Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 20, 19-31
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
See my hands
1. The doors were locked. When you are immersed in fear, you close yourself off and create a world of fantasies and melancholy, in which you can’t find what you love. Then your head is filled with memories and facts that were made up in your mind. Even if at present the reality is different, you keep turning around what was made up in your head, and you don’t see reality. That’s what makes you isolate yourself and feel depressed because what you’d planned for your life is no longer there. Everything is different. Something like this is what the Apostles were going through, just like you many times. Don’t close yourself in a world of melancholy.
2. Peace be with you. The Apostles were together and knew that Jesus had risen, but they did not have peace in their hearts. You can do many things, you can even take life to others, but if there is no peace in your heart everything can fall apart. Peace is not achieved with activities and events; peace in your heart is achieved by coming together with the Risen Christ and having a spiritual experience. Only by encountering Jesus will you find God, and peace.
3. Disbelief: When you isolate yourself in life you can miss out on many things. When you’re incredulous, unbelieving, you live in a world of distrust and suspicion. You close yourself off, and lead a life based on your ego, a life you’ve built on the basis of your own ideas, and it seems that nobody can break your preconceived concepts and notions. Life is not mathematics, where two plus two is four. Life is a total surprise. Life surprises you and the most beautiful thing is that God comes into your life at the least expected moment. Trust in God, for God trusts in you.
May the Divine Mercy always give comfort to your life and open you to be a person surrendered to what God wants of you, and open to the experience of the risen God.
Always remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
