Liam O’Brien lived in a small-town outside Dublin, one Saturday night while in a pub he stayed out very late. It got so-late so he decided to take a short cut & walk through the cemetery. It was very dark and he accidentally fell into an open grave; he slept there all night.
The next morning [Sunday] he woke up climbed to the top of the grave the sun was glistening on the grass and tomb stones; he exclaimed, “Praise be to God it’s Resurrection Sunday and I’m the first one up.”
One day each of us like Thomas will see the Lord, face to face. Then, we will experience the Lord’s wounds; wounds partially caused by our sins and failings. Today is a great reminder that the Lord’s Mercy is offered to us by Jesus Who became man dwelled among us, suffered, died and rose again that we might have life eternal. “Doubting Thomas” may be the 1st sound bite ever recorded. It is more accurate to say he was uncertain. Thomas recognized Jesus’ divinity through His humanity.
Thomas represents each of us, when we question God, because we or a loved one faces sickness, a loved one dies, we lose our job or we experience economic hardship, live with violence, war and/or terrorism. We ask questions like those raised in the 1967 hit song ALFIE, “What’s it all about Alfie? Is it just for the moment we live?”
St. Mother Theresa, Popes and many saints have sometimes questioned God. FAITH is leaping with our uncertainties to the Lord! Trapeze artists have a flyer and a catcher. We are the flyer and God is the catcher. He will catcher us but we must let go and trust Him. The very work of Christ is often hidden and unseen, in acts of kindness, in the mundane tasks of being a parent, a member of a family, a friend, a part of a parish.
The "work" of God is not measured in efficiency, the hallmark of God's work is the compassion and love, the justice and healing that inspire and compel that work. The hard work of being a Christian is filled with sadness and with joy! The sadness we encounter points us to Christ’s wounds and we know that [one day] they will be turned into joy.
Jesus greeted His disciples: “Peace be with you.” "The peace of Christ is realized in loving when it is most difficult to love, in putting aside our own disappointments & doubts for the sake of another, in forgiving when we are too angry or disappointed to forgive …..” [Connections April 10, 2010] Jesus’ Life, Death & Resurrection, “… is a story of [a] God who wants to come close to us, … so close that there is nothing between us & him….” [With Burning Hearts Henri Nouwen, p.67]
Today let’s join Thomas and declare Jesus, “My Lord & my God” as we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, and take a moment to think about what Pope Francis wrote, The Name of God is Mercy, “Mercy is the divine attitude which embraces, it is God’s giving himself to us, accepting us, and bowing to forgive.” [pp. 7,8]
Maybe this Story can help us, a 5-year-old boy’s house on fire, smoke was everywhere, he was on the 2nd floor, blinded by the smoke, on the grass outside his window his father could see him clearly and called him to jump, the boy said he could not see, and his father assured him that he would catch him. “I CAN SEE YOU SON, JUMP & I AM HERE!”
Jesus waits for us with our qualms; He waits for us to jump into His arms with faith in Him. Our acts with compassion & empathy help salve the wounds of Our Lord. Now we must live our proclamation “My Lord & my God” for a few minutes reflect on how you will do that?
May God Be Praised.
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