Explore the depth of belief and faith in the context of Divine Mercy Sunday through the Gospel of John. Reflect on how God's love invites us to respond with an open heart.
Today's Gospel: John 10:19-31
Variations on the word “believe” occur seven times in this reading, which might prompt us to ask what it really means to believe in the Lord. We could say that to believe in Him is to profess the truth of who He is and to live in accordance with His Word. That would be true, but belief is not a one-sided gesture. Per the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it is better understood as an exchange of love.
In response to this query of what it means to “believe,” paragraph 26 states, “Faith is man’s response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life.”
To believe, then, is to be part of a kind of conversation with the Lord. God extends His love to man, and faith is the proper response to that love. God “gives himself to man,” and in doing so, gives, too, a “superabundant light”—a guide, an aide, a help—as man seeks the meaning of life. When he finds this, the proper response will again be to reach back out to God.
We see an illustration of this reaching out in this Gospel reading. Christ offers Himself to Thomas, and Thomas responds by reaching out to touch the wounds in His side. He reaches out verbally, as well, pronouncing Christ his Lord and God, effectively identifying Jesus as holding the ultimate meaning of his life.
Thomas’s belief is not simply the fruit of effort of his end. Prompted by God’s love, it is both reception and gift. Belief requires an open heart. It is possible because God first loved us.
Ponder:
In what ways do I express or live out my receptivity to the gift of God’s love?
Pray:
Dear Jesus, thank You for the gift of Your love and mercy. Guide me to respond with a full gift of myself to You.
Pray Together:
Thomas needed to touch Christ’s side to believe in Him. Take a walk and point out things you can touch, smell, and see that remind you of God’s love. Say a prayer of thanks for each expression of His love.
Copyright 2026 Lindsay Schlegel
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