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In today’s Gospel, we see that the Risen Lord appeared to the apostles, who were gathered together in one place. The fact that they were gathered in one place is not without significance, for it is there that the Lord appears to them. One of them, as we shall see, was not in the gathering, and thus missed the blessing of seeing and experiencing the risen Lord. It might be said that Thomas, the absent disciple, “blocked” his blessing.Some people want Jesus without the Church. No can do. Jesus is found in his Church, among those who have gathered. There...

Divine Mercy Sunday April 22, 2001 Second Sunday of Easter Reading I (Acts 5:12-16) Reading II (Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19) Gospel (St. John 20:19-31) At the end of the Gospel reading today, Saint John tells us that he has written these things down so that we will believe that Jesus is the Christ; that through belief in His name, we will have life. That is the purpose of Our Lord’s coming: that we would have life. He said we would have life to its fullness. He wants us to have abundant life. Not just natural life, like somebody, for instance,...