2nd Sunday of Easter
St. Pius X | News6 Apr 2018
In the Gospel today, the risen Jesus appears to his apostles, shows them his wounds and bestows peace on them. Then he inaugurates the mission of the Church. This mission is the exact same mission he received from the Father, a mission accomplished by his death and resurrection: the reconciliation of people with the Father, through the forgiveness of sins. To carry out this mission he gives them the gift of the Spirit and the power to forgive sin. And although Catholics see this as justifying the sacrament of reconciliation, the power over sin is exercised first in baptism and also in the Eucharist. The various Gospels mention doubt when Jesus appears to his followers after the resurrection. But John dramatizes that doubt in an individual. Paradoxically, however, from the lips of this ‘doubting Thomas’ comes the highest profession of faith in all of the Gospels: ‘My Lord and my God.’ When the evangelist adds the comment: ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe,’ he is telling these later disciples and us, that they share the same blessedness as those who actually saw the risen Lord. May we rejoice in the Lord’s presence in our day to day living.