Gospel: Jn 20:24-29
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THOMAS, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later, his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “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.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
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The beautiful story of the doubting Thomas touching Jesus’ wounds is an invitation to faith. We are grateful for his hesitancy, since it can serve our own faith journey. We ask: Is it possible to touch Jesus’ flesh today? This question is eloquently answered by Pope Francis.
The Pope writes (July 3, 2013): “How can I find Jesus’ wounds today? I can’t see them as Thomas did. You can find Jesus’ wounds by doing works of mercy, giving help to the body and also the soul – but I stress the body – of your wounded brother, because he is hungry, because he is thirsty, because he is naked, because he is humiliated, because he is enslaved, because he is in prison, because he is in the hospital. Those are the wounds of Jesus today. And Jesus asks us to make an act of faith in him by means of those wounds.”
Francis continues, “We must touch the wounds of Jesus…We must cure the wounds of Jesus with tenderness…What Jesus asks us to do with our works of mercy is what Thomas is asked to do: enter into those wounds.”
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2020,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
