Divine Mercy Sunday

What a grace-filled Easter we have just celebrated together. I want to express my deep gratitude – to each and every one of you – for the faith, generosity, and love you poured into the Easter Triduum. From those who prepared our liturgies so beautifully, to our musicians, sacristans, readers, servers, welcomers, cleaners, decorators, and all who worked quietly behind the scenes: thank you. Your service made visible something of the beauty of God.

And to our whole parish community: thank you for the way you welcomed the many visitors who joined us. At several of our liturgies, we experienced the largest crowds we’ve seen – certainly in my six and a half years here. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because people encounter something real when they walk through our doors – something reverent, joyful, and deeply human. It happens because we are living our faith. This matters more than we might realise.

Easter is not simply something we celebrate once a year. It is a reality we are invited to live. And today – Divine Mercy Sunday – the Church draws our attention to the heart of that reality: that the risen Jesus comes to us not with condemnation, but with mercy; not with distance, but with peace; not with indifference, but with a mission.

In today’s Gospel, we encounter two movements of faith. First, the disciples. They believe because they have encountered the risen Jesus. He stands among them, speaks peace into their fear, and shows them his wounds. Their belief flows from encounter. Then second, there is Thomas. Often remembered for his doubt, but perhaps better understood for his honesty. Thomas does not initially believe the testimony of the others. He wants to see. He wants to touch. And when he does encounter Jesus, his response is one of the most profound professions of faith in the Gospel: “My Lord and my God.”

What’s striking is that both paths – belief flowing from encounter, and encounter flowing from belief – are present in this one Gospel. For some, faith began with a real, personal encounter with Jesus – an experience of His presence, His love, His mercy. That encounter led them to belief. For others, faith has been a steady inheritance. We were raised in it, formed by it, and have come to believe in the resurrection of Jesus perhaps long before we could articulate a personal encounter. And yet, over time, that belief opens us to deeper and deeper encounters with Him.

The Gospel makes room for both. But it does not leave us in either place because whether belief leads to encounter, or encounter leads to belief, both are given for a purpose. Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and sends them: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Faith is never meant to remain private. Encounter is never meant to be kept to oneself. They are given for mission. And that mission is clear: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19).

Here in our parish, we express that mission in a very particular way: by actively accompanying people to encounter Jesus. What we experienced last weekend is a beautiful reminder that there are many people – perhaps more than we realise – who are open, searching, or simply willing to step through the door. The question for us is not whether they will come. Many already do. The question is: what will they encounter when they do? Will they encounter a community that simply gathers, or one that notices, welcomes, and walks with them? Will they encounter a Church that assumes, or one that accompanies? Will they encounter people who believe in Jesus, or people who are alive with Him?

Divine Mercy Sunday reminds us that the answer begins not with strategies, but with hearts that have received mercy. Because it is only when we know ourselves to be recipients of God’s love and mercy that we can become instruments of it for others.

So again, thank you – for your faithfulness, your service, and your witness. What you have given already bears fruit. And as we move forward in this Easter season, may we remain open – whether through belief or encounter – to the living presence of Jesus, who comes among us, speaks peace into our lives, and sends us out with purpose. Jesus, I trust in You.

Peace and Love – Fr Josh