April 12, 2026
Divine Mercy Sunday
Gospel: John 20:19-31

Today is the eighth day of the Octave of the Resurrection of the Lord, and the Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday.

In his homily at the canonization Mass of Sr. Faustina Kowalska in St. Peter’s Square on April 30, 2000, Pope St. John Paul II said: “Just as the Apostles did of old, so too today humanity must welcome the risen Christ into the upper room of history—He, showing the sacred wounds of His crucifixion, repeats: ‘Peace be with you!’ Humanity must allow itself to be touched and filled with the Holy Spirit given by the risen Christ. The Holy Spirit heals the wounds of the heart, breaks down the barriers that separate us from God and divide us from one another, and at the same time restores the joy of the Father’s love and the communion of fraternal unity.”

Therefore, it is of great importance that on the Second Sunday of Easter, we receive the message that comes to us from the Word of God, which is now celebrated throughout the Church as “Divine Mercy Sunday.” In the various readings, the liturgy points to the path of mercy, which re-establishes each person’s relationship with God and creates new communion of fraternal love among human beings. Christ taught us: “Man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but is also called to practice mercy toward others: ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy’ (cf. Mt 5:7)”(cf. Dives in Misericordia, no. 14). He also showed us the many paths of mercy, which not only forgive sins but reach out to all human needs and emergencies. Jesus bent over every form of human poverty, both material and spiritual (cf. Pope St. John Paul II, Homily at the Canonization Mass of Maria Faustyna Kowalska, April 30, 2000, post-paragraph 3, paragraph 4, section 1).

The passage from the Gospel of St. John read today perfectly echoes the teaching of Pope St. John Paul II. St. John tells us: “Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side”(cf. Jn 20:19b-20a). He did not come to accuse the disciples, but to show them the tender love He bears for each of us. Then, to Thomas, called Didymus, Jesus said: “Put your finger here and see My hands; put out your hand and place it in My side. Do not doubt, but believe”(cf. Jn 20:27), to strengthen his faith. In the same way, He invites us to experience His compassion for the world by touching those in need whom we encounter in our lives, and to bring His mercy and love to all through us.

Dear brothers and sisters! On this Divine Mercy Sunday, let us together offer our prayer to God:

God of everlasting mercy,
who in the very recurrence of the paschal feast
kindle the faith of the people you have made your own,
increase, we pray, the grace you have bestowed,
that all may grasp and rightly understand
in what font they have been washed,
by whose Spirit they have been reborn,
by whose Blood they have been redeemed.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica