OMELIE / Omelie EN

12 apr 2026

12 April 2026 – Second Sunday of Easter – Year A

12 April 2026 – Second Sunday of Easter – Year A

of Divine Mercy

First Reading: Acts 2:42–47; Psalm 117; Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:3–9; Gospel: John 20:19–31

‘Eight days later’ Jesus appears to them once more. Why does Jesus wait eight days? We can guess: after this second encounter, the disciples were faithful in meeting every eighth day, that is, every week, on the day they henceforth called ‘the Lord’s Day’ or Sunday!

Thus Jesus himself inaugurated Sunday, and the custom of Christians gathering on this day. They are aware that it is not their choice, but the desire and explicit invitation of their Lord. Those who go to Mass on Sunday know they are fulfilling a desire of the Lord Jesus, and not merely following a directive from the Church’s pastors. For centuries, this ‘obedience’ to Jesus was perceived by the faithful as an obligation, and this robbed it of its joyful character and the awareness that they were performing an act of love towards the One who died and rose again for them. It is true that those who know that the instruction for this holy practice was given by Jesus himself may still experience it as an obligation, but a free obligation, like any act of love to which we feel drawn. The shepherds of the Church have also seen, from experience, that in those who are not regular, faith and fraternal communion, along with the capacity for witness, wane: for this reason they have insisted on teaching that the celebration of this day is necessary for Christian life.

The brief passage from the Acts of the Apostles shows us how the lives of Jesus’ disciples changed after his resurrection and after receiving the Holy Spirit. New habits take hold. ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer’: they had been baptised, and so they no longer continued the life preoccupied with gain and work, with pleasures and entertainment to which they were accustomed. The life of those who have been baptised springs from the presence within them of the risen Jesus. The four activities, listed in this order, are the new pursuits desired and realised by believers. To live them out, they had to meet together often!

Listening to the apostles’ teaching shapes the mindset and conscience of believers. If there were no common way of thinking, it would be impossible to live in ‘communion’. And living in communion—coming together to share joys and sufferings, times of sharing experiences and even material goods—is a joy, necessary for recognising one another as brothers and sisters, children of the Father. Communion and sharing are completed by obedience to the Word of Jesus: ‘Do this in remembrance of me’. They break the bread of life, the Body of Christ, amongst themselves. It is the most powerful moment of their communion, which prepares them for eternity! During this moment they begin to praise the Lord together, to pray to the Father, and then continue their prayer at other times and in other moments.

The eighth day is the day when Thomas, the disciple who does not trust his friends and brothers, is also present. And Jesus, as soon as he sees him, addresses him directly. His gloomy face, typical of one who lacks faith, draws the Lord’s mercy, who yields to his demands and allows himself to be touched by his fingers and his hand. Seeing this boundless mercy, Thomas overcomes his pride and, with humility, calls Jesus ‘Lord’ and ‘God’. He has come to faith. Now he too can begin to enjoy the gifts that the other apostles had received eight days earlier. Peace enters his life; he shares in the mission entrusted to the other Ten, the very same mission that Jesus had received from the Father, and receives the Holy Spirit, which empowers him to forgive those who seek God’s forgiveness.

For him, there remains a gentle rebuke from the Lord, who declares blessed those who do not behave as he did: ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed!’ Peter remembered these words for a long time, and they remained fixed in his memory. In his letter, he repeats them for those Christians who have never had the chance to see and hear Jesus, and yet, who knows why, believe in him, believe that he is Lord and God! Peter himself believed after seeing, just like Thomas. He is therefore amazed that we profess faith in Jesus without having seen him and without seeing him. It is a great gift from the Father! We shall continue to utter Thomas’s words of wonder: “My Lord and my God!”, so as to deepen our faith and our response of love for the mercy he has shown us in so many ways.