Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER: DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY (Cycle B)
Readings:
Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
1 John 5:1-6
John 20:19-31
Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments; therefore, we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that our Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: God's Divine Mercy
The Church began celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday when the
Vatican declared it a universal feast on April 30th of the Jubilee
Year 2000. Divine Mercy Sunday always falls on the second Sunday of Easter. The
feast is the Church's response to the promise St. Faustina said Jesus made to
her when He told her: "Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will
be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment" (Diary of Faustina,
300).
Divine Mercy Sunday is the perfect time for fallen-away Catholics to return to the Church. However, to receive Holy Communion, one must be in a state of grace and without the stain of sin on one's soul. Therefore, someone who wishes to return to full communion with the Body of Christ must first go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to receive the forgiveness of their sins. In Faustina's diary, she recorded that Jesus also promised He would be there in the confessional ready to embrace the sinner with His love: "When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy, souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity" (Diary of Faustina, 1602).
The First Reading is the second of three summaries describing the Jerusalem Christian community's character (see Acts 2:42-47 and 5:12-16). In addition to centering their religious life on the teachings of the Apostles and the Eucharistic Liturgy (2:42), they also developed a system for distributing goods. The wealthier community members sold their possessions in response to the needs of the community's poor (2:44; 4:32-27). In our passage, St. Luke describes the community of believers as "of one heart and mind," which can also be translated as "of one heart and soul." The concept of the unity of the community as "one heart and soul" is later expressed by St. Paul as being one Body in Christ (Eph 1:22-23; 4:12, 15-16).
Today's Responsorial Psalm reminds us of God's mercy as we announce with confidence and joy three times in the Psalm Reading: "His mercy endures forever."
In the Gospel Reading, we remember Jesus's first visit to His Apostles after His Resurrection. He came and lovingly revealed Himself to them, showing them His wounded hands and side. They rejoiced when they saw the Lord, and He blessed them with His peace. Sharing the gift of God's peace is the same way He comes to us in the Mass. We hear His words in the Liturgy of the Word, and He reveals Himself to us in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, giving us His gift of peace that surpasses all human understanding so that, like St. Thomas, we might declare "My Lord and my God!"
We are encouraged in the First Reading to be like the first Christians who were of "one heart and one mind." In the Second Reading, St. John tells us that God's love in Christ Jesus and sharing that love with each other has made us God's children. St. John wrote that the way one can identify the "children of God" is not only by their love for others (4:7-9; 5:2) and their love for God the Father and God the Son (5:1) but also by their belief in the divine sonship of Jesus Christ. It is a belief demonstrated by love for God and the obedience of faith in following His commandments. It is the same teaching Jesus gave in His Last Supper homily when He said: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (Jn 14:15; also see 15:10 and 1 Jn 2:3-5). This faith demonstrated by obedience is the source of the Christian's power over the world and victory over evil.
In the Gospel Reading, it is Resurrection Sunday. The Apostles were afraid and hiding behind locked doors when Jesus appeared to them supernaturally. Locked doors could not stop Him. In His greeting, Jesus reassured the Apostles, who must have felt ashamed of their conduct after His arrest. He lovingly reestablished the intimacy they had previously enjoyed with Him.
The First Reading Acts 4:32-35 ~ The Early Christian
Community in Jerusalem
32 The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had
everything in common. 33 With great power, the apostles bore witness to the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. 34 There was no needy
person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale, 35 and put them at the feet of the apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.
This passage is the second of three summaries describing the Jerusalem Christian community's character (see Acts 2:42-47 and 5:12-16). They centered their religious life on the teachings of the Apostles and the Eucharistic Liturgy (2:42). They also developed a system for the distribution of goods in which the wealthier members of the community sold their possessions when the needs of the community's poor required it (2:44; 4:32-27). The members of the Christian community were living according to Jesus's Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6:20-26 when He taught that the wealthy must use the blessings of their material goods to care for the poor.
St. Luke describes the community of believers as being "of one heart and mind" (verse 32), which can also be translated as "of one heart and soul" (verse 32 "mind/soul" = psyche). In the Old Testament, the Greek phrase mia phyche (one soul) only appears as the translation of the Hebrew phrase leb yahad in the Greek translation of 2 Chronicles 34:31. However, the phrase "heart and soul" frequently appears, for example, it appears in the command to love God with all one's heart and soul in the first part of the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:5 and also in 10:12; 11:13, etc. St. Paul expresses this concept of the community's unity of "one heart and soul" as being "one Body in Christ" (i.e., Eph 1:22-23; 4:12, 15-16).
