Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, Year A (2026)

Second Sunday of Easter, Year A (Divine Mercy Sunday) 
Acts 2:42-47 
Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 (1) 
1 Peter 1:3-9 
John 20:19-31 
April 12, 2026 

Jesus Christ was crucified!  Then He rose from the dead!  The Father and He sent the Holy Spirit!  With new understanding of what had happened to Jesus and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, the disciples, “devoted themselves.” 

What did they devote themselves to?  What does it mean to follow Jesus? 

“They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles, and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.” 

To be devoted to the “teaching of the apostles” is to be devoted to what Jesus taught them.  To be devoted to the “teaching of the apostles” is to be “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.”  Instead of coming up with our own truth and our own way in this world, we need to follow the teachings of Jesus. 

To keep the communal life is to love our neighbors and attend to the needs of those around us.  In a religious order, holding “all things in common” means a vow of poverty.  For the rest of us, it means ending our greed and envy in favor of sharing what we have with others around us. 

To be devoted “to the breaking of bread” is to recognize the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, to understand how when we celebrate the Eucharist we are celebrating the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, and that Jesus calls us to regularly celebrate the Eucharist in remembrance of him.  The Third Commandment calls us to “keep the Sabbath holy.”  We do so when we celebrate the Eucharist every week.  The disciples even celebrated the breaking of the bread “every day.” 

When we do these things every day, the Lord adds to our numbers through our witness.  When we do not devote ourselves to these ways, we are poor witnesses and our numbers dwindle. 

It is through the Resurrection that we are given “living hope.”  Our hope in the Resurrection does not mean we will not have to suffer.  In fact, as Peter writes, “you may have to suffer through various trials.”  We show our faith to be genuine when we bear our sufferings well.   

We may find ourselves hard pressed and falling.  The Lord will help us. 

We may find ourselves weak and afraid.  The Lord will give us strength and courage through the Holy Spirit when we devote ourselves to him as the early disciples made him the cornerstone of their lives and followed Jesus as the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).   

The disciples devoted themselves to the faith.  It did not start out well after Jesus was crucified.  The disciples were afraid and gathered in a locked room. 

Jesus knew their fears and “came and stood in their midst.”  He greeted them, “Peace be with you.”  To bring them peace He showed them that He is the same Jesus who was nailed through his hands to the Cross and pierced in his side.  He “breathed on them” to give them the Holy Spirit in the same way God breathed life into humanity at Creation (Genesis 2:7).   

Thomas was not with them when Jesus “stood in their midst” the first time.  When “the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord,” Thomas did not believe them.   

We should not rush to judge Thomas.  He is referred to as “doubting Thomas” but he did not doubt Jesus.  He did not understand the Resurrection.  No one had risen from the dead like Jesus before.  It did not make sense.  Would we have felt any different? 

Jesus did not reject Thomas for his unbelief.  Instead, in his Divine Mercy, Jesus came a second time when Thomas was there.  Jesus wanted to help Thomas believe as He wants to help us.  All the disciples still needed to grow in their faith as evidenced by the fact that they were still gathering behind locked doors. 

Jesus spoke directly to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put into my side, and do not be unbelieving but believe.”   

Thomas came to believe because he had seen for himself. 

Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”   

Where do we get our faith from?   

We have not seen Jesus for ourselves.  We rely on “teaching of the apostles” as found in the Bible and Tradition of our Catholic faith.  We rely on their witness.  We do not need to believe on our own.  We have the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us to live as “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.” 

May God give us the faith we need to be good witnesses to our faith so that more people will come to have a personal relationship with Jesus.