Divine Mercy Sunday 2026

My Dear friends in Christ, with joy I welcome you to the 2nd Sunday of Easter known as DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY.

It was on May 5th, 2000, that the church issued a decree officially, naming 2nd sunday of Easter as DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY. Among those that promoted this great message was Pope St John Paul II, especially in his encyclical ‘Dives in Mesricordia’ - Rich in Mercy- in 1980. More so, in 2002, he entrusted the world to the mercy of God at the shrine in Krakow.

Today therefore is not  “Divine Justice Sunday,” not “Divine Power Sunday,” but Divine Mercy Sunday. The Church, in her wisdom, takes us back into that upper room where fear had locked the doors, where ten men huddled like frightened children, and where the Risen Christ appeared, not with thunder, not with accusation, but with the quiet, conquering word: “Peace be with you.”

Look at Him! The same Lord who had been scourged, crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross, and pierced with a lance now stands in their midst. His wounds are not hidden; they are glorified. He does not say, “Look what you did to Me.” He says, “Peace.” And then He breathes on them and gives them a power that not even the angels possess: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins you retain, they are retained.”

ARE YOU AWARE OF WHAT HAPPENED?

My friends, do you realize what has just happened? The Creator of the universe has handed over to weak, sinful men the authority to wipe away the very guilt of the world! Not to guess at forgiveness. Not to hope for it. But to declare it with the authority of God Himself. This is not a human invention; this is the Easter gift. This is Divine Mercy made audible, made tangible, made sacramental.

Mercy! Oh, how the world has forgotten what that word means. We speak of “tolerance,” of “acceptance,” of “moving on.” But mercy is something far more terrible and far more beautiful. Mercy is love when it meets sin. Mercy is the heart of God breaking open so that the very hell we have chosen for ourselves might be flooded with heaven. Mercy is not the denial of justice; it is justice kissed by love. On the Cross, justice and mercy met and kissed each other. Justice demanded payment; mercy paid the price. And mercy prevails over Judgement (James 2:13).  And now, on this Sunday of Divine Mercy, that same transaction is placed into the hands of the Church.

WERE THE APOSTLES QUALIFIED?

The apostles were not chosen because they were sinless. Peter had denied the Lord three times. Thomas had doubted few minutes ago. All of them had run away even before now. Yet to these very ‘cowards’ Christ says, “I trust you with My mercy.” He does not wait for them to become perfect, NO!, He makes them the instruments of His perfection. He does not say, “When you are worthy, then forgive.” He says, “I make you worthy by the power of My Spirit.” That is the divine audacity of Mercy.

THE POWER IS STILL WITH US

DO you know the good news? this power did not die with the apostles. It was passed on through the laying on of hands, through ordination, through the priesthood of the New Covenant. Every priest who stands in the confessional is not there in his own name. He is there in the name of the Risen Christ. When he says, “I absolve you from your sins,” it is not Rev.Father Emmanuel speaking, it is not Fr. Ernest Speaking, rather it is the voice of Jesus Christ Himself saying once again, “Peace be with you… your sins are forgiven.” You can imagine the kind of joy that radiates in your heart when your sins are forgiven!

WHY DO I NEED A PRIEST?

In the heart of this joy, some will object and doubt, just like Thomas: “Why do I need a priest? Why can’t I just tell God directly?” My friends, because God Himself chose it this way! The same Lord who could have forgiven sins from heaven chose to forgive them through the wounds of His apostles. Why? Because mercy is not cheap. Mercy is personal. Mercy is incarnational. Mercy wants to look you in the eye, to hear your voice, to touch your soul through the hands of another. Mercy wants you to experience the same peace the apostles experienced when Christ breathed on them. That breath still blows through every confessional.

Look at the world around us. We are drowning in guilt; guilt we will not name, guilt we will not confess. We medicate it with noise, with pleasure, with anger, with distraction and lots more But guilt does not die; it festers. And into that festering wound steps the Risen Christ on Divine Mercy Sunday and says, “I have given My priests the power to heal it.” Not by psychology. Not by positive thinking. But by My Blood.

THE WORLD IS IN GUILT

St. Faustina, the apostle of Divine Mercy, heard Our Lord say: “The greatest sinners would achieve great sanctity if only they would trust in My mercy.” The greatest sinners! Not the nice people. Not the ones who think they are “basically good.” The greatest sinners. The ones who think their sins are too big, too frequent, too shameful. To them Christ says: “My mercy is greater.”

My brothers and sisters, this is not a suggestion. This is an invitation written in the Blood of the Lamb. On this Divine Mercy Sunday, the Church places before you the image of the Risen Christ with rays of blood and water streaming from His Heart. Those rays are not decoration. They are the very life of the sacraments—Baptism and the Eucharist flowing from the Cross, and flowing still through the ministry of forgiveness.

Go to Confession. Do not delay. Do not make excuses. Do not say, “I will go later.” Later may never come. The same Christ who appeared in the locked room can enter the locked room of your heart today. He is not waiting to condemn you; He is waiting to absolve you. He is not waiting to shame you; He is waiting to embrace you. He is not waiting for you to be worthy; He is waiting to make you worthy by His mercy.

And when you have received that mercy, then try and become ‘Mercy’, by this i mean, forgive those who have hurt you. Be kind to the unkind. Love the unlovable. For the mercy you receive must flow through you, or it will stagnate in your soul. The power given to the apostles to forgive sins is also a power given to every baptized soul to live as a forgiving person.

“Peace be with you.

May the Lord bless and keep you. Amen

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Igwe, HFFBY