Belief in Christ overcomes the world

Second Sunday of Easter

It-Tieni Ħadd ta' l-Għid

Messalin B 279

Reading 1             Acts 4:32-35

The community of believers was 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 the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need. This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari        mill-Ktieb tal-Atti tal-Appostli 4, 32-35

Il-kotra kbira ta' dawk li emmnu  kienu qalb waħda u ruħ waħda. Ħadd minnhom ma kien igħid li dak li kellu  kien tiegħu, iżda kellhom kollox flimkien.    B'qawwa kbira l-appostli kienu jagħtu  xhieda tal-qawmien tal-Mulej Ġesu',  u kulħadd kien iġibhom ħafna. Ħadd minnhom ma kien jonqsu  xejn; għax kull min  kellu oqsma jew djar kien ibigħhom, u l-flus li jdaħħal minnhom, kien imur iqegħeduhom f'riġlejn l-apposlti.   Imbagħad kien jitqassam kollox skont  il-ħtieġa ta' kull wieħed.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej       

Responsorial Psalm    PSALM 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

R. (1) Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.

Let the house of Israel say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let the house of Aaron say,
"His mercy endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say,
"His mercy endures forever."              R.

I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:                         R.

The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.                        R.

Salm Responsorjali                 Salm 117 (118))

            R/  Faħħru l-Mulej, għaliex hu tajjeb, għax it-tjieba  tiegħu għal dejjem!

Ħa jgħidu wlied Israel: 

"Għal dejjem it-tjieba tiegħu"!

Ħa tgħid  dar  Aron:

"Għal dejjem it-tjieba tiegħu."

Ħa jgħidu dawk li jibżgħu mill-Mulej:

"Għal dejjem It-tjieba tiegħu."                          R/

Il-leminija tal-Mulej 'il fuq merfugħa,

il-leminija tal-Mulej għamlet ħwejjeġ ta' ħila.

Ma mmutx, imma nibqa' ngħix,

u nħabbar l-egħmjjel tal-Mulej.

Haqarni  tassew il-Mulej,

imma ma telaqnix għal-mewt.                        R/

Il-ġebla li warrbu l-bennejja

saret il-ġebla tax-xewka.

Bis-saħħa tal-Mulej seħħ dan:

ħaġa tal-għaġeb f'għajnejna.

Dan hu l-jum li għamel il-Mulej;

ħa nifirħu u nithennew fih!                               R/

Reading 2             1 John 5:1-6

Beloved: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the Father loves also the one begotten by him. In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth. This is the Word of the Lord.

It-Tieni Qari   mill-Ewwel Ittra ta’ San Ġwann  5, 1-6

Egħżież,  kull min jemmen li Ġesu' hu l-Messija hu mwieled minn Alla, u kull min iħobb lill-Missier  iħobb lil twieled minnu.    Minn dan nafu li nħobbu  lil ulied Alla, meta nħobbu 'l Alla u nagħmlu l-Kmandamenti tiegħu.   Għax din hi l-imħabba ta' Alla,  li nżommu  l-Kmandamenti tiegħu;u l-Kmandamenti tiegħu  m'humiex tqal: għax kull min hu mwieled minn Alla jegħleb  lid-dinja.   Din hi r-rebħa fuq id-dinja: il-fidi tagħna. Għax min hu dak li jegħleb lid-dinja, jekk mħux min jemmen  li Ġesu' hu l-Iben ta' Alla?   Dan huwa dak li ġie bl-ilma u d-demm,   Ġesu' Kristu;   mhux bl-ilma biss, iżda bl-ilma u d-demm. U l-Ispirtu hu li jixhed, għax l-Ispirtu hu l-verita'. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                  John 20:19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked,  and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." 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." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen  me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name. This is the Word of the Lord.

