Sometimes we tend to think of saints as extraordinary human beings and larger-than-life figures who had it all together. Today we celebrate a man who struggled in his faith to the extent that his second name became “The Doubter.” He was a man who, doubted the resurrection of Jesus. As we say within Holy Cross circles, he thought Jesus was “dead, dead, dead!”
He demanded proof for him to believe the resurrection: “Unless I see the mark of nails in his hands, unless I put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Well, the Lord appeared to the disciples and said to Thomas, "Come here, 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."
The Heart's Reasoning
From time to time, we all crave assurance of our faith. There are times especially through tough seasons in our lives when we ask “God, are you there? I can’t see you, I can’t hear you, I can’t feel you! Show me something, give me a visible sign and help my unbelief!” Sometimes He gives us a sign and other times He repeats the words He told Thomas in today’s gospel "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."
The biggest lesson here is that faith is simply a loving trust. It is saying to the Lord, “Jesus, I trust you.” Life has this tension between knowing and believing. That tension is not limited to the realm of matters of faith; it is generally a human issue. It is Blaise Pascal who said that “The heart has its reasons that reason knows not.” Sometimes it is not all a matter of the mind, a matter of reason and empirical evidence, sometimes the reasons are beyond reason or evidence. It is what you find when people ask ‘Why did that lady get married to such a man? Why did that man get married to such a woman?”
The heart has its own reasons that reason itself will never know. Be careful about asking for evidence of everything. There are matters for which we only have to trust God and believe Him, and, like Saint Faustina, simply say, “Jesus I Trust in you!” Let us keep an eye on the habit of trying to be in control of everything and allow God to take the lead.
The Need for Community
From Saint Thomas the Apostle we also learn something else equally important. After the crucifixion and death of Jesus, he withdrew from the rest of the believers and chose to deal with the disappointment and the sadness all alone rather than deal with it in fellowship with other followers of Christ.
Consequently, when Christ appeared the first time, Thomas missed seeing Jesus because he was not with the others. Whereas solitude has its own place in the Christian life, we sometimes miss so much when we entirely separate ourselves from the faith community. There are things that can happen to us when we are in community with others that will never happen to us when we are all alone.
It is in fellowship with other believers that we are likely to meet Him face to face. It is in fellowship with others, especially during difficult times, that we can lean into other people’s faith, we can find encouragement, we can be supported, compared to when we choose to close ourselves off. The Lord tells us elsewhere in scripture that when two or three people are gathered in His name, He is present!
Sharing the Good News
As we celebrate one of the fathers of our faith, may we be taught and inspired by the example of Saint Thomas the Apostle to work through our own doubts and unbelief. As we celebrate a great missionary, may the Lord renew our missionary impulse and inflame us with this burning desire to share Him with our families, our communities, and others in other parts of the Lord where He is yet to be known, loved, and served.
- Today’s Readings
- Father Fred's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
- To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Consider inviting others to join too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