33 With great power, the apostles bore witness to the Resurrection
of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all.
The message for faith communities today is that everything
about the Gospel of salvation must begin with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Then, all other actions of the community will unfold in grace and truth.
Responsorial Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 ~ The Lord's Goodness
Response: "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting" or "Alleluia."
2 Let the house of Israel say, "His mercy endures
forever." 3 Let the house of Aaron say, "His mercy endures forever." 4 Let
those who fear the LORD say, "His mercy endures forever."
Response:
13 I was hard pressed and was falling, but the LORD
helped me. 14 My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my
savior. 15 The joyful shout of victory in the tents of the just.
Response:
22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the
cornerstone. 23 By the LORD has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes. 24
This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.
Response:
Our Responsorial Psalm is the last of the Hallel Psalms ("Praise God" Psalms) of 113-118. The congregation of the faithful recited or sang these psalms during the great feasts, including during the liturgical service celebrating the sacrifice of the Passover lambs and goat-kids. They were also sung on the first night of the pilgrim Feast of Unleavened Bread after sundown when the community ate the Passover victims in a sacred meal. The faithful also sang the Hallel Psalms during the other pilgrim feasts of Pentecost (Weeks) and Tabernacles (Dt 16:16). Also called the "Egyptian Psalm," this series of psalms was a way for the people to remember God's great works in the Exodus liberation.
The last Hallel Psalm from our reading is a hymn of thanksgiving, praising God for His mercy in rescuing the Israelites in their exodus/departure out of Egypt. Three times in today's Psalm, we cry out a shout of victory: "His mercy endures forever!" For Christians of all generations, Psalm 118 speaks prophetically of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer-Messiah, and the "cornerstone" of the New Covenant Church (see Acts 4:11; 1 Cor 3:11; Eph 2:20 and 1 Pt 2:6-8).
The Second Reading 1 John 5:1-6 ~ The Victory of Faith
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is
begotten by God, and everyone who loves the Father loves also the one begotten
by him. 2 In this way, we know that we love the children of God when we love
God and obey his commandments. 3 For the love of God is this, that we keep his
commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 4 for whoever is
begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is
our faith. 5 Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes
that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is the one who came through water and
blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is
the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth.
St. John wrote that the way one can identify the "children of God" is not only by their love for others (4:7-9; 5:2) and their love for God the Father and God the Son (5:1) but also by their belief in the divine sonship of Jesus Christ. It is a belief demonstrated by love for God and the obedience of faith in following His commandments (verse 3). Jesus gave the same teaching in His Last Supper homily when He said: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (Jn 14:15; also see 15:10 and 1 Jn 2:3-5). Faith demonstrated by obedience is the source of the Christian's power over the world and victory over evil (verses 3-5).
Water and blood in verse 6 refer to the water and blood that flowed from Jesus's side after He offered up His life on the altar of the Cross and the Roman soldier pierced His side (Jn 19:34). However, St. John wrote that we must remember it isn't only by the blood of Christ that we receive our gift of redemption, but also by the water of Baptism that the Holy Spirit, who anointed Christ at His Baptism, continues to anoint Christians in every generation to new life in the Spirit as children in the family of God. That is why Jesus commanded that baptism is necessary for salvation (Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38-39). The Holy Spirit was present at Jesus's baptism (Mt 3:16; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22; Jn 1:32-34), and Jesus breathed out His Spirit upon the earth when He exhaled His last breath (Jn 19:30) and upon the Apostles when He first came to them after His Resurrection (Jn 20:22). God the Holy Spirit testifies to the Christ, and it is He who is the answer to Pilate's question when he asked Jesus, "What is truth?" The Spirit who testifies to Christ is the Truth (verse 6).
The Gospel of John 20:19-31 ~ Jesus Appears to the Apostles
19 On the evening[even time] of that first day of the
week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the
Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples
rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with
you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 And when he had said this,
he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins
you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained." 24 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the
Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples said to
him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of
the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand
into his side, I will not believe." 26 Now a week later [And after eight days] his
disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the
doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then
he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand
and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving [become not
unbelieving], but believe." 28 Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord
and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have
seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." 30 Now Jesus
did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in
this book. 31 But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God and that through this belief, you may have life in
his name.
[...] = literal Greek; see the Interlinear Bible
Greek-English, Vol. IV, pages 316-17.
