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.
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Reflection:
Where was Thomas when Jesus appeared to His disciples in the upper room?
We don’t know we can only surmise that he was doing something that made him
miss their meeting. Was his activity during that night more important than to
pray with his fellow disciples?
By missing their meeting Thomas subsequently missed also the sacred
presence of the risen Christ. He missed being blessed by the presence
Jesus and Thomas missed being imparted the blessing of peace by Jesus.
What a missed opportunity for Thomas! If only he knew beforehand that their
Lord and Master would be making a miraculous appearance in their fellowship he
would have not dared miss it.
Some of us may see ourselves in Thomas we who oftentimes miss to go to
church for Holy Mass. We who most of the time put our Sunday obligation at the
backseat in favor of our many worldly preoccupations.
But where would all our worldly preoccupations bring us? Can it give us
peace of mind and contentment? Certainly not! Can it bring us closer to the
Lord and can it strengthen our relationship with Him? It surely can't but many
of us put more importance in our many worldly activities than God.
What do we miss when we absent ourselves for Holy Mass? We miss to be
with Jesus, we miss to partake of His Body and Blood. We miss to be blessed by
His powerful and blessings filled words. We miss to be in powerful prayer
fellowship with our brothers and sisters in faith! We also miss to receive His
healing and blessing of peace which He silently gives to us every time we
are at Mass.
Thomas learned his lesson that’s why he made his self available in their
second fellowship. We too should learn our lesson by always prioritizing our
sacred meeting with the Lord at Holy Mass.
Do you always try your very best not to miss your meeting with the Lord
during Sunday Mass? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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