Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle

Today's Mass Readings

It’s no secret that it’s tough to believe in things that we can’t see. At least once—and probably much more than once—in our lives as children or adults we’ve said to someone, “I won’t believe it until I see it!” And, indeed, it is easier to be rationally convinced of something when we have been witness to it. St. Thomas the Apostle has earned the unfortunate nickname of “Doubting Thomas” because of his desire actually to see and touch the risen Jesus. As many of us would do in the same situation, Thomas told his fellow apostles that he would not believe in Jesus’ resurrection until he saw him in person. Remember that everyone else had already seen Jesus; it’s no wonder that their doubt had already been removed. But it’s easy to imagine that Thomas might have believed his friends to be playing some kind of trick on him, making him believe in a hoax.

But of course, if Thomas had remained in doubt, there would be little reason to celebrate him as an Apostle. It is not his doubt that we celebrate today, but his belief. In today’s gospel passage, we experience Thomas’s profound line,” My Lord and my God” (Jn 20:28). This brief prayer response still comes naturally to many Christian believers as they recognize the presence of Jesus, often in the Eucharist. It speaks to Thomas’ intense faith that followed his doubt. Thomas was not simply awed by Jesus’ appearance, but rather, he fully recognized the significance of that appearance, i.e. that Jesus is divine.

Spurred by his belief in Jesus’ resurrection and the entire gospel message, Thomas left to evangelize the region of India. The church of India was built upon the foundation laid by Thomas (cf. Eph 2:20). This tradition of Thomas as missionary to India is still highly regarded today, and hence the psalm response, “Go out to all the world and tell the Good News” is appropriate for our celebration of the feast of St. Thomas (Mk. 16:15).

In the case of Thomas, we can rightly say that seeing IS believing. But we also ought to recognize that believing IS seeing. Christian belief enables us to see the world in a new way. For Thomas, belief in Christ led him to see India as a place that deserved the Christian message. In the last line of today’s passage, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (Jn 20:29) This, of course, is all of us, just as it was probably almost all of the people who have heard this gospel proclaimed for the last 2000 years. Although we may not see Jesus as Thomas did, we can still believe as Thomas did. And if we can believe as Thomas did, then we can live the gospel message with him as our inspiration. Like Thomas, we can see the world through new eyes.

As we celebrate the feast of St. Thomas today, let us seek to imitate the faith and life of this apostle. There will certainly be times in our lives when we may have doubts about our faith, but the life of Thomas indicates that there is reason to believe. Maria Morrow