In the Gospel reading for this special Sunday, we hear about a time when Jesus visited His friends, the disciples, after He came back to life (John 20:19-31). Jesus said, "Peace be with you," to His friends. It's like Jesus is telling them, "Don't worry, I'm here, and everything will be okay!"

Jesus showed His friends His hands and side with the marks from the cross so they would know it was really Him. His friends were so happy to see Him alive! Then Jesus breathed on them and gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit. He told them that when they receive this gift, they can share God's love and forgiveness with others too.

You see, my friends, the Holy Spirit helps us do what is right, and He helps us to be more like Jesus. Just like Jesus forgave His friends for their mistakes, He also wants to forgive us for ours. That's the beautiful message of Divine Mercy Sunday!

One of Jesus' friends named Thomas wasn't there when Jesus visited the others. When they told him that they saw Jesus, Thomas didn't believe them. He said he needed to see and touch Jesus' marks to believe. Later, Jesus came again and asked Thomas to touch His marks. Thomas believed right away, and he called Jesus, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus then said something very important: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." This means that even though we weren't there to see Jesus after He came back to life, we can still believe in Him. We can trust that He loves us and wants to forgive us.

Divine Mercy Sunday reminds us of this amazing gift of God's love and forgiveness. We can celebrate it by going to Mass with our family or doing something special at home to remember Jesus' love for us. I like to draw pictures of Jesus, showing Him as my best friend who is always ready to listen and help me.

We can also celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday by forgiving others, just like Jesus forgives us. It's not always easy, but we can try to be more like Jesus and show love to everyone, even those who might be difficult to get along with.

Divine Mercy Chaplet

One special way we can celebrate this Sunday is by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet. It's a way to think about how much Jesus loves us. You can hold a rosary, but you don't have to.

First, kiss the crucifix, make the sign of the cross. While holding the crucifix in the palm of your hands, remember how much Jesus loves us and how He helped us by dying on the cross for our sins. When my mom showed me how to do this, I could almost feel the nail marks in my hands!

Now, let's go through the prayers and the fun motions we do for each one:

• "Eternal Father": Put your hands together and bow your head.
• "I offer you": Lift your hands to the sky, like you're giving a big hug to heaven.
• "In atonement for our sins": Hold your beads, tap your chest, and bow your head.
• "For the sake of His sorrowful passion": Reach to the sky, fold your hands, and bow your head.
• "Holy God": Fold your hands, bow your head, raise your hands, hold your beads, tap your chest, and reach to the sky.

You can finish by singing a song called "Jesus, I Trust in You."

Have a great week!