revealed or confessed his sins to them; and thus, while our Lord imposed on the apostles the duty of deciding as to the condition of the sinner, and of acting as judges, He equally imposed on the faithful the duty of revealing the condition of their souls, and of confessing their own individual sins.
The peace of God, and the consolation given by the holy Sacrament of Penance. When our Saviour was born into the world, the angels sang: “Peace on earth to men of good will.” And now that the work of Redemption was accomplished, and He was on the point of returning to heaven, our Lord imparted peace to His own; and, in order that all might receive this peace of soul, He instituted the holy Sacrament of Penance. By means of this Sacrament any poor, anxious sinner can receive pardon and grace, and with these peace for his uneasy soul — that peace of God which, according to St. Paul (Phil. 4, 7), “surpasseth all understanding”, and is the greatest treasure on earth. The Sacrament of Penance was not instituted to torment us, but to console us. It is the tribunal of God's mercy, and will enable us to stand one day before the tribunal of His justice, and obtain everlasting peace. We cannot possibly thank our loving Saviour sufficiently for having instituted this holy Sacrament.
The Divinity of our Lord stands out prominently in the chapter we have just read, for only God could impart the Holy Ghost, and only God could give to mortal men the power of forgiving sins. It would have been impossible for our Lord to have said: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost, and whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven”, had He not been God. The sixth apparition of our Lord (to Thomas) is a further and incontestable proof both of our Lord’s Resurrection and of His Divinity. 1. He knew the thoughts of Thomas, and knew that he had said: “Unless I see the marks of the nails. . . I will not believe.” He was, therefore, omniscient, as God alone can be. 2. When Thomas worshipped Him and called Him his Lord and his God, Jesus did not say: “What are you doing, Thomas? I am not God!” No, He accepted the apostle’s homage, and called those blessed who believed without, however, requiring ocular evidence.
The faith of Thomas was not without merit. We might be inclined to think that Thomas’ faith was not a virtue and had no merit, because he only believed after he had seen and touched the risen Saviour. But we should be mistaken. It was only the Body and the wounds of our Lord that Thomas could see; he could not see His Godhead. As, however, Thomas had the will to believe, the tokens of our Lord’s marvellous Resurrection enabled him to recognise His Divinity, and believe in it. His faith, therefore, was a gift of God, and a true and meritorious faith. The chief priests and scribes, even had they seen and touched the risen Lord, would not have believed in Him, because the will to believe was wanting to them.
