Doubting is part of Believing!

Thomas, the Twin, sought God, and he was a natural pessimist.  His hopes in Jesus were crushed on Good Friday and he didn’t want to get his hopes up fearing another heart break!  We are called to be optimists because we have been saved by Jesus Christ!  Thomas the Seeker of God said, “unless I put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand in his side, I will not believe.

 

When St. Teresa of Calcutta’s, (a.k.a. Mother Teresa) diary was made public in 2002 it caused a great sensation.  She experienced an absence of Jesus for a long time, it was her cross to bear and it became her gift.  Her doubts, like Thomas, were real and painful; she to wanted to touch the wounds of Christ, which she did in the streets of Calcutta.

Thomas experienced the risen Lord and his doubts were ended.  You and I, like Mother Teresa, must live with our doubts when our family and friends die after we pray for divine intervention, when wars, terror and the mayhem (like the COVID -19 Pandemic) continuing, after we pray for God’s intervention!

We live with our doubts as we cling to our faith in a secular humanist culture that denies and mocks God and those who believe.  We need to pray “Lord help my unbelief!”

Jesus gives us the Sacraments to help us, He reminds us to pray frequently and to seek spiritual advice when we are unsure, fearful or anxious.  God’s Mercy is freely given, but we must ask for it.  Mercy is somehow contained in unconditional forgiveness and unconditional love.  Pope Francis in his book (The Name of God is Mercy), wrote “Mercy is the divine attitude which embraces, it is God’s giving himself to us, accepting us, and bowing to forgive.” (Pp. 7,8)

Remember the Prodigal Son, the woman caught in adultery, Peter and the Apostles, remember the forgiveness God gives to you and to me in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  God’s mercy is only limited by a pride-filled heart.

Today take a few minutes to reflect on God’s mercy while you give Him your burdens!

May God Be Praised!