20250427 MISSIONARIES OF HOPE
27 April 2025, Divine Mercy Sunday (2nd Sunday of Easter)
First reading | Acts 5:12-16 |
The numbers of men and women who came to believe in the Lord increased steadily
The faithful all used to meet by common consent in the Portico of Solomon. No one else ever dared to join them, but the people were loud in their praise and the numbers of men and women who came to believe in the Lord increased steadily. So many signs and wonders were worked among the people at the hands of the apostles that the sick were even taken out into the streets and laid on beds and sleeping-mats in the hope that at least the shadow of Peter might fall across some of them as he went past. People even came crowding in from the towns round about Jerusalem, bringing with them their sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were cured.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 117(118):2-4,22-27 |
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let the sons of Aaron say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let those who fear the Lord say:
‘His love has no end.’
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
O Lord, grant us salvation;
O Lord, grant success.
Blessed in the name of the Lord
is he who comes.
We bless you from the house of the Lord;
the Lord God is our light.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Second reading |
Apocalypse 1:9-13,17-19 |
I was dead, and now I am to live for ever and ever
My name is John, and through our union in Jesus I am your brother and share your sufferings, your kingdom, and all you endure. I was on the island of Patmos for having preached God’s word and witnessed for Jesus; it was the Lord’s day and the Spirit possessed me, and I heard a voice behind me, shouting like a trumpet, ‘Write down all that you see in a book.’ I turned round to see who had spoken to me, and when I turned I saw seven golden lamp-stands and, surrounded by them, a figure like a Son of man, dressed in a long robe tied at the waist with a golden girdle.
When I saw him, I fell in a dead faint at his feet, but he touched me with his right hand and said, ‘Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last; I am the Living One, I was dead and now I am to live for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of the underworld. Now write down all that you see of present happenings and things that are still to come.’
Sequence |
Victimae Paschali Laudes
Christians, to the Paschal Victim
offer sacrifice and praise.
The sheep are ransomed by the Lamb;
and Christ, the undefiled,
hath sinners to his Father reconciled.
Death with life contended:
combat strangely ended!
Life’s own Champion, slain,
yet lives to reign.
Tell us, Mary:
say what thou didst see
upon the way.
The tomb the Living did enclose;
I saw Christ’s glory as he rose!
The angels there attesting;
shroud with grave-clothes resting.
Christ, my hope, has risen:
he goes before you into Galilee.
That Christ is truly risen
from the dead we know.
Victorious king, thy mercy show!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn20:29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus said: ‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 20:19-31 |
Eight days later, Jesus came again and stood among them
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.
‘As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you.’
After saying this he breathed on them and said:
‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’
Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, ‘We have seen the Lord’, he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.’ Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you’ he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him:
‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’
There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.
MISSIONARIES OF HOPE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 5:12-16; Ps 118:2-4,22-27; APOC 1:9-13.17-19; John 20:19-31]
This is the Jubilee Year of Hope. It is therefore appropriate for us to reflect on this Sunday of Divine Mercy as giving hope to us all who are very much in need of mercy. Indeed, we all suffer from all kinds of challenges in life, regardless of our age, status, gender or health. We all carry different crosses and also many crosses, some heavier than others. We live a life full of anxiety and fear about our future. We all dread pain and not just physical suffering but also alienation from our fellowmen and from God.
The scripture readings provide us instances where the early Church also suffered with us. In the first reading, we read of the sick hoping for a cure. Indeed, physical suffering can be overwhelming. From physical suffering we can fall into depression, leading us to sin against God. This explains why when people seek physical healing, they often need emotional and spiritual healing as well because the entire person is wounded – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. We are afraid of pain and inconvenience when we cannot eat or sleep or move around. Most of all, we are worried about our medical bills and even the possibility of death. It is therefore common to see people from all walks of life, from the poor to the wealthy, from the ordinary man in the street to the professional from all religions seeking healing when they cannot find a cure for their illnesses.
One of the ways we all can give hope is to aid those who are sick. There are different ways we can render help. Those who are trained in medicine can provide support to those who are sick. Others are called to be caregivers, which is not an easy task if we are the primary caregiver because it takes lots of effort, time and, most of all, patience in looking after the sick. At other times, we are called to offer material and financial support. But we know there are limits to what we can do in terms of physical, material and financial help.
