The Holy and Glorious Apostle Thomas
1 Corinthians 4:9-16; John 20:19-31
Read John 20:19-31
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
In his encyclical, Faith and Reason, Saint John Paul II wrote: “In believing, we entrust ourselves to the knowledge acquired by other people” (see paragraph 32). Think of how often you do this every day – put your trust in the knowledge of others. Not many who are reading this would know all the workings of the very computer device on which you are reading. Look at all the developments in the last 50 years – so much knowledge – and not one of us has obtained it all. We share what we have learned, and we trust in what others tell us. Our Lord gives us the image of the Church as a body, and St. Paul develops this idea throughout his writings. We are a community of believers who actually believe the testimony of witnesses who saw the risen Lord, the empty tomb, His ascension to heaven, etc.
In today’s world, though, there is a tendency to demand that we see what others testify as true. It’s almost as if we are saying, “It’s not true until I see it.” And it is here that we catch ourselves in the same boat as Thomas. “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
The wonderful thing is that for things in which we profess belief as Christians, Thomas has dealt with all the doubt for us. We can cast doubt aside and join in the full community of believers especially when we profess our faith in the words of the Nicene Creed. With Thomas now, because of his doubting moment, we can cry aloud to the world, “My Lord and my God,” or as and many others prefer, “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death by death, and to those in the tombs giving life!”