In our reading, it is Resurrection Sunday. The "even time" of the day was toward the end of the Jewish day. The next day for the Jews began at sundown, so their evening was in the mid-to-late afternoon. The passage's time reference is probably to the ninth hour of Jewish time (3 PM). The ninth hour in the afternoon was the third hour of prayer and the time for the sacrifice of the second Tamid lamb at the Temple's afternoon liturgical worship service. It was also the hour Jesus died on the altar of the Cross (Mt 27:46-50; Mk 15:33-39; Lk 23:44-46).
The Apostles were afraid and hid behind locked doors because the Sanhedrin (Jewish Law Court) might arrest them for blasphemy, just as they arrested and condemned Jesus. Jesus came to them supernaturally. Locked doors could stop Him. Jesus's greeting to the disciples is the customary greeting of the Jews. The priest uses these very words as he stands in "persona Christi," in the Person of Christ, as he greets the congregation at Mass.
In His greeting, Jesus reassured the Apostles, who must have felt ashamed of their conduct after His arrest. He lovingly reestablished the intimacy they had previously enjoyed with Him. Jesus showed them His wounded hands and His pierced side because showing them His wounds dispels any impression that He is a ghost or imposter. They truly saw the risen, glorified Body of Jesus Himself, just as He promised (Mt 20:18-19; Mk 10:33-34; Lk 18:31-33).
Then, Jesus made a statement
that would change the Apostles's status in the world:
21 Jesus said to them
again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 And
when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy
Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain
are retained."
This moment was the ordination of the Church's Magisterium,
and Jesus was sending them out into the world with God the Father's power and
authority.
"Receive the Holy Spirit ..."
In the Greek text, the article "the" is missing. Some
scholars suggest it indicates, in this case, that Jesus's breath was not giving
the person of the Holy Spirit, as they would receive with the rest of the New
Covenant Church at the Feast of Pentecost 50 days later, but was instead an
"effusion" of His Spirit. In Hebrew and Greek, the word for "breath" is the
same as "spirit." God first breathed His Spirit into Adam to give him physical
life, and now Christ breathed His Spirit into the Apostles, filling them with
spiritual life. He was sending them forth, in the power of the Holy Spirit, who
will make all things "new" again just as He did in the first Creation
(Gen 1:1-2).
The prophet Ezekiel envisioned this day when he wrote of the Messianic restoration of Israel: He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, 'the Lord Yahweh says this: come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead so that they come to life!' I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army" (Ezek 37:9-10 NJB). Humanity, formally dead to sin, has been resurrected in Christ! The faithful remnant of the Old Israel has become the nucleus of the New Israel, the New Covenant Universal [Catholic] Church that will become an immense army of disciples converting the world through the spread of the Gospel of salvation (CCC 778, 877).
The Sacraments of the Church are visible signs instituted by Christ to confer grace. In verses 22-23, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation). All sin is rebellion against God and deserves the penalty of death. Under the Old Covenant, the sinner placed his hands on the animal and confessed his unintentional sins (Num 15:27-29) before the priest. The animal died in his place, and the priest, as God's representative, forgave his sins. However, there was no forgiveness of intentional sins because no sacrifice was perfect enough to bring that forgiveness (Num 15:30-31). Christ is the unblemished Lamb of sacrifice for venial (unintentional) and mortal (intentional) sins. However, we must still confess and repent our sins to God's representative, the priest, before the pathway opens to God's forgiveness to restore our fellowship and communion with Him.
In verses 22-23, the New Covenant priests receive the Son of God's authority to forgive or retain sins. The concept of private confession of sins has never been part of the Old or New Covenant sacramental system. Even though it is a healthy spiritual practice to confess our shortcomings to God in our daily prayers, it is necessary to bring those venial sins (unintentional sins) before the Lord in the Penitential Rite of the Mass to receive forgiveness through receiving the Eucharist CCC 1393-95, 1436, 1846). Mortal sins must be confessed to Christ's representative, an ordained priest of the New Covenant Church, and a successor of the first ministerial priesthood in Christ. We confess to Christ's representative as though we are confessing to Christ Himself.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that Jesus is the physician of our souls and bodies. He both healed the sick and forgave their sins. In the power of God the Holy Spirit, He has willed His Church to continue His work of healing and salvation. In the Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation, the sinner places himself before the merciful judgment of God, who heals and purifies hearts and souls. CCC#1422: "Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion." Also, see CCC# 1423-1498.
