Second Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy Sunday – Sr. Maureen Marr, SNDdeN –
April 12, 2026
John 20: 19-31
Here we are…the Second Sunday in Easter…greeting the Lord along with the disciples. Perhaps like Thomas, we have our questions too! Unless we see…we find it hard to believe.
As always, Jesus helps us work it out! “Just open your eyes…not just the eyes in your head, but also the eyes of your heart and mind and will.” Jesus remains among us. He promises not to leave us, and He is not one to make false promises!
Somehow, I always feel it was easier for those first disciples…but so very hard at times for those who came along later. Standing back and relooking at those first men and women who followed the Lord, their understanding was a bit cloudy too! Just ask Thomas, or Peter, or the mother of James and John who had big dreams for her sons.
Our world is ever more complicated; more complex questions and difficulties; dangerous weaponry leading to less security; greater misunderstanding and fear of one another… Where are you Jesus? How do we stay connected with you? How do we deal with you and our world today? Perhaps one response is “It’s all about relationship.”
How do we reach out to our neighbors? Do we reach out? Who are our neighbors? Jesus did not push the doubting Thomas away; he asked him to come close and touch his wounds. Somehow it seems to come down to handing on love each in her own way. The act of believing doesn’t come to a halt. It is always in process…continuing and deepening.
May the mystery of Jesus and his gift of love be in our hearts and minds and actions each day…and, like Thomas, sometimes stumbling a bit, may we put our own doubts aside to choose God and God’s Goodness as we contribute to a world where all may thrive in compassion and peace.
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.
The Gospel of the Lord
Meet Sister Maureen Marr, SNDdeN
