†     Divine Mercy Sunday

“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” – John 20:29

We all stand in that upper room in one way or another. We all stand surrounded by so many others trying to make sense of who we are and how we’re to live out God’s call. We all have moments of doubt and moments of profound faith.

We are all Thomas.

So then, let us all touch Christ’s wounds. Let us all believe, whether we see or not. Let us all heed the Gospel call to go out to the margins, to be men and women for and with others.

And let us take strength from Pope Francis’ words:

“Sometimes we are tempted to be that kind of Christian who keeps the Lord’s wounds at arm’s length. Yet Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others. He hopes that we will stop looking for those personal or communal niches which shelter us from the maelstrom of human misfortune and instead enter into the reality of other people’s lives and know the power of tenderness. Whenever we do so, our lives become wonderfully complicated and we experience intensely what it is to be a people, to be part of a people” (Evangelii Gaudium, #270).