Evanġelju    Qari skont San Ġwann 20, 19-31

Dakinhar filgħaxija, fl-ewwel jum tal-ġimgħa,  meta d-dixxipli kienu flimkien imbeżżgħa mil-Lhud, bil-bibien magħluqa,  ġie Ġesu' u qagħad f'nofshom;  u qalilhom: "Is-Sliem għalikom!"  Kif qal hekk, uriehom idejh u ġenbu.Id-dixxipli ferħu meta raw il-Mulej, Imbagħad Ġesu' tenna jgħidilhom: Is-Sliem għalikom!  Kif  il-Missier  bagħat lili, hekk jien nibgħat lilkom." Kif qal hekk, nefaħ fuqhom  u qalilhom: "Ħudu l-Ispirtu s-Santu.  Dawk  li taħfrulhom  dnubiethom  jkunu maħfura. u dawk li  żżommuhomlhom  jkunu miżmuma." Tumas,  wieħed mit-Tnax, jgħidulu t-Tewmi, ma kienx magħhom meta ġie Ġesu'.  Għalhekk  id-dixxipli l-oħra qalulu: "Rajna  lill Mulej".  Iżda hu qalilhom:  "Jekk ma narax f'idejh il-marka  ta' l-imsiemer, u ma nqigħedx sebgħi fuq il-marka  tal-imsiemer u idi fuq ġenbu, jien ma nemminx". Tmint ijiem wara, id-dixxipli reġgħu kienu ġewwa, u Tumas  magħhom.   Il-bibien  kienu magħluqa,  imma Ġesu'  daħal, qagħad f'nofshom, u qalilhom: "Is-Sliem għalikom!"   Imbagħad qal lil Tumas: "Ġib sebgħek  hawn u ara idejja, u ressaq idek u  qegħedha fuq ġenbi; tkunnnnnx bniedem bla fidi, iżda emmen."     Wieġb Tumas u qallu:  "Mulej tiegħi u Alla tiegħi!" Qallu Ġesu':  "Emmint għax rajtni!   Ħenjin dawk li ma rawx u emmnu". Hemm ħafna  sinjali oħra li Ġesu' għamel quddiem  id-dixxipli tiegħu u li mhumiex imniżżla f'dan il-Ktieb.Iżda dawn inkitbu biex intom temmnu li Ġesu' hu l-Messija l-Iben Alla, u biex bit-twemmin tagħkom ikollkom il-ħajja f'Ismu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

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Allowing the Presence of the Risen Jesus to Make a Difference

Commentary by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB

There is a proverb that says: "When the heart is not applied, hands can't do anything." It seems as if this were written for Thomas the Apostle in today's very familiar Gospel story that provides us with an archetypal experience of doubt, struggle and faith.

John's first appearance of the Risen Lord to the disciples is both intense and focused. It is evening, the first day of the week, and the doors were bolted shut. Anxious disciples are sealed inside. A suspicious, hostile world is forced tightly outside. Jesus is missing. Suddenly, the Risen One defies locked doors, blocked hearts, and distorted vision and simply appears. Jesus reaches out ever so gently to the broken and wounded Apostle. Thomas hesitatingly put his finger into the wounds of Jesus and love flowed out. How can you hear this story without thinking of Caravaggio's magnificent painting of this scene?

Who is this Thomas? He, along with many of the other male disciples, stood before the cross, not comprehending. Thomas' dreams were hanging on that cross and his hopes had been shattered. Over the years I have come to see Thomas as truly one of the greatest and most honest lovers of Jesus, not the eternal skeptic, nor the bullish, stubborn personality that the Christian tradition has often painted. I have never enjoyed being called "doubting Thomas" when I was growing up, simply because I liked to ask questions! I used to secretly hope that I was named after Aquinas, More, Becket or Villanova. But my mother insisted that it was the Apostle they chose for me!

Thomas' struggle and ours

What do we do when something to which we have totally committed ourselves is destroyed before our very eyes? What do we do when powerful and faceless institutions suddenly crush someone to whom we have given total loyalty And what do we do when our immediate reaction in the actual moment of crisis is to run and hide, for fear of the madding crowds? Such were the questions of most of the disciples, including Thomas, who had supported and followed Jesus of Nazareth for the better part of three years.

