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2nd Sunday Of Easter C

Celebrating 100 years

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Cycle C

Q 263: Has the tradition been too hard on the apostle Thomas, for “doubting” that Jesus had risen?

Actually, the tradition has served us well, by preserving this wonderful story in the gospel according to St. John (Jn 20:19-31). Previously, the risen Jesus had already appeared to the other apostles. They believed and rejoiced, and were given the Holy Spirit to be with them as they became empowered to be missionaries just like Jesus.

Thomas is like all of us. It is only natural that we would like to “see” the “real” Jesus, the one the apostles walked and talked with! But this story of Thomas helps us to see exactly what Jesus wants from all of us, what he is calling us to do. He is teaching us that the risen Christ can only be met in the faith of the believing and trusting community. St. Paul would soon be preaching that this faith comes from hearing, and what people need to hear is the word of God preached to them (Rom. 10). And stories of faith, like that of Thomas who struggled to believe, are always the best “witness” stories.

The risen Christ can be “seen,” can become “visible” to others, but only through you and me - - at least this is the “norm” that Jesus has established. The One we caused to be crucified gave us the awesome gift of his peace; and now he wants us to pass that on to everyone we meet. Each one of us has many gifts that are given for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ, his Church. Love, peace, compassion and forgiveness rank at the top of the list of things to pass along. But it is our “faith,” a living faith that is reflected in the way we live, that is the key to witnessing to the glory of God!

Know Your Catechism! Are there any obstacles that stand between you and a deeper faith in Jesus? Pray, “Lord, increase my faith!” Only in God will we find the truth and happiness we are constantly looking for (CCC #27). The miracles of Christ and the saints (such as those in the 1st Reading, Acts 5:12-16) and the fruitfulness and stability of the church are the “most certain” signs of divine revelation, and show that our “assent of faith” is not a blind impulse but rather arises from motives of credibility (CCC #156).

Put Your Hand into My Side

The London Times of November 27, 1982, announced that on that very day the noted British journalist and television personality, Malcolm Muggeridge, and his wife, Kitty, were to be received into the Catholic Church. The Times followed its announcement with an article in which this 79 year old former editor of Punch explained why he and his wife were finally taking the step.

Muggeridge's lower middle-class family were of Christian nondenominational background. His father, a member of the Labor party, liked to play the agnostic; so religion in the Muggeridge home was pretty much secularized. Malcolm took this secular view with him to Cambridge University, and then into the journalistic profession. Although Punch was a humorous magazine, it was based, under his editorship, on a serious outlook on life. It often featured articles on all sorts of religious manifestations, Christian and non-Christian. Editor Muggeridge was critical of many aspects of Christianity, and he felt he could view religion more objectively if he himself was affiliated to no religious organization. Still, he always felt that, as the human race was becoming increasingly secularized and absurd, God was pursuing him, like the "Hound of Heaven."

After his retirement from Punch several years ago, Malcolm became increasingly interested in the Catholic Church. In a decade when thousands of people, including many Catholics, were deploring Pope Paul VI's reasserted condemnation of contraception in Humanae Vitae, this non-Catholic "skeptic" praised it as the only reasonable view. Then Muggeridge met Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and saw her at work among Calcutta's "poorest of the poor." Frankly, it was her example, he said that brought him into the Catholic Church: "She has given me a whole new vision of what being a Christian means; of the amazing power of love."

St. Thomas the Apostle was an earlier skeptic who "came around." It was the sight of these signs of Jesus' love - the wounds in His hands, feet and side - that moved Thomas to cry out with conviction, "MY LORD AND MY GOD!"

-Father Robert F. McNamara

Q. 419: There are so many things that are hard to believe without proof. Can anything be harder than believing someone rose from the dead?

This is a powerful gospel reading today, full of Good News (John 20:19-31). It speaks of being “sent” to spread the Good News; of the transferred power to forgive sins; of the difficulty some have in believing other witnesses without “proof” (e.g., Thomas); and the centrality of “faith” in this post-resurrection era. All four things are closely related.

One can approach this gospel in several ways. The easiest is to think of it in “common sense” terms from a 21st century viewpoint. We are Catholics who truly believe that Jesus is risen and is the Son of God. We do not need to see this with our own eyes; we simply accept the witness of the apostles and believe - thanks to the gift of faith! It is this very belief that automatically transforms us into a forgiving people - we are called to imitate the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. As a believing and forgiving people, we are then sent to spread this Good News of the risen Christ, and the divine mercy of our God. Some are called to do this vocally; everyone is called to do this by the way we live our lives.

Jesus can transform all of our doubts into true belief, if we will let him. We must invite him into our lives, and ask him to “increase our faith.” The desire itself is the first step to being open to receive the gift of faith. The next step is to make that “leap” of trust, giving up our habit of trying to control the way things happen and simply depending on Jesus alone. Faith is an adventure which unfolds before us for the rest of our life - but now a life in his name!

Know Your Catechism! The risen Christ still bears the traces of his passion (nail marks), even though it is now a glorious body (CCC #645). Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy daily, for the Lord promised us (through St. Faustina) everything we ask that is compatible with His will (her Diary #1731; see also #1541).


Page last modified on October 17, 2007, at 05:39 PM