You might ask how do we know Jesus meant for us to confess to a human priest and not privately to Him? You will agree that in verse 22, in speaking to the Apostles, Jesus gave the Church the power to forgive or retain individual sins. How can the Church exercise this power to decide about sins unless we openly confess our sins to Christ through His ordained representative, the priest? And if He gave His priestly representatives this authority, why wouldn't the Church use that power in His name? We must confess specific sins to be forgiven those sins! St. John also differentiated between venial and mortal/deadly sins when he wrote: If anyone sees his brother sinning if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God, and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly (1 Jn 5:16-17).
24 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not
with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen
the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his
hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I
will not believe."
In verse 24, even though Judas's absence made the number of
Apostles eleven, John refers to "the Twelve" as a "perfect unity" of the Apostles.
In Scripture, "twelve" is the symbolic number of the perfection of government
(i.e., the twelve tribes of Israel). After Jesus's Ascension, the Apostles
chose another to replace Judas, and the number was a unity of "Twelve" again.
Poor St. Thomas is always remembered for this remark in verse 25, which must have come from his discouragement and fear. Thomas seems not to be remembered for his courageous statement in John 11:16 when he declared he was prepared to die with Jesus, and indeed, he did die for Jesus. According to the Church's history, St. Thomas suffered martyrdom at the altar of his Church in India. He had faithfully carried the Gospel of Jesus Christ to what was then the end of the earth!
How many times have we been guilty of the same unbelief when we reject the teaching of Mother Church in favor of secular values and morals or what we think is right? How many Catholics in government have stated that the Church must remain separate from the State, and if the law allows abortion, how can they stand against it? Do they need to see the nails in His hands? How many of us question the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist or the perpetual virginity of His blessed mother? Do we need to see the wound in His side? Believing in Jesus Christ's name (Acts 20:21) means accepting all He taught and obeying His Church's interpretation of those teachings. There is no such creature as a "liberal Catholic." Liberal and conservative are political terms. There are orthodox, true doctrine Catholics, or there are false Catholics. Catholicism is not a cafeteria-style religion. It is an all-or-nothing religion. Place your finger in His wounds, and like Thomas, cry out, "My Lord and My God!
26 Now a week later [And after eight days] his disciples
were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors
were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
[...] = Greek text.
It was eight days from the previous Sunday, as the ancients
counted without the concept of zero-place value. The ancient way of counting is
why Scripture determines the number of days Jesus was in the tomb as three days
instead of two, as we would count the days today (see verse 19). In verse 26, it
was now the following Sunday. Sunday is both the first and the eighth day. Saturday
is the seventh day of Creation; therefore, the first day of the Creation event
was what we call Sunday, and the Jews called the "first day of the week
(Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1). In the symbolic significance of numbers in
Scripture, the number eight represented salvation, regeneration, and redemption.
It also symbolizes eternity.
St. Thomas was absent when Jesus first appeared to the Apostles. When he returned, they told him they had seen the Lord, and his response was: "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Eight days later, Jesus returned and challenged Thomas to put his fingers in His nail marks and hand into His side, to which Thomas responded, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus's Resurrection on the eighth day made it the number of the New Covenant people. Christians built all early churches with eight sides. This plan includes the church at Peter's house in Capernaum and all the Byzantine Churches of the 4th-6th centuries. Whenever archaeologists find an ancient foundation with eight sides, they know they have found a Christian church marking a holy site associated with Christ. Jesus's entry into the room was like His entry a week earlier, and His greeting was the same. He did not use the doors. The testimony in verse 26 proves that Jesus was not prematurely pronounced dead and later revived. The laws of physics do not bind Him!
27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see
my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be
unbelieving [become not unbelieving], but believe." 28 Thomas
answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" [...] = literal Greek
IBGE, Vol. IV, page 316.
The literal Greek "become not unbelieving" gives us a better
sense of Thomas's spiritual condition. He had not yet fallen into unbelief;
however, his doubt about the Resurrection put him in danger. What you believe
matters!
Thomas responded to Jesus's challenge by acknowledging Christ as His Lord and God. The literal translation is "the Lord of me and the God of me." Both Peter and Thomas knew how to humble themselves and repent. Judas was lost because he would not repent and return to Christ. Thomas's profession of faith is one of the strongest statements affirming Jesus's divinity in Sacred Scripture!
29 Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because
you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."
Hebrews 11:1 records that Faith is the assurance of
things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen. Thomas's faith would
have had more merit if he had accepted the testimony of the other Apostles
instead of the exceptional proof he received through seeing and touching Jesus's
wounds. St. Paul wrote to the Church in Rome: So faith comes from what is
heard, and what is heard comes from the preaching of Christ (Rom 10:17). Christ's
teachings have been passed from the Apostles down through the generations to us
in the Church today. It is what we hear in the Liturgy of the Word and what Christ's
representative is required to explain fully to us in the homily.
