The Gospel reading
for the Second Sunday of Paschaltide Quinquagesima is taken from John 20:19-31
on all cycles of the liturgical calendar.
The Gospel narrative is about “Doubting Thomas” – Thomas, called Didymus,
who was skeptical about the resurrection of the Lord and how he came to
believe.
The Second Sunday
of Paschaltide Quinguagesima – the Sunday after Resurrection Sunday – has been
known as Low Sunday since the pre-Vatican-II era and has been celebrated as Divine
Mercy Sunday since 2000 upon the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska by St.
John Paul II (then Pope John Paul II). The Second Sunday of this festive period
in celebrating the resurrection has become Divine Mercy Sunday to honor these
words of Jesus, spoken to St. Faustina,” I want the image
solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be
venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it”(Diary of St. Faustina, 341).
The image is
Jesus radiating the rays of his Divine Mercy : read representing the precious
blood of Jesus and blue representing water of justification (Diary of St. Faustina,
299). These, in fact, evoke the blood and water gushing from the side of Jesus’
crucified boy (John 19:34), and reflected in this Divine Mercy chaplet prayer: O blood and water, which gushed forth from
the heart of Jesus as a fountain of mercy for us, I trust in you (Diary of
St. Faustina, 187).
“Doubting Thomas”
and Divine Mercy…..Red ray and light blue ray radiating out of the body of
Jesus….it looks like the resurrected Jesus, from whom the rays are coming……and
we say, “Jesus, I trust in you”. With
these, we may make an exegesis of John 20:19-31 in the Divine Mercy context.
In the Gospel
narrative for Divine Mercy Sunday – the Second Sunday of Paschaltide
Quinguagesima, Thomas was not with the rest of the disciples on the evening of
the day that the Lord resurrected and appeared to them. The Gospel does not
tell why he was not with the rest of the bunch on the evening of the very day
of the resurrection. It does not say where he was, either. Probably, that is
not so important.
Since Thomas
missed to see the risen Lord on the evening of the very day of the
resurrection, the disciples who met the risen Lord in the Upper Room told
Thomas about their encounter with the resurrected Lord. But, skeptical Thomas
did not buy what the rest of the disciples said. So, 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”(John 20:25).
So, on the evening
of the following Sunday from the resurrection Sunday, Thomas was with the rest
of the disciples in the Upper Room. He probably thought that he could check to
see if they were telling the truth – to see if the Lord had really risen. He obviously thought that he would see the nailmarks
in the resurrected body of Jesus – had he really risen, as they told him.
And the risen Lord
sure appeared to the disciples, again, on the Sunday after the Sunday of his resurrection
– just as he did, somehow coming into the firmly locked room and saying, “Peace
be with you”. But this time, instead of offering his breath, which he called
the Holy Spirit, this time, Jesus invited Thomas to “test” his doubt, saying, “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”(John
20:27). Jesus obviously knew that Thomas
was “testing” his resurrection. So, he tested Thomas’ “test”. Then, the Gospel
narrative says, “Thomas answered and said
to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”(John 20:28).
The narrative does
not say if Thomas actually put his finger on the nailmarks of Jesus’
resurrected body. Probably, not. Thomas must
have come to believe the resurrection instantly at the moment when Jesus
invited him to touch his nailmarks.
Now, few important
things to reflect on.
If not Thomas, any
of us could be in the place of him, on the Sunday after the Resurrection Sunday
in the Upper Room. “Doubting Thomas” in
the Gospel narrative represents us when we are in doubt – when our faith is
shaky.
It is lukewarm
faith of Thomas that the risen Jesus responded with his Divine Mercy. As Thomas was already touched by it, he did
not have to actually touch the nailmarks on Jesus’ risen body.
In her diary
(580), St. Faustina recorded these words of Jesus as he revealed them:
“I am more deeply wounded by the small
imperfections of chosen souls than by the sins of those living in the world.”
It made me very sad that chosen souls make Jesus suffer, and Jesus told me,
“These little imperfections are not all. I will reveal to you a secret of My
Heart: what I suffer from chosen souls. Ingratitude in return for so many
graces is My Heart’s constant food, on the part of [such] a chosen soul. Their
love is lukewarm, and My Heart cannot bear it; these souls force Me to reject
them. Others distrust My goodness and have no desire to experience that sweet
intimacy in their own hearts, but go in search of Me, off in the distance, and
do not find Me. This distrust of My goodness hurts Me very much. If My death
has not convinced you of My love, what will? Often a soul wounds Me morally,
and then no one can comfort Me. They use My graces to offend Me. There are
souls who despise My graces as well as all the proofs of My love. They do not
wish to hear My call, but proceed into the abyss of hell. The loss of these
souls plunges Me into deadly sorrow. God though I am, I cannot help such a soul
because it scorns Me; having a free will, it can spurn Me or love Me. You, who
are the dispenser of My mercy, tell all the world about My goodness, and thus you
will comfort My Heart.”
Note that risen Lord
really does not like to see anyone being like “Doubting Thomas”, who represents
lukewarm faith. Such a shaky faith fails
to appreciate the Paschal Mystery, especially the death and resurrection of the
Lord. Lukewarm faith also cannot appreciate
the blood and water gushing from the side of the body of Jesus on the Cross,
reflected in the rays of the Dive Mercy: read and light blue – salvation and
justification.
The Gospel
narrative does not say if Thomas actually put his finger on the nailmaks as he
first demanded to believe the resurrection. Perhaps, it was not specified so
that we can make an exegesis in light of the Divine Mercy message. Because John did not pen down any more
specifics, we can see the lukewarm faith of “Doubting Thomas” was made “hot”
immediately at the moment of the Divine Mercy rays affecting him. The red and blue rays of the Divine Mercy out
of the risen Lord’s body made immediate conversion of Thomas’ skeptical heart. No
wonder, “My Lord, my God”(John
20:28). No more argument with the risen Lord. To translate these words of
Thomas upon his immediate conversion, Thomas was saying, “Jesus, I trust in you”,
as we repeatedly say to the risen Jesus in the image of the Divine Mercy that
Jesus wants us to venerate. The Second
Sunday of Paschaltide Quinquagesima, which is also Divine Mercy Sunday, is to
take a critical lesson from “Doubting Thomas” on the Divine Mercy messages of
Jesus through St. Faustina.
On this Sunday, we
all say, “Yes, Jesus, I trust in you, and
my faith is not lukewarm. There is no space for doubt in my faith”.
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