Second Sunday of Easter
Sunday of Divine Mercy
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Greeting (See Second Reading)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
By his great mercy we have been born anew
to a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead.
May the Risen Lord be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
- Encountering the Risen Lord
The Risen Lord is here with us. Do we recognize him? Are we aware that he is here with us in every celebration of the Eucharist and even in everyday life, also and especially in our moments of trials, difficulties, failures? He is risen, and he lifts us up, he raises us up, now. Ask him today to make you believe in him as the Lord of life.
- My Lord and My God
Eight days after the resurrection, the disciples of Jesus were together, afraid, believing and yet doubting, for the fact that Jesus lived was too good to be true. In the same way, we have come together today as the community of Jesus. Yet we too are often timid and afraid, filled with questions, perhaps doubts, with a faith that is fragile. But we are here together because we are a community that believes. We know that the Lord is present in our midst, even though our eyes cannot see him. And with Thomas, we say in this Eucharist: “My Lord and my God.”
- Do Not Be Afraid: Peace Be With You
It is difficult for people who are scared to stand up for what they believe in, to speak openly about their convictions. It is difficult for those who have suffered much or have seen much evil and distress to accept that things can change for the better, and that even our misery and wounds can help lighten the burden of others. All this becomes possible and believable when we meet the Risen Lord.
He bears the scars of his wounds, and yet he is the glorious Lord. By his wounds we are healed. And he tells us here in the Eucharist to go out and spread his message of joy.
Penitential Act
If we had believed more deeply
that the Lord is risen and lives among us,
we would have sinned less.
We ask the Lord to forgive us.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you say to us:
“Peace be with you”
as you are present among us
with your Word and your body:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you say to us:
“Peace be with you,”
as you forgive us our sins.
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you say to us:
“Peace be with you”
as you send us to bring your peace to all:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Lord, forgive us our sins
as we are united in prayer.
Lead all of us to the joys of everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray for a firm faith
that Jesus is risen and alive among us
(pause)
Blessed are you, God our Father,
who have raised Jesus from the dead.
Keep us firm in the faith
that Jesus is our Lord and our God.
Make us encounter him in everyday life
and live in his peace.
Open our eyes to see his scars
in the men and women who suffer,
and inspire us through your Spirit
to bring them consolation and hope
in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading
A Model Community of Faith: St Luke describes how the first Christians tried to be a community of faith. They prayed together, shared in the Eucharist, and cared for the needy among them.
Second Report:
The First Christian Community
They remained faithful to the apostles’ teachings, the shared life, breaking of bread, and prayers.
A profound fear fell on all the people, for many wonders and miraculous signs were performed by the apostles.
Now, all the believers lived together and shared everything they had.
They would sell their property and everything they owned, then distribute the proceeds to others based on their needs.
Every day, they gathered together in the temple area; they broke bread in their homes; they shared their food with great joy and simplicity of heart;
they praised God and gained the people’s favor.
And every day, the Lord was adding to their number those who were being saved.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1) Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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. Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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. Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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. Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Second Reading
The Joy of Faith: For Christians, the source of joy is their faith in the Risen Lord, says Peter. But faith is never secure, as Christians are always on the way, with their faith tested in trials.
Christian Hope
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for his great mercy. In raising Jesus Christ from the dead, he has given us new life and a living hope.
The inheritance that does not decay, spoil, or fade away has been reserved for you in heaven,
since God’s power will keep you faithful until salvation is revealed in the last days.
There is reason for joy, then, even though you may, for a time, face many trials.
This is how your faith will be tested, like gold in a furnace. Gold, however, fades away, but faith, which is much more valuable, will bring you, in the end, praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ returns.
You have not seen him yet, and yet you love him; even without seeing him, you believe in him, and you experience a heavenly joy beyond words,
for you are reaching the goal of your faith: the salvation of your souls.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are they who have not seen me, but still believe!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Happy Those Who Believe Without Seeing: The apostle Thomas could not believe until, together with the other apostles, he met the Risen Lord in the community.
