Second Sunday of Easter (2025)

INTRODUCTION

Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday.

Pope Francis whose funeral was yesterday has urged us to embrace this day and truly reflect a spirit of mercy, repentance, and reconciliation in our lives.

HOMILY

Have you ever experienced anxiety so strong, worry so overwhelming, that you were caught in a loop of thinking, and overanalyzing every situation?

It happened to me — five years ago — during my first months as a new pastor here at St. Mark.

There were many changes that needed to take place, requested by the diocese, and not everyone was happy.

You know how it is with change, right? Especially when we are attached to what we like.

Some employees and some volunteers — they struggled a lot with the necessary changes.

And I carried all that stress within me.

Sometimes, I received emails that were quite negative and full of complaints, and I must admit they became a source of stress for me.

To that point that one day, during a Funeral Mass, while I was preaching, I suddenly had a panic attack.

I had never experienced anything like it before.

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would burst out of my chest.

I was sweating. I felt dizzy.

For a moment, I thought I was having a heart attack.

After the Mass, I went to Urgent Care.

The doctor told me, “You’re fine.”

But hearing that didn’t make me feel fine.

I couldn’t understand what had just happened.

Later, I had a chance to speak — first with a friend, a Catholic nun who is also a licensed therapist.

She helped me see something important:

The stress, the fear, the expectations of others — they had all built up inside me.

And that panic attack was a strong sign.

A sign that I needed to accept what I could not change.

A sign to surrender what was not mine to control.

A sign to trust God more deeply.

Even after that — for almost two years — I carried a lot of stress, and it was hard for me to come and celebrate Mass publicly. It didn’t disappear overnight.

I was afraid it would happen again. Fr. Dominik was a witness to that, and was a great support.

And what changed?

The world didn’t suddenly become paradise. It’s still not perfect.

People are still people. Situations still happen.

But I rediscovered where real strength comes from.

I had known it before — but somewhere along the way, I had forgotten.

And it’s right here — in the Gospel, and my favorite Jesus Prayer.

Today’s Gospel is also a good lesson, we see the disciples of Jesus.

They are locked. They are scared, maybe even panicked.

They have just seen Jesus — their Jesus — crucified.

And although Mary Magdalene told them she had seen the Risen Lord, they are still hiding.

They are afraid.

Maybe their minds were busy — thinking, wondering, remembering, planning, calculating — just like ours so often are.

And what happens?

In the middle of all that fear and confusion — Jesus comes.

He stands right there among them.

He meets them exactly where they are.

He doesn’t wait until they have perfect faith.

He doesn’t wait until they figure everything out.

He comes right into their darkness.

And look He didn’t say: “Why didn’t you believe?” or “Why are you hiding?”

But simply He says: “Peace be with you.”

And He says it twice.

What’s interesting is that the whole story is mostly written in the past tense.

“The doors where the disciples met were locked.”

“Jesus came.”

“And stood in their midst.”

But then suddenly:

“Jesus says to them: Peace be with you.” — and that is present tense!

That simple detail shows that Jesus is still speaking the same words to us today.

He says to you: “Peace be with you.”

One of the great saints of the Orthodox Church — also venerated by Catholics — St. Seraphim of Sarov, once said:

“Acquire the Spirit of Peace, and a thousand souls around you will be saved.”

Notice what he says.

He doesn’t tell us: read all the Catholic books.

He doesn’t tell us: master the art of persuasion to bring your loved ones back to the Church.

No!!!

He points to something much deeper, much simpler — but also much harder.

Acquire the Spirit of Peace.

The peace of the Risen Lord.

And when you have it — truly have it — thousands around you will find salvation.

Not because of arguments.

Not because of pressure.

But because of the quiet, radiant presence of Christ Himself within you.

It is the same path that Pope Francis chose — acquiring the Spirit of Peace so that many could be touched.His love for everyone, especially the marginalized, the poor, and the abandoned, flowed from the Peace of the Risen Lord.

Let this Divine Mercy Sunday help us see this clearly:

Jesus comes to you and me this morning and says,

“Peace be with you” — wherever you are spiritually, mentally, in darkness, fear, in sin, or disappointment.

And then HE adds: “Just trust in Me.”