“Thomas answered and said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” – John 20:28
Jesus is alive. Unlike a fanciful myth or a figure from the pages of a history book, His precious blood still pumps through His veins. His heart continues to beat, and it beats with love for you.
We may not be able to see Him, hear His voice, or grab ahold of His hand, but that does not mean He is dead. Like a relative who resides across the ocean, He remains alive and well; just simply beyond our natural ability to see.
Many people did in fact see Him after He had risen from the dead and before He ascended into Heaven. We can be assured that their testimonies are true, because most of them were willing to die rather than deny what they had experienced.
One of those people was Thomas the Apostle. Like many of us, he initially struggled to believe the stories of those who had already seen the Risen Lord. When Jesus finally appeared to Thomas, the first thing the Lord said was, “Peace be with you.” It was a statement meant to bolster his faith and offer him forgiveness. In response, the famous doubter fell to his knees with wonder as he declared, “My Lord and my God!”
By acknowledging that Jesus was Lord, Thomas was admitting his own mistake. His words were both a profession of faith and an acknowledgement of his previous lack thereof. You can envision the overwhelming sense of awe that Thomas must have felt as he placed his fingers into Jesus’ wounds. He must have been flooded with the profound mystery of God’s Divine Mercy as he touched Jesus’ side, from which the blood and water had flowed out of Jesus’ pierced Heart.
This encounter changed Thomas. It convinced him that Jesus was alive and that His love was real. It propelled him to preach the Good News all the way to India, where he was eventually martyred for sharing his experience. That is the transformative power of God’s mercy, and it can change us too if we open our hearts to Him.
Indeed, the Lord lives, and His mercy endures forever (Ps. 118:1). Through the ministry of the Church, the Risen Lord continues to pour out His steadfast love upon us. By receiving the Sacraments, studying the Scriptures, and serving the poor we can encounter the same living mercy that once saved the soul of Saint Thomas and set his heart on fire to share the Easter message with the whole world.
Merciful Father, increase our faith and please forgive our unbelief. Help us open our hearts to the floodgates of your Divine Mercy, so that we may be transformed by its power. Amen, alleluia!
