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 Divine Mercy Sunday, Year A: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima

Theme: The Qualities of a Community Whose Christ Is Risen

Readings: Acts 2:42-47; 1 Pt. 1:3-9; Jn 20:19-31

Dear friends, on this Second Sunday of Easter, the Church invites us to embrace the qualities of a community that truly reflects the resurrection of Christ. She challenges us to become a people transformed—people who forgive, who love, and who care for one another.

Before Christ’s death and resurrection, His disciples were much like anyone else, struggling with personal ambitions and competing for status. But the resurrection brought about a profound transformation in them, turning them into a model community that inspired admiration. Today’s first reading shows that the early Christian community began to live a truly communal life—one marked by peace, love, mutual support, and selflessness. It tells us, “All who believed were together and had all things in common; they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need. Day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people.”

The disciples allowed themselves to be transformed by the power of Christ’s resurrection and by the gift of peace and mercy He offered them in today’s Gospel. They opened their hearts to the risen Christ, who drove away their selfishness and restored their God‑given nature. In the second reading, St. Peter refers to this transformative power when he says, “By his great mercy, we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Dear brothers and sisters, Christ has risen. We have celebrated His resurrection with joyful Alleluias, and He has blessed us with His peace. Yet, when we look honestly at our families and communities, we notice that we often fall short of the qualities that marked the early Christians. What, then, is our challenge? Why do our communities still reflect hatred, injustice, indifference to the needy, and other unchristian behaviours? Why do our families, relationships, and personal lives not yet radiate the light of Christ’s resurrection? Why do we still lack peace, love, and forgiveness—even though Christ is risen? Why do some still live as though Christ has not risen?

When the disciples allowed the resurrection of Christ to transform them, their community became a place visited frequently by Christ, as we saw in today’s Gospel. Their virtues made their community attractive to the Lord.

Dear friends, if we want our lives, families, and communities to attract the constant presence of Christ, we must embrace the same qualities that shaped the early Christian community.

Today, the Church also presents us with another powerful path: the way of Mercy. This Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday—a day to contemplate the boundless mercy of God toward us, His creatures. Our God is merciful: He loved us even while we were sinners; He forgave us without conditions; He corrects with love and without condemning the offender.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus appeared to His disciples, offering them peace and breathing upon them the Spirit of Mercy. He forgave those who abandoned Him in His suffering and entrusted them—and us—with the mission of reconciliation through mercy.

If you want your life to attract the presence of Christ, you must embrace God’s mercy: by turning away from sin, by drinking deeply from the ocean of His mercy, and by extending mercy to those who have offended you. You must be as merciful as the Father. If you want your family to be a place visited regularly by Christ, it must be a home built on peace, mercy, and forgiveness. Christ does not dwell in a heart filled with vengeance or evil intentions; nor does He dwell in a family where conflict reigns and love is absent. Without forgiveness and mercy, there can be no lasting peace or love. A community or family without peace and love cannot truly be called Christian.

Therefore, let us allow our lives and families to be recreated by the power of Christ’s resurrection. Let us make our Christian communities, families, and relationships places of love, mercy, and mutual support. When our homes and communities radiate peace, love, and generosity, our lives will attract the presence of Christ—just as the early Christians attracted the presence of the risen Lord.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima