.
This has consequences for us, the faith community. Our own wounds can become places of grace. God’s mercy does not deny suffering. Jesus comes into a fearful, broken community and redeems it. His first word to them—and to us—is “Peace.” He speaks the same word three times: “Peace.” This is his first Easter gift—not certainty, not triumph, but peace in the midst of fear and anxiety. We are reminded today that resurrection faith grows in real life, not in ideal conditions.
We are consoled by the story of Thomas the Apostle. He voices what we may feel: our disappointment and our need for assurance. Still, Jesus does not reject him. He returns a week later and meets Thomas exactly where he is. This tells us that the Lord is patient with our slow faith. He keeps coming back to us, Sunday after Sunday, each time we gather in worship. So our prayer today can be brief and to the point: “Thank God for Thomas.”
We are invited by God’s Word today to bring our fears into the assembly. The risen Christ meets us behind locked doors. Here, once again, we receive our mission: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
We are sent by Easter faith to look outward toward reconciliation and mercy.
We trust the quiet presence of the risen Christ among us. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” We believers live by trust, not by dramatic signs.
Today the Gospel assures us that the Easter season is not about sustaining emotional excitement, but about learning to recognize the steady presence of the risen Lord in Word, Sacrament, and community life.
In short: one week after Easter, the message we receive is simple and hopeful – Christ still comes, still speaks words of peace, and still sends us out into our world, even when our faith feels unfinished.
Click here for a link to this Sunday’s readings: