Mercy In My Mouth

 

Learning how showing mercy blesses twice

04/12/2026

John 20:19-31 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Today on Divine Mercy Sunday I want to share with you one of the most sublime speeches on the subject of mercy that’s found in Shakespeare’s play “The Merchant of Venice.” Maybe you have heard it? It begins beautifully: “The quality of mercy is not strained; / It droppeth as gentle rain from heaven / Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest; / It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”

I love the phrase “It is twice blest; / It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” Why? Well, because when we deal with mercy, the world is no longer divided among “winners and losers,” the haves and the have-nots, which is how we usually think. Instead, mercy makes everyone a winner, and everyone has: blessing both he who metes out mercy as well as the one who receives it. We don’t lose anything when we show mercy, we become more God-like. As Shakespeare said later in that speech: “And earthly power doth then show likest God’s when mercy seasons justice.”

In the gospel today we see the risen Jesus demonstrating this twice-blest mercy. First, when Jesus appears to his apostles on Easter Sunday, Thomas is absent. Then when Jesus appears a week later on Divine Mercy Sunday, Thomas is present. And instead of reprimanding him for his lack of faith, Jesus shows mercy, saying “Peace be with you.” We see how mercy is always “twice blest” – Jesus of course can’t be more blessed because he is Blessing itself, and Thomas is blessed by receiving the Lord’s mercy. There are no winners and losers when we are merciful; everyone wins and everyone has.

This weekend we will witness two more examples of how mercy is “twice blest.” On Friday Bishop Taylor announced the clergy changes for this year. You’ll be happy to know I’m not leaving (at least I hope you’re happy about that). But the really good news is future Fr. Christopher Elser and another young, handsome priest named Fr. John Paul Hartnedy will be assigned as two new associates for I.C.

I am going to take a two-month vacation this summer after they arrive! And sadly, Fr. Savio will be leaving this summer to work in the Diocese of Shreveport. How blessed we priests are in being instruments of God’s mercy for his people. Every time we administer the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, we mete out God’s mercy and feel unbelievably blessed. “It blesseth him who gives…”

The second example of God’s twice blest mercy this weekend is that 52 young people will make their First Holy Communion spread out over 5 different Masses. Today when they come forward to receive the Eucharist, they will literally put mercy into their mouths, and taste God’s unconditional love for them, and they will never forget it.

I still remember vividly making my First Holy Communion in Hillsboro, TX. I was wearing a tight, hot suit that made me sweat and a tie that was choking me. I knelt in the first pew because my last name begins with an “A” so I was always the guinea pig and had to go first. I still go first for Communion as a priest at Mass, and I am happy about that. And the name of the church in Hillsoboro, TX is “Our Lady of Mercy.” In other words, I first tasted mercy on my tongue at Our Lady of Mercy.

You see, the moment of First Holy Communion is truly a moment of twice blest mercy, because it blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” What greater blessing of mercy is there in the lift of a priest than to feed God’s people with the Bread of Life? And what greater moment of mercy is there for a Christian than to receive the Author of Mercy on their tongue?

My friends, in a few moments we will all come forward to receive God’s mercy in his Son’s Body and Blood. But that Eucharistic mercy is not meant to stop with us, but we must pass that mercy on to others. In other words, Catholic Christians must become instruments of mercy for those we meet – our family, our friends, and especially our enemies – so we can again feel how mercy is “twice blest.”

Just as we priests are blessed to mete our mercy in Church at Mass, so Christians are blessed to mete out mercy because you are called to be priests in the midst of the world. That is where the word “Mass” comes from. The sending forth at the end of Mass in Latin is “Ite missa est,” which means “Go, you are sent forth,” into the world. Sent forth into the world for what?

You are sent to change the world of its fundamental dynamic, from a world of winners and losers to a world where everyone becomes a winner. From a world of haves and have-nots into a world where everyone has. Because when we are dealing with mercy, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Why? Because “earthly power doth then show likest God’s / When mercy seasons justice.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!