But what is our obligation when we receive the testimony the Apostles passed on to their successors and down through the centuries to us? When we accept that testimony, we must not only believe but also practice what we believe. Jesus's statement, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe," is a benediction our Lord has pronounced for all future generations of believers!
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his
disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written that you
may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that through
this belief, you may have life in his name.
Other signs are not recorded in John's Gospel but are in the
Synoptic Gospels. John rarely repeated what was covered sufficiently in the
Synoptic Gospels. The word "signs" is a major theme of the Gospel of John.
Jesus performed supernatural acts that had greater significance beyond the
miracle. Each miracle was a sign that pointed to theological truth, and John
built his Gospel around seven theologically significant public signs that point
to Jesus's divinity and His claim that He is the Messiah:
| #1 2:1-11 | The sign of water turned to wine at the wedding at Cana |
| #2 4:46-54 | The healing of the official's son |
| #3 5:1-9 | The healing of the paralytic |
| #4 6:1-14 | The multiplication of the loaves to feed the 5,000 |
| #5 9:1-41 | The healing of the man who was born blind |
| #6 11:17-44 | The raising of Lazarus from the dead |
| #7 20:1-10 | The Resurrection of Jesus |
Jesus performed eight miracles in John's Gospel, several of which are not in the Synoptic Gospels. The eighth miracle was a private revelation of Christ's divinity for the Apostles when He walked on the water of the Sea of Galilee and calmed the storm. Jesus' final and most significant public "sign" of His divinity is His Resurrection, the pivotal event of the Christian faith.
Why is Jesus's Resurrection the key to Christian faith?
The Catechism teaches: "Finally, Christ's Resurrection, and the risen Christ Himself, is the principle and source of our future resurrection: 'Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep...for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.' The risen Christ lives in the hearts of His faithful while they await that fulfillment. In Christ, Christians 'have tasted...the powers of the age to come,' and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may 'live no longer for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised'" (CCC# 655).
How many times have we been guilty of the same unbelief as Thomas when we reject the teaching of Mother Church in favor of secular values and morals? How many Catholics in government have stated that the Church must remain separate from the State, and since the law of the land allows abortion, how can they stand against it? Do they need to see the nails in His hands? How many of us question the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist or the perpetual virginity of His blessed mother? Do we need to see the wound in His side? To believe in the name of Jesus Christ is to accept all He taught and be obedient to His Church's teachings. There is no such creature as a "liberal Catholic." Liberal and conservative are political terms. There are orthodox, true doctrine Catholics, or there are false Catholics. Catholicism is not a cafeteria-style religion. It is an all-or-nothing religion. Place your finger in His wounds, and like Thomas, cry out, "My Lord and My God!"
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or
paraphrased in the citation):
Acts 4:32 (CCC 952, 2790);
4:33 (CCC 995*)
Psalm 118:14 (CCC 1808); 118:22 (CCC 587*, 756*)
1 John 5:1 (CCC 2780*, 2790*); 5:6 (CCC 1225*)
John 20:19 (CCC 575*, 643*, 645*, 659*); 20:20 (CCC 645*); 20:21-23 (CCC 1087*, 1120*, 1441*); 20:21 (CCC 730, 858); 20:22-23 (CCC 976, 1485); 20:22 (CCC 730*, 788*, 1287); 20:23 (CCC 1461*, 2839*); 20:24-27 (CCC 644*); 20:26 (CCC 645*, 659*); 20:27 (CCC 645*); 20:28 (CCC 448); 20:30 (CCC 514*); 20:31 (CCC 442*, 514)
The appearances of the risen Christ
(CCC 448*, 641*, 642*, 643*, 644*, 645*, 646*)
The Sunday Eucharist
(CCC 2177, 2178*, 1342*)
Sanctifying presence of the risen Christ in the liturgy
(CCC 1084*, 1085*, 1086, 1087*, 1088*, 1089)
Our new birth in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
(CCC 654*, 655*)
"I believe in the forgiveness of sins"
(CCC 976*, 977*, 978-980, 981*, 982*, 983, 1441*, 1442*)
Communion in
spiritual goods (CCC 949*, 950, 951*, 952*, *953, 1329*, 1342*, 2624*, 2790*)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2015; revised 2021, 2023, 2024 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.