Divine Mercy Sunday: Healing Through Christ’s Wounds
The Sunday after Easter has been designated by St. John Paul II as Divine Mercy Sunday. In today’s Gospel, Thomas is healed by touching the wounds of Christ. Christ redeems us through his passion.
It is in facing our wounded nature—both as a community and as individuals—that we can find healing. Seeing our wounded nature can be painful. Healing that nature can be difficult, yet Christ is our hope and strength. Even the worst of sins can be forgiven and healed.
The Heart of Mercy
Mercy is a word that comes from Latin: misericordia. This word means to suffer pain in one’s heart for another. In asking God for mercy, we are asking God to have suffering in his heart for us.
Likewise, we are asked by God to have pain in our hearts for the pain of others. Mercy is active—it does what it can to relieve the suffering of others through prayer and actions (the corporal and spiritual works of mercy).
Mercy for the Broken
There are people who feel that their lives are so mixed up, or that they have sinned most grievously, that forgiveness or reconciliation for them is impossible. Today the readings remind us that this is not true. Mercy is available. Lives can change for the better.
We as individuals, and we as the Body of Christ, are always in need of mercy. No one is so perfect as not to need mercy—either from God or from each other.
A Call to Share Mercy
Today, on Divine Mercy Sunday, forgive someone with whom you are angry. Mercy is given to us to be shared among us. Think about what really is important.
Msgr. Guy A. Massie
April 12, 2026