The celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday,2020, evoked some very deep reflections. As we joined Thomas in his lockdown time, born of doubts and fears, many of us came face to face with our own personal struggles as we seek to find an opening in the darkness. The Gospel Story once again revealed a new way of seeing and it seemed to suggest that there is a key to the closed door and the social distance. For Thomas this key took him back into the wounds, into the unbearable sorrow, into the love without charge and in his moment of reconnecting with the evidence of sunrise, Thomas was freed from lockdown. Unless I put my fingers into the wounds… Face to face with the wounds and the nails our minds and hearts reopen and the social distance becomes a connection.

In his homily for Divine Mercy Sunday Pope Francis noted how Jesus unlocked the  fortress of fear with the simple words, Peace Be With You!  It was mercy that moved the stone and broke through the walls and returned the disciples to hope. “The Hand” the Pope said “that always puts us back on our feet, is Mercy.” In these weeks and months of darkness we, like Thomas, have seen with our own eyes a revolution of tenderness in our communities, in our neighbourhoods, in our hospitals and care facilities, stretching over mountains and oceans, to the ends of the earth. In what is spoken of as the greatest lockdown in history Mercy is offering a key. Peace Be With You.

On Divine Mercy Sunday Pope Francis called our attention to the pandemic of selfishness. As the analysis of Covid-19 begins to flood the airwaves the essential questions about inequality, the plight of displaced persons and  the degradation of earth are shaking every system, everywhere. The Pope begs us to learn from the first Christian Community who pooled all their resources and distributed to those in need. “This is not some ideology”, the Pope said. “It is Christianity.” In concluding his homily Pope Francis speaks of our “collective future” which can only be realized if our recovery efforts embrace everyone. Otherwise “there will be no future for anyone.” Put your finger into my wounds …

 Peace Be With You

Anna Burke