Meditate on God’s Word

1st Reading:             Acts 5:12-16
2nd Reading:           Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19
Gospel:                     John 20.19-31 – Jesus Appears to the Disciples

Learning from Doubting Thomas

On this Second Sunday of Easter, we are faced with the Gospel passage that earns St. Thomas the Apostle the name of Doubting Thomas. Jesus appears to all of the disciples when Thomas wasn’t present and Thomas refuses to believe in the risen Christ until he sees and touches Jesus himself. A week later Jesus appears to them again, this time with Thomas present, and Thomas believes exclaiming, “My Lord and my God!”

As disciples of Christ we too may experience many moments of doubt in our lives. Especially with the overtly secular culture we live in, it is becoming harder to accept the truths of our faith. So how are we to deal with these moments of doubt? Firstly, we should take consolation in the loving and gentle way Jesus dealt with Thomas’ doubt. Jesus meets him where he is and lovingly tries to help him look past his doubt. So too with us, Jesus does not reprimand us for our moments of doubt but is constantly providing us opportunities for us to grow in faith.

However, it is important that we play our part. If we doubt the truth about certain mysteries of our faith, we should try to read what the Church teaches on this point. St. Anselm’s motto was “faith seeking understanding.” Sometimes we need to use our rational faculties to try to educate ourselves on the teachings of the Church and pray that God may illumine our mind. There are a variety of good books and websites that can help us find the answers we’re looking for. Let us strive to rid ourselves of all doubt by slowly seeking understanding and praying for faith.

Summary

Similar to St. Thomas in the Gospel we, too, may experience many moments of doubt. Jesus does not reprimand us for our doubt but constantly sends us providential opportunities to help us grow in our faith. However, let us strive to do our part by educating ourselves through good books and websites on topics of the faith and by praying for the gift of understanding

https://www.archtoronto.org/stewardship