Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost 

disciples, and the Ascension occurred on the 40th day (Acts 1:3), not on the eighth day. Therefore, the word 

 then  does not mean that one event occurred immediately after another, and so the discourse in Luke 24:44 

49 could have occurred a full week after the events of Luke 24:36 43. 

Divine Mercy Sunday 

    The first Sunday after Easter is celebrated by many faithful Catholics as Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus Christ 

revealed to Saint Faustina Kowalska that the first Sunday after Easter is to be celebrated as the Feast of Divine 

Mercy. Pope John Paul II established the Feast of Divine Mercy, as an official part of the Church's liturgical 

calendar, at the canonization of Saint Faustina on April 30 of 

A.D.

 2000. But God established the Feast of 

Divine Mercy on the first Divine Mercy Sunday, which was the  eighth day from the day of Christ's 

Resurrection. The Feast of Divine Mercy was established by the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, 

and began on the first Sunday after the Resurrection. 

    The Mercy of God is poured out on all creation through the suffering, death, and Resurrection of our Lord 

Jesus Christ. That is why the Feast of Divine Mercy is placed on the first Sunday after the Resurrection of 

Jesus Christ. And the very first Feast of Divine Mercy occurred on that first Sunday after the Resurrection of 

Christ. On the first Sunday after the Resurrection, the eighth day since Christ rose from the dead, Jesus 

appeared to the Eleven Apostles (Mk 16:14 18; Lk 24:44 49; Jn 26 29). Matthias, who was later chosen as the 

twelfth Apostle (Acts 1:26), must also have been present (Acts 1:21 22; 1 Cor 15:5). That Sunday, the eighth 

day from the Resurrection, was the first Feast of Divine Mercy. 

    Sacred Scripture reveals to us a number of events which occurred on that day: 

     Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they sat at table; and he upbraided them for their 

unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.  (Mk 

16:14). 

    In the Gospel of Mark, we learn that Jesus corrected the Apostles for their lack of faith and their 

unresponsiveness to God's grace. On the Feast of Divine Mercy, God offers us correction, through His Mercy 

and Love, because of our lack of faith and hardness of heart. Jesus was merciful to the Apostles, despite their 

sinfulness and lack of faith. So also is Jesus merciful to us, despite our sins and our lack of faith. 

     And he said to them, `Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes 

and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.'   (Mk  16:15 16). 

    The Feast of Divine Mercy is not only for Catholics, and not only for Christians, it is for the whole world 

and all of creation. When Catholics receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation with sincere repentance from their 

sins, and receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion with faith and prayer, on the first Sunday after Easter, 

they participate most fully in the Feast of Divine Mercy. But, on this day of great mercy, God pours out His 

Mercy, Love, and Grace on the whole world, even on those who do not yet believe and do not yet understand. 

    When we participate in the Feast of Divine Mercy, we not only receive God's tender Mercy, we also 

become God's pitiful little assistants to bring God's unfathomable Mercy to the whole world. Just as Jesus 

Christ, on the first Feast of Divine Mercy, gave the command to His Twelve Apostles to  preach the gospel to 

the whole creation  (Mk 16:15), so also does Jesus Christ, on the Feast of Divine Mercy, give us poor sinners 

the command to preach the gospel to all creation by being merciful even to the worst of sinners. 

    On that first Feast of Divine Mercy, Jesus Christ also reminded His followers that some will not believe, 

some will reject Christ and the Gospel, some will reject the Mercy of God such as these will be condemned 

(Mk 16:16). The incomprehensible Mercy of God is not an excuse to refuse to repent and to refuse to follow 

Christ on the Way of the Cross. Those who reject the Mercy of God by refusing to repent and by refusing to be 

merciful to others, will be condemned by the Justice of God (cf. Mt 24:45 51; 25:1 13; 25:31 46). 

     Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, `Thus it is written, that the 

Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should 

be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.'   (Lk 

24:45 48). 

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