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
April 11, 2026 Saturday of Easter Octave Gospel: Mark 16:9-15
Today is Saturday of the Easter Octave. The Gospel passage from Saint Mark summarizes how, on the first day of the week, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and to those who had followed Him from Galilee to Jerusalem in different ways. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections. When we first came to know Jesus, our situation was similar to that of Mary Magdalene. At that time, we too lived under the double bondage of the devil and sin, urgently needing His healing and salvation. The merciful Lord Jesus Christ manifests Himself to us in visible forms: He appears through the parents who gave us life and cared for us, enabling us to experience His love; He appears through the teachers who imparted knowledge to us, teaching us to make good use of the talents He has given us to better care for the world He created. He approaches us so proactively, bestowing upon us the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit of His Son, inspiring in us the desire to receive the sacraments of initiation. Through His chosen ministers (priests), at the Easter Vigil Mass, we received the Sacrament of Baptism and the Anointing with Chrism, becoming new children of the Church. We continually imitate Mary Magdalene and the early disciples of the Church in proclaiming the Good News to the world.
Today, the Risen Lord continues to meet us. He invites us to proactively approach our brothers and sisters who have left the parish and community for various reasons—to accompany them unconditionally, accept them, help them rediscover the beauty in Christ, regain certainty in Christ, and reconcile with God and all His creation.
O God, who by the abundance of your grace give increase to the peoples who believe in you, look with Favor on those you have chosen and clothe with blessed immortality those reborn through the Sacrament of Baptism. 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
April 10, 2026 Friday of the Easter Octave Gospel: John 21:1–14
Today is Friday of the Easter Octave. The passage from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John narrates Jesus’ final appearance to His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias and their shared meal—a story that invites profound reflection on the heart of Christian faith.
Saint John wrote: “Jesus appeared again to His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias” (John 21:1). What is this sea? Originally known as Lake Tiberias, it is also called the Sea of Galilee—a place deeply woven into the disciples’ memory. The Evangelist Luke mentions it as the site where Jesus met Simon Peter and the two sons of Zebedee (James and John), teaching crowds from Peter’s boat before instructing him to “put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch” (cf. Luke 5:1–11). It is also the location where Matthew’s Gospel begins Jesus’ public ministry, calling Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow Him (cf. Matthew 4:18–22). Clearly, the disciples knew this place well—it was where they first encountered the Lord.
Saint John tells us that “on that night, they caught nothing”(John 21:3–4). This echoes an earlier moment: when Jesus first called Peter, the fisherman had laboured all night “and have taken nothing” (Luke 5:5). But Jesus’ response was the same then as now: “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some”(John 21:6; cf. Luke 5:4). Obeying the Savior’s command, the disciples hauled in a miraculous catch—proof of His divine authority.
Today, the Church uses this Gospel to invite us to return to the origin of our faith: to revisit the place of our first encounter with the Risen Lord, imitate the disciples’ trust, and “always fulfil God’s holy will” to bear the lasting fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Almighty ever-living God, who gave us the Paschal Mystery in the covenant you established for reconciling the human race, so dispose our minds, we pray, that what we celebrate by professing the faith we may express in deeds. 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
全属于祢 
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