Today in the Church we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday alongside of the 2nd Sunday of Easter. If we reflect a moment on the goodness of Divine Mercy, mercy that flows from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we hopefully see it as pure gift offered to us by the love of God. Divine mercy reminds us of the familiar verse we’ve seen over the years at different sporting events (except for hockey; they don’t care about this stuff), where a fan holds up a sign that says “John 3:16.” “For God so loved the world, that gave his only Son, so that who believe in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” That would be mercy in action. Not perishing, but gaining eternal life. Not being tossed into an eternal dumpster, but being gently placed into the most beautiful garden we can imagine. Divine Mercy brings us to that garden. We all need God’s mercy before we leave this place. Think of the best person you know. They may be sitting next to you while keeping that social distance…. Think of the most God-fearing, “perfect” person you know. Before they take their last breath, they will need a good dose of the mercy Jesus gave to the thief crucified next to him, promising him Paradise that day. With the circumstances we have going on in our nation and throughout the world, I can’t think of a more proper Church day for each of us to take a few moments, either by ourselves or together as family, to ask God to touch our hearts with his Divine Mercy. It’s a day for families to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. For those who don’t know it, you can easily find it online. And, maybe today can be the start of a solemn family prayer, as we all pray for God’s mercy to lead us out of this pandemic. The Apostle most in need of the Lord’s Divine Mercy today is Thomas the Doubter. And the Thomas image for today is this; he didn’t trust the witness of his friends who all agreed that Jesus appeared to them in the Upper Room. Like Peter before the crucifixion, Thomas became a denier. It’s one thing if it was Peter alone telling Thomas about the Lord’s appearance. Or just Bartholomew, or just Simon or Jude. But it was all of them collectively telling Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” The response back… “Yea, sure you did. Was he wearing a Patriots jersey he found in the tomb? We know they were also dead at one time.” In Thomas’ unbelief, he mocked his fellow Apostles. Notice that the absence of Thomas from the room is the reason for his doubt. Absence and doubt are siblings. How does that speak about folks today where God is absent in their lives? Maybe that’s one reason for all this present upheaval. God is calling everyone back to Him. He’s seeking to remove absence, and replace it with belief. Where there is unbelief, it’s not the Lord’s choosing. But the choosing of the doubter. Or, the person whose life is just too busy for a few moments each day with their Creator. Where God is absent in our lives, we become first-class doubters and skeptics, questioning his presence. What closes the door of absence is belief. Do we believe the Risen Lord is present in our world right now as we sit in our locked upper rooms waiting for something great to happen? Something that will tell us for certain that the victory over this virus has been accomplished? Physically, it hasn’t been won yet. Most of us believe it will be. But spiritually, this victory has been won. It’s a battle that was won in the resurrection of Christ. Belief is a central part of our faith that is to be carried with us wherever we are, wherever we go, and whomever we’re with. Belief begins in the heart. So where the heart goes, so goes our belief. Thomas left the Upper Room for some reason. To shop. To get some exercise. To get away from the bad smell of 11 guys who haven’t taken a bath in a while…. When Thomas left before Jesus appeared, he took with him the bad odor of unbelief. His heart was void of belief. He refused to believe the words of Jesus, “And on the third day I will be raised.” Those words were to be carried with him everywhere. So, when Thomas returned to the Upper Room and was informed by trusting witnesses that they had seen the Lord, if Jesus was in his heart everywhere, the good St. Thomas would have believed without seeing. Just like we’re called to do right now. The first set of eyes for belief in the Risen Lord are not found in the head. They are in the heart. So instead of rejoicing with his fellow Apostles, Thomas sits in the corner and whimpers about Jesus’ bad timing towards him. Time for Thomas to grow up. And now is the time for all doubters to mature in faith and belief. We have a way of questioning God’s timing in events that directly touch our lives. There’s the appearance of God’s absence. The appearance that he walks by us without saying hello, or even looking at us, not making eye contact. It’s like, “C’mon Lord, acknowledge us! Acknowledge somehow, in some way, that you know we’re dealing with this! Come back to the upper room of this world.” The truth is, he’s here. “Where two or three gather in my name, especially on Divine Mercy Sunday and seek my infinite mercy, there I am in your midst.” Thomas is blessed because Jesus returned to cast away the absence and doubt that stole his heart. We are blessed because Christ is in our midst, but only if we believe.