Today is the Feast of
St. Thomas the Apostle. He is also called Thomas the “
Twin or Didymus” in Greek. Above all, he is nick-named “
Thomas the doubting”.
It deemed good to me to present you, dear Sisters and Brothers in the Lord, a homily of St. Gregory the Great about St. Thomas: “
disbelieving and believing” in Jesus’s resurrection. Here is what St. Gregory the Great says about St. Thomas the Apostle.
Thomas, one of the twelve was not with the eleven when Jesus came. He was the only disciple absent; on his return, he heard what had happened, but refused to believe it. The Lord came a second time; he offered his side for the unbelieving disciple to touch; he held out his hands, and showed the scars of his wounds. By showing the scars of his wounds he cured the wound of his unbelief. How beautiful is this expression, that the Lord cures our inner-self wounds in our daily lives!
The story of St. Thomas did not happen by chance, but by Divine Providence. The Divine compassion brought it about in a wonderful way that by touching Jesus’ wound he may be cured from the “
unbelieving heart” (this my quotation). The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than of the other disciples. As he touches Christ and is won over to belief, every doubt is cast aside and our faith is strengthened. So, the disciple who doubted, then felt Christ’s wounds, became a witness to the reality of the resurrection.
To conclude and make the story short, what follows is reason for great joy: “
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed”. Here is a particular reference to ourselves; we hold in our hearts one we have not seen in the flesh. We are included in these words, but only if we follow up our faith with good works. The true believer practices what he believes. But of those who pay only lip service to faith, Paul has this to say:
They profess to know God, but they deny him in their works. Therefore, James says:
Faith without works is dead.
May God, through the intercession of our beloved Saints, visit our unbelieving hearts to recognize Jesus and come to say: “
My Lord and my God”. Happy Feast!
Fr. Mussie