July 3--St. Thomas, Apostle

St. Thomas was one of the twelve Apostles, men who were sent out to evangelize and catechize.  We know about him primarily from the gospels, especially the Gospel of John where he is described as doubting the Resurrection.  And yet, when Jesus appears to the Eleven on the Sunday after the Resurrection, Thomas is awestruck, saying: “My Lord and my God,” which connects with the very first verse of John’s gospel:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  Thomas’s declaration of faith leads to Jesus’ response:  “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (Jn 20:29).

“Doubting Thomas” is the consummate modern person.  He decided not to believe unless he could see.  That very well may describe many of us in our modern age.  We have been conditioned to not accept those things which cannot be proven to our satisfaction.  We have transferred our faith from belief in that which cannot be seen, touched, tasted, smelled, or heard—spiritual realities—to faith in that which can be experienced by our senses.

However, seeing is not believing; it is seeing.  Can we ‘see’ love? or hope? or courage? or perseverance?  No, we ‘see’ people expressing those realities in their words or actions.  “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1).  “Believing Thomas” is our model; the man who professed belief in Jesus as Lord and God.  We are the ones “who have not seen and have believed.”  We need to maintain and share our faith by our words and actions so that others may ‘see’ Christ in us.