MY LORD AND MY GOD


FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS, APOSTLE

Eph 2:19-22; Ps 117:1-2; Jn 20:24-29

Believing that We may have Life

The prospect that faith offers us is wonderful indeed. Faith enables us to connect with God and make him present in our lives and situations; to cooperate in fulfilling the divine will on earth. As we noted in the prayer of our Lord, the end of the prayer is attitudinal change, not giving of information about our needs to God. The prayer of our Lord is a spiritual act to awaken the spirit of the Son we have received by our profession of faith. The Christian spirit is the Son of Man present in each of us. The spirit that calls God, Our Father, is the spirit of Jesus Christ within us. The spirit grows strong as we deepen our faith and knowledge of the Son of Man. The growth and strengthening of this spirit is what Jesus Christ meant when he said to Peter, ‘Upon this rock I will build my Church.’ Since faith grows by enlightenment and profession of it, in words and deeds, the spirit of the Son develops in us as we encounter the risen Lord in prayer, private and communal, in the reading of the scriptures and meditations thereby, in the contemplation of the revealed truths, and in the confessions of what we believe. Through these processes, Jesus Christ builds his Church in us and with us. A refusal to accede to a revealed truth, which contains the will of the Father, is a refusal to eat our spiritual food. Such a refusal would truncate our spiritual growth and cause possible death through starvation or poisoning from falsehood.

The mystery of our incorporation into the Son of Man and God is what Saint Paul elucidated in the passage from his letter to the Ephesians. The incorporation of man into God does not depend on any physical attribute or possession, but only on faith in the incarnation of the Son of God. In other words, anyone who believes in the Son of Man is saved by sharing in the life of God. Because the gift of inheritance God belongs to all, through the promise he made to Abraham, there was no need for Sarah to compel Abraham to send Hagar and her son, Ishmael, away from the household. Physical inheritance is indeed limited, but the spiritual inheritance, which is the real promise, is limitless and open to all peoples. Sarah did not understand the spiritual depth of the promise because her faith in the word of God was not deep. Our Christian faith looks forward to the spiritual inheritance of God, and not a physical inheritance of riches or wealth of this world. Whoever looks forward to gaining physical wealth or a kingdom would be frugal in pouring out self for the love of God and neighbour, as we see in the case of Sarah. Thus, Paul explains that none of us is a stranger or slave in the household of God. “You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: You are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone.”

To be a member of the household of God, we must believe in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. For, as we have noted, the Spirit of the Son is the foundation of our spirits. For this reason, Thomas’ refusal to believe the news of the resurrection of the Son of Man was a serious issue for the Lord. “Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.” By his refusal to believe, Thomas made himself useless for the building of the Church, the body of Jesus Christ. Faith enables us not only to see God, but also to live and work with him. Because of this, Jesus made another appearance after eight days to help his faith. “Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’” Saint Thomas saw and experienced the Sacrament of the risen Lord and believed in his real presence. According to Saint Augustine, God permitted the doubt of this apostle to strengthen our faith in the divinity of Christ by his confession of faith. In the Eucharistic celebration, when we gather as members of his body, we see and experience the Sacrament of his real presence. May the prayers of Saint Thomas aid us to proclaim our faith in the God who shares his life with us.

Let us pray: Grant, almighty God, that we may glory in the Feast of the blessed Apostle Thomas, so that we may always be sustained by his intercession and, believing, may have life in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, whom Thomas acknowledged as the Lord. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.   

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