125. Second Sunday of Easter

Meditations no. 171 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

Joy and appreciation for the gift of faith.

Today’s feast brings the solemn celebration of Easter to an end, St Augustine says in one of his sermons. That is why the newly-baptized Christians change their garments on this day, but in such a way that the whiteness of the garments which they have discarded remains in their hearts for ever.

Centuries ago, the catechumens who had been incorporated into the Church during the Paschal Vigil would lay aside, on this day, the alb with which they had been clothed. As from today, they were supposed to be regarded as adult faithful, but the Church advised them to remain simple and retain a hunger for doctrine, like new-born babes. They had received the seed of supernatural life as a precious inheritance; they now had to ensure that it took root ever more deeply in their souls. Under the influence of grace, they should model their behaviour according to their faith, wholeheartedly accepting all God’s teachings without duplicity or reservations, but rather with joy.

It is the same invitation that is addressed to us today in the Entrance Antiphon in St Peter’s words: Like new-born babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation.

How happy we should be, and how much we owe to God for the gift of our faith! Whatever is born of God overcomes the world, St John writes. And this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Through faith, we penetrate into the revealed truths of salvation. Some of these we could not even imagine; others we could only faintly suspect. We see our work, our family and social relations, and all the circumstances of our life, in a completely new light, with a different meaning. Such is our happiness that our soul breaks out into thanksgiving. How beautiful our Catholic faith is! It provides a solution for all our anxieties; it gives peace to the mind and fills the heart with hope.

Our assent to revealed doctrine should grow firmer each day.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ, is a child of God. Indeed, faith helps us recognize that Christ is God; it shows us that he is our saviour; it brings us to identify ourselves with him and to act as he acted.

Without faith, there is no hope; still less is there charity, because no one can love what they do not know. Without faith, there is no true and profound humility, which is the foundation for all the other virtues. Without faith, life will be worldly and choked by the worries of the earth. Faith is so necessary that without it, it is impossible to please God.

The Gospel of today’s Mass offers us a lesson in faith. It tells us that when our Lord appeared to the disciples for the first time in the Cenacle, on the day of his Resurrection, Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side; do not be faithless but believing.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

St Gregory the Great comments: What do you think of this, beloved brethren? Do you think that the absence of that chosen disciple on the previous occasion was a mere chance? Was it by chance that when he came, he listened, and on listening he doubted, and through doubting he touched, and by touching he believed? No, this did not happen by chance, but was willed by Divine Providence. God’s mercy worked in an admirable way, so that, at the touch of that unbelieving disciple on the wounds of the Master, God would be able to heal the wounds of our unbelief. To some extent, Thomas’ incredulity was more advantageous for our faith than the faith of the disciples who believed: because by his deciding to believe only by touching, our soul is affirmed in faith, and all our doubts are dispelled.

At a distance of twenty centuries, we can still learn a lesson from this Gospel scene. How humbly and simply the Evangelists relate incidents that show up the weak and wavering faith of the Apostles!

This is to keep you and me from giving up the hope of someday achieving the strong and unshakeable faith that those same Apostles had later.

Let us ask our Lord, humbly and persistently, to increase our faith.

The righteous shall live by faith. Through faith we share in the knowledge God has of himself. We somehow have access to God’s own contemplation of himself and all things. Humbly ask God to increase your faith. Then, with new lights, you’ll see clearly the difference between the world’s paths and your way as an apostle.

We turn our eyes once more to the catechumens of the early Church. During the Paschal Vigil, before the Baptistry of the Basilica of St John Lateran, the Pope would ask them what they sought from God’s Church.

“Fidem!”- “Faith!” - they would reply. And faith, too, is what we need, just like doubting Thomas.

Let us take another look at the Master. You too may find yourself now hearing his gentle reproach to Thomas: “Let me have your finger: see, here are my hands. Let me have your hand; put it into my side. Cease your doubting, and believe”; and, with the Apostle, a sincere cry of contrition will rise from your soul: “My Lord, and my God! I acknowledge you once and for all as the Master. From now on, with your help, I shall always treasure your teachings and I shall strive to follow them loyally.”

We can always prepare better for the gift of faith, just as we can always choose to reject it. God wants us to be free, and our faithful adherence to his words, though given under the influence of a special grace, implies voluntary assent on our part. This is the sense in which, as good children, we understand our freedom. We should make use of it to cling to revealed doctrine more firmly every day. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. This consideration should enable us to cast aside any hesitation, any shadow of doubt, until our assent becomes unconditional, immediate and obedient. Cassian writes: God said this. God has spoken. For me his word is the most convincing argument. I reject all difficulties; I reject all dispute. In order for me to believe, it is enough that I know the person who is speaking to me.

Our Lord will reward this faithful attitude by giving us a supernatural knowledge of everything, far superior, in extent and certainty, to any human knowledge. And this same faith will lead us to understand more and more sublime truths: If someone could not understand anything at all, they could not believe in God. But the very faith with which we believe makes it possible for us to understand greater things still.

Lord, increase our faith, and may we deserve your words of praise: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe, just like good children of Mary, who heard her cousin Elizabeth say: Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.