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples were locked in because of their fear of the Jews. But Jesus came and stood among them and said:
“Peace be with you!”
After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Seeing the Lord, the disciples were filled with joy.
Jesus said to them again:
“Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
After saying this, he breathed on them and said:
“Receive the Holy Spirit!
Those whose sins you forgive are forgiven; those whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas, called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
The other disciples told him:
“We have seen the Lord.”
But he replied:
“Until I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and put my finger in the nail marks, and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
Eight days later, the disciples were again inside the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said:
“Peace be with you!”
Then he said to Thomas:
“Put your finger here and see my hands; stretch out your hand, and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believe!”
Thomas said:
“My LORD and my God.”
Jesus replied:
“You believe because you see me, don’t you? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
There were many other signs that Jesus did in the presence of his disciples, but they are not recorded in this book.
These are recorded, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name!
Prayers of the Faithful
We pray today to our Risen Lord for faith in him, that our Christian communities may bear witness to his presence among his people, as we pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For the community of the Church, that our leaders may inspire us by their faith and that we may bring your joy and peace to a world in dire need of hope and love, we pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For the communities of our families, that parents may inspire their children with a living, contagious faith, and that the young may be honest seekers of truth, justice and Christian hope, we pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For our national community, that there may be reconciliation where we are divided, and that both our leaders and the people may believe in a future based on justice and peace, we pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For all those who doubt and seek, whether in the Church or outside, that they may encounter in us you, the living Christ, we pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For the community of our parish, that we may be concerned about the poor and the sick among us; that we may strengthen their faith as they recognize your goodness in us, we pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
– For all of us here, that our faith may inspire us to live and practice what we believe, and that we may have enough faith in one another to build up a real Christian community, we pray: R/ Stay with us, Lord.
Jesus, our Risen Lord, stay with us, give us your Spirit, strengthen our faith, that people may see that we are a community of brothers and sisters because you life among us, now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Father,
this Eucharistic celebration
is a profession of faith
in the presence of your Son in our midst.
Our eyes are unable to see,
we cannot touch him with our hands,
but let our hearts recognize him
and our deeds bear witness
that Jesus Christ is our Lord
now and forever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
What our eyes cannot see and our ears cannot hear, we believe with our hearts: Christ is alive, he is here with us. With him we thank our Father.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
We have received as a free gift
from the Father our faith, our hope,
the love that binds us together.
With the risen Lord Jesus we pray. R/ Our Father...
Prayer for Peace (before the greeting of peace)
Lord Jesus Christ, you have overcome death. In the evening of the first day of the week you breathed your Spirit on your Church and promised us the gift of peace. Look on your faithful, gathered in your name. As we believe in you, renew us by the power of your Spirit and let your peace come over us. Blessed are you, our Lord and our God, now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus, our Risen Lord.
We cannot see him with our eyes
but we believe that he is alive
and present among us in the Eucharist.
Happy are we to receive him
and to grow through him in faith and love.
R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Our God and Father,
we thank you for Jesus Christ,
for his word of peace
and for his food of strength.
We believe that he died for us
and that you raised him from the dead
to be with us, your people today.
Help us to be risen people, growing in faith and love
and to build with him a community and a world
where joy and truth, love and justice,
peace and freedom are not empty words.
For you have made all this possible
through Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
Go and take Christ with you
into your everyday life,
for he sends you to your brothers and sisters
as the Father sent him.
May he become visible
in your spirit of faith,
in your courage, your goodness
and your love that reflects God’s serving love.
And may God bless you for this mission:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go in the peace of Christ. R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTION:
John 20:19-31
Doubting or Believing Thomas?
On the Sunday of the Divine Mercy, the Gospel begins by saying, ‘The doors were closed in the room where disciples were, for fear of the Jews.’ They were sad, disappointed and afraid after all that they had seen and gone through a few days earlier.
Jesus knows their fears, and comes in person to dispel their anxieties, fills them with his Spirit and enables them to overcome the forces of evil. The episode of the doubting Thomas is a portrait of the mercy of God. John portrays Thomas as a symbol of the difficulties in faith every disciple faces.
