Second Sunday of Easter/Divine Mercy Sunday
April 12, 2015 – Year B
Readings: Acts 4:32-35 / 1 Jn 5:1-6 / Jn 20:19-31
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

Talking about accident forgiveness, one of the lines in the most recent TV commercial of Liberty Mutual Insurance, is “Insurance Companies: News Flash. Nobody’s perfect.” We all know that this is not news. It is a reality which is as old as humanity.

A few years ago, I saw a bumper sticker on a car which said: “I am not perfect, just forgiven.” Today’s feast of the Divine Mercy, which reminds us of the good news that we have a forgiving and loving God, gives us hope.

Dr. Viktor Frankl once said that the survivors in the Nazi concentration camps were usually those who had a strong reason to hope and believe. Their faith that there are people who need them gave them the power to survive. It has been said that those who have no reason to live will sooner or later find a reason to die.

As God’s children, we believe that we are in this world for a purpose. Each and every one of us has a reason to wake up each morning. But to consistently live a purpose-driven life, we need to have faith in the author of life Himself.

When the Lord appeared to St. Faustina, He gave her the image of His Divine Mercy, with the inscription, “Jesus, I trust in you.” Trusting in God is surely the best antidote for the world’s hopelessness.

We are all in the same boat, experiencing the same storm. But we have a choice. We can either focus our attention on the storm of life’s problems and difficulties, or we can look at the Lord Jesus with the eyes of our faith and continue to put our trust in Him, as we navigate the sea of life.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus said to Thomas: “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blest are those who have not seen and have believed.” My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us here in the sanctuary of Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church are blessed indeed. In spite of our weakness, frailties, and doubts, we continue to believe.

In just a few minutes, as an expression of what we believe as sons and daughters of God, during the Offertory we will sing “We walk by faith and not by sight.” As we receive our Lord’s body, blood, soul, and divinity in Holy Communion, let us ask Him to give us the grace that we may do just that.