Apr 16 Sun
Ours is a God who doesn’t give up on us easily. This Sunday of Divine Mercy, among other things, shows us that Jesus is the Lord of do-overs.
Doubting Thomas’s quick turnabout serves as a lesson to anyone who dares to doubt, or disbelieve in matters of faith. It says: the impossible is possible. The faithless can become faithful. Even the unbelieving can believe.

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 Savior; 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.

“Humbly ask God to increase your faith. Then, with new lights, you will see clearly the difference between the world's paths and your way as an apostle.
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."

Illustration: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio, c.1601