The doubting Thomas within each of us must be touched. We are asked to respond to the wounds first within ourselves then in others. Even in our weakness, we are urged to breathe forth the Spirit so that the wounds may be healed and our fears overcome. With Thomas we will believe, when our trembling hand finally and hesitantly reaches out to the Lord in the community of faith. The words addressed to Thomas were given to us: "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed!"

Long ago St. Gregory the Great said of Thomas the Apostle: "If, by touching the wounds on the body of his master, Thomas is able to help us overcome the wounds of disbelief, then the doubting of Thomas will have been more use to us than the faith of all the other apostles."

Centuries after Thomas, we remain forever grateful for the honesty and humanity of his struggle. Though we know so little about Thomas, his family background and his destiny, we are given an important hint into his identity in the etymology of his name in Greek: Thomas (Didymous in Greek) means "twin". Who was Thomas' other half, his twin? Maybe we can see his twin by looking into the mirror. Thomas' other half is anyone who has struggled with the pain of unbelief, doubt and despair, and has allowed the presence of the Risen Jesus to make a difference.

Divine Mercy is not an option!

Over the past few years, I have listened to not a few liturgists and pastoral ministers complaining about the fact that this Sunday was given a new name by Pope John Paul II in the Jubilee Year 2000. Officially called the Second Sunday of Easter after the liturgical reform of Vatican II, now, by Decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, the name has been changed to: "Second Sunday of Easter, or Divine Mercy Sunday."

Pope John Paul II made the surprise announcement of this change in his homily at the canonization of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska on April 30, 2000. On that day he declared: "It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the Word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church, will be called 'Divine Mercy Sunday.'"

What do the visions of a Polish nun have to do with Thomas the Apostle's encounter with the Risen Lord? Do we have to 'force' a link between Divine Mercy and the Gospel story of Thomas and the Risen Jesus? The answer to the first question is: "Everything!" and to the second: "No!"

Clearly, the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday does not compete with, nor endanger the integrity of the Easter Season, nor does it take away from Thomas' awesome encounter with the Risen Lord. Divine Mercy Sunday is the Octave Day of Easter, celebrating the merciful love of God shining through the whole Easter Triduum and the whole Easter mystery.

The connection is more than evident from the scripture readings for this first Sunday after Easter. At St. Faustina's canonization, Pope John Paul II said in his moving homily: "Jesus shows his hands and his side [to the Apostles]. He points, that is, to the wounds of the Passion, especially the wound in his heart, the source from which flows the great wave of mercy poured out on humanity."

The Meaning of the Day

Divine Mercy Sunday is not a new feast established to celebrate St. Faustina's revelations. In fact it is not about St. Faustina at all! Rather it recovers an ancient liturgical tradition, reflected in a teaching attributed to St. Augustine about the Easter Octave, which he called "the days of mercy and pardon," and the Octave Day itself "the compendium of the days of mercy."

The Vatican did not give the title of "Divine Mercy Sunday" to the Second Sunday of Easter merely as an "option," for those dioceses who happen to like that sort of thing! This means that preaching on God's mercy is not just an option for this Sunday. To fail to preach on God's mercy this day would mean largely to ignore the prayers, readings and psalms appointed for that day, as well as the title "Divine Mercy Sunday" now given to that day in the Roman Missal.

Several years ago, when I, too, was finding difficulty in seeing the internal links between the Second Sunday of Easter, my patron saint, Thomas, and Sr. Faustina's revelation for this day, I came across this wonderful quote by St. Bernard (Canticle 61, 4-5: PL 183, 1072): "What I cannot obtain by myself, I appropriate (usurp!) with trust from the pierced side of the Lord, because he is full of mercy.

"My merit, therefore, is God's mercy. I am certainly not poor in merits, as long as he is rich in mercy. If the mercies of the Lord are many (Psalm 119:156), I too will abound with merits. And what about my justice? O Lord, I will remember only your justice. In fact, it is also mine, because you are for me justice on the part of God."

Then the light went on for me. From that moment onward, I no longer regret being named after this Thomas and not the others! Thomas' encounter with the Risen Lord gave me a whole new perspective on the meaning of mercy.

And that has made all of the difference.

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