We can also bring them to Jesus for integral healing. We must not presume that the only way to help the sick is to offer medical, material and financial help. Besides this assistance, we can give them Jesus who is our healer. That was what the apostles and the Christians did. “So many signs and wonders were worked among the people at the hands of the apostles that the sick were even taken out into the streets and laid on beds and sleeping-mats in the hope that at least the shadow of Peter might fall across some of them as he went past. People even came crowding in from the towns round about Jerusalem, bringing with them their sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were cured.” Indeed, by bringing them to Jesus and to His apostles, the Risen Lord showed His mercy by healing them not just physically but granting them holistic healing. Anyone who has encountered the Risen Lord is freed from their pains, physical, emotional or psychological and spiritual possession and obsession.
Most of all, they are freed from their lack of forgiveness in their lives, which is perhaps the most important form of forgiveness. This is brought out clearly in today’s gospel where Jesus approached the apostles who were hiding in the Upper Room. “In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews.” They locked themselves in the room for fear of the external enemies, the Jews and the Romans, but their greater fear was their internal enemy, namely, their shame and betrayal of their master. The Lord knew their fears because they thought that Jesus had died and hence they were alone to defend themselves from their enemies.
So the first thing Jesus did was to offer them the gift of forgiveness. “Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you,’ and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.'” Indeed, what they needed most was to receive forgiveness for their betrayal of their master. They needed to forgive themselves but they lacked the power to do so unless the Lord first forgave them. So too for us as well. The greatest gift we can give to someone who hurts or betrays us is forgiveness. Without offering them forgiveness, they will not be able to forgive themselves and they in turn will not be able to let go of their past and others who have hurt them. Receiving forgiveness from God, therefore, is the greatest act of divine mercy one can receive, even greater than physical healing.
And to confirm that they were forgiven, they were given an encounter with the Risen Lord with the stigmata. Jesus “showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord.” In showing them His wounds, Jesus made it clear that as the Risen Lord, He continues to identify with us in our suffering. He is not distant from us. But as the Risen Lord, He continues to share with us our pains. This is itself a healing grace to know that Jesus the Risen Lord is one with us in our struggles and we are not alone. He will be with us in our suffering. He understands our weaknesses and our sinfulness.
This is why Jesus gave the Sacrament of Reconciliation to the Church. He appointed His priests to forgive sins on His behalf. Hence, the Lord told the apostles, “‘As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’ After saying this he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.'” The apostles could be sent out as His ministers of mercy only because they had received mercy themselves. So too, priests who are conscious of their own weaknesses and sinfulness make the best confessors because they will feel and empathize with those who have sinned. As the letter to the Hebrews tells us, “Every high priest chosen from among mortals … is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people.” (Heb 5:1-3)
Indeed, the great divine mercy of our Lord is that He never gives up on us even when we are sceptical and incorrigible, so too we must do the same for others. He continues to reach out to us when we lack faith in Him. This is seen in the case of Thomas. He was too proud to believe that Jesus was risen. “Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, ‘We have seen the Lord’, he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.'” So Jesus surprised him by taking up his challenge. “Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you’ he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him: ‘You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.'” Even for the doubting Thomas, who represents us all, we have hope that once we encounter His divine presence, we will go beyond merely seeing the Lord but to confess in our hearts that Jesus is Lord and God.
Finally, Jesus the Risen Lord gave hope to those who were in prison or suffered for the sake of the gospel. St John spoke of his exile in “the island of Patmos for having preached God’s word and witnessed for Jesus.” He was suffering not on account of himself but on account of the proclamation of the gospel and witnessing to our Lord. His suffering was even more selfless than ours. It was not about himself but the Church and his people. When we suffer for the sake of Christ and His kingdom, this kind of suffering is purer and more redemptive. This is because when we suffer for Christ, it is truly one of self-denial and taking up the cross to follow Him. We too are called to give hope to others by willingly standing up for Jesus and the gospel. But we know that our suffering for the gospel will give life and hope to all, as the Lord assured John and us when He said, “‘Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last; I am the Living One. I was dead and now I am to live for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of the underworld. Now write down all that you see of present happenings and things that are still to come.'” Let us therefore, as St John invites us at the end of the gospel, to continue to be the signs of hope and divine mercy to all.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
