The unbelief of Thomas was unreasonable, and was therefore rebuked by our Lord. He ought to have trusted the testimony of His fellow-apostles. Thomas, as an apostle, had himself, to be, an eyewitness of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and as an eye-witness can only give evidence of what he himself has seen, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, went after the wandering sheep, and appeared to Thomas to convince him of the reality of His Resurrection, so that he might declare it to all the world, as an eye-witness.
The unbelief of Thomas has, by the Providence of God, been rendered very useful to us. “By touching the Lord’s wounds, the apostle has healed for ever the wounds of unbelief in our hearts; and thus the unbelief of Thomas is a greater help to belief than the faith of the other apostles” (St. Gregory the Great).
Sunday. It was on a Sunday that our Lord rose from the dead; and on the following Sunday the apostles and disciples were once more assembled together. We can see by this that from the very beginning the faithful kept this day holy, as being the day on which our Lord rose from the dead. Again, it was on a Sunday that the Holy Ghost came down on the apostles. Thus Christians have always kept holy the Sunday instead of the ancient Sabbath, it being the day on which God both completed and confirmed the work of Redemption — the new spiritual creation.
Our Lord retained the marks of His five wounds in His glorified Body, and ascended into heaven with them: 1. as a witness that He rose from the dead with the same Body which was crucified and laid in the grave; 2. as a sign of His victory over sin, hell, and death; 3. as a token of His everlasting office of High Priest and Mediator with the Father; for His wounds are ceaselessly interceding for us with the Father, and imploring Him to have mercy on us for the sake of our Lord who suffered for us; 4. as a proof of His infinite love for us. They are a consolation to the penitent sinner, but a terror to the impenitent, for Jesus will show them to these last at the Day of Judgment, and will say to them: “All this I suffered for you, but you would not love Me nor be converted!”
The five grains of incense are placed in the Paschal Candle in remembrance of the five wounds of the risen Saviour.
Application. Are you one of those ignorant Christians who regard the Sacrament of Penance as a burden rather than a boon? Did it ever occur to you how much it cost your Saviour to obtain the pardon of your sins? Thank Him, then, from the bottom of your heart for having instituted this Sacrament of mercy. Receive it with the most careful preparation, and never neglect to make a fervent thanksgiving after receiving it.