According to the traditions, Thomas was martyred in India in A.D. 72, about twenty years before John wrote the Gospel in the year 95. Through the story of the doubting Thomas, the evangelist attempts to address the doubts about the resurrection of the Lord in his community. Many of them had not seen Jesus nor even knew any of the apostles. They found it hard to believe. They wanted to see, touch, and verify if the Lord had truly risen or not.
Is it still possible for us to experience the Risen Lord? Is there evidence that he is alive? How is it that he no longer appears? These are the questions that many ask even today. This passage is a response to all such questions: John wants to tell the doubters in his community that despite living with Jesus for three years, not even all the apostles could see the Risen Lord. That’s why the Lord himself teaches Thomas to have faith in what is not yet seen. If anyone insists on seeing, observing and touching to believe, one is renouncing the grace of faith.
The doubters will never obtain any evidence. Contrary to what we see depicted in paintings, not even Thomas had his hands on the wounds of the Lord. The Gospel does not say that he has touched the Risen One. He pronounces his profession of faith after hearing the voice of the Risen Lord, while he is with his community. And this capacity to experience the Lord is offered to Christians of every age… when we gather together in the community to listen to his voice.
When Jesus appeared to the apostles, he did not judge Thomas or others for their lack of faith. He still accepts those who have doubts. There is no need to panic, worry, or get upset when we have doubts. We all go through times when our faith is not strong as we would like it to be. Jesus accepts us as he accepted Thomas.
When we face doubts in our faith, can we look to this great disciple of faith, Thomas and make his prayer ours’ today, ‘My Lord and my God.’
Doubting or Believing Thomas? - Youtube
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John 20:19–31
Divine Mercy Sunday: A Legacy of Love
“Jesus, I trust in You.” On this Second Sunday of Easter—Divine Mercy Sunday—the Church places before us the heart of the Gospel: the mercy of God made flesh in the Risen Christ. It is no coincidence that this year, we mark this celebration with heavy hearts as we mourn the passing of Pope Francis, a shepherd whose entire papacy was marked by his tireless proclamation of God's mercy.
The Gospel draws us into the Upper Room where the disciples, paralysed by fear and failure, are met not with judgement but with peace. Jesus appears in their midst, bearing the wounds of His Passion. He does not hide them. He does not scold them. Instead, He breathes the Holy Spirit upon them, empowering them to forgive. His wounds become the wellsprings of mercy.
This encounter echoes a central theme that Pope Francis preached throughout his ministry: “The name of God is Mercy.” In his 2016 book of the same title, he wrote, “God’s mercy is not an abstract idea, but a concrete reality with which He reveals His love as of that of a father or a mother, moved to the very depths out of love for their child.”
Today’s Gospel also brings us face to face with Thomas, the doubting disciple. His doubt mirrors our own hesitations in the face of suffering, scandal, or sin. But Jesus does not turn him away. Instead, He returns and invites Thomas to touch His wounds. “Do not doubt but believe.” This is mercy in action—meeting us where we are, not where we ought to be.
Pope Francis often reminded us that the Church must be “a field hospital after battle,” a place not for the perfect, but for the wounded. In his apostolic letter Misericordia et Misera, he wrote: “Mercy is the concrete action of the love that, by forgiving, transforms and changes our lives.” This vision has reshaped how many experience the Church today—not as a fortress, but as a home of healing.
Even in death, Pope Francis offered us a final witness of mercy. He passed away on the Easter Monday, having celebrated the Paschal Mystery one last time, leaving us with words of peace, fraternity, and communion. Just as Jesus breathed peace upon His frightened disciples, Pope Francis spent his life breathing hope into a fractured world.
Today, the Risen Christ appears again in the midst of His Church—wounded, yes, but alive. He invites us to believe, not in spite of our wounds, but through them. He calls us, like Francis did, to be bearers of mercy in a world desperate for compassion.
Let us pray, then, with hearts open to grace: Jesus, I trust in You.
May this be not only our prayer today but our mission every day, inspired by the Gospel and by the memory of a Pope who truly lived it.