This is the second week for our series for the Easter season, that we are calling “Groundbreaking”. Easter celebrates the most groundbreaking event in history, this event was truly ground breaking in every sense of the word. The impact is still being felt today. A third of the world’s population is still following a Jewish carpenter, who lived 2000 years ago? He never invented anything, He never made anything, He never had any money, and here we are all in this Church celebrating his life. It all comes down to Easter. All this impact because of the Resurrection. The day Jesus rose from the dead. Here’s another thing, He said that because He rose from the dead, we would rise from the dead too. That’s My friends is why Easter is ground breaking for everyone. It also started a movement that became known as a Church. From the very beginning this all new Ground breaking Church changed the world and the course of human history. What did the Apostles do that drew people to them? With this series we are going to be relying on the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Todays reading is from the 5^thChapter of acts. The Apostles did something that made the people pay attention what was it? It’s not their Knowledge, most weren’t well educated. It’s not their religion? It’s not their liturgical rules? It wasn’t their code of cannon law for Apostles? Then what was it? It’s really simple: they acted. They did something. Here’s what we read in Acts. They, the Apostles were all together in Solomon’s portico. We know the Apostles spent time there following the Resurrection. After the church was born, as a result of the Resurrection, compassion became a symbol so to speak. Not because Christians were inherently better than other people but because they came to understand that Jesus healed people. It’s what he did, and it is what we should do. Bringing healing to a hurting world was an essential part of being a follower of Jesus Christ. In turn, as the Christian community responded this way, outsiders started to take notice. Bringing healing to a hurting world was part of becoming a Christian and this was groundbreaking. Early Christians were not attracted initially to the Gospel message. They hadn’t even heard the Gospel yet. However, they were attracted to the way Christs followers treated people. The God of Israel was different. Throughout the old testament, God expresses his affection for Israel through mercy. Especially the afflicted and forgotten. The Church grew because of it’s compassion and care. My friends it should be the same for us today and our parish. To be a healthy church, or a growing church, for us to be a groundbreaking church. Like the early church. We my brothers and sisters should do the same thing. and that begins, with what we do right here in this Church building. In today’s Gospel, Thomas’s act of doubt reveals an important aspect of faith. Faith is rooted not only in a supernatural value, but in the experience of inclusion. The disciples have been elevated to a new level of awareness about Jesus. Thomas however has not. He feels excluded, Jesus breaks through Thomas’s feelings of exclusion by inviting him to touch his wounds. “Do not be unbelieving but believe”. Thomas has been given the gift of welcome. Jesus has healed Thomas’s wound. The wound of being left out. Perhaps we can do as Jesus did with those who are sitting on the sidelines of our parish, it may strengthen their faith and ours. I know life tends to beat all of us up, every day. We are assaulted with criticism and complaints and attacks on our hearts, there’s broken friendships, broken relationships, broken promises, fear and failure, disabilities, and disease, disappointment and despair. We deal with all this yes, my brother’s and sister’s we all do. All the time. Here starting today, starting with our sharing in the Eucharistic meal, it can be different. In today’s readings we hear of Peters first miracle, he heals a lame man. At this time in the new Church people were fearful of Peter and his group, there leader had just been crucified. The authorities held the apostles with suspicion and contempt. Hanging with these guys could get you in trouble, but because they heard about the miracle, they came to see, the wonderful works of the apostles. Despite difficulties and persecution, the church grew, and that’s true of the church in each age. God my brother’s and sister’s wills for the church’s growth and success. Our church will always and everywhere succeed, when we do what he told us to do. The gates of hell cannot prevail against our Church. My friends, Mass can be an opportunity to put aside the world and its challenges, at least for an hour, and worship our God in unity and peace. It was Pope John Paul who established the tradition of naming the Sunday after Easter “Divine Mercy Sunday”. To highlight the mercy of God as giving the ultimate expression of the resurrection. Since then, God has established His Church to be his instrument of mercy in the world. And when people in our world, and in our community, see that we care about one another and show love and mercy in our community. It sure makes a compelling case for Christ, far more compelling than anything we could ever say. So, this coming week let’s all go out of our way to show Jesus’ loving mercy to people we meet. I have noticed that people are drawn to people who have spent time with Christ, who have been healed by Him. We my friends could call that “ground breaking.”