My Lord and my God . . .

CARAVAGGIO
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas
1601-02

My Lord and my God . . .

Poor St. Thomas! He will forever be known as "Doubting Thomas", the Apostle lacking in faith. And yet he provides some inspiration to all of us who look for confirmation of "reality" from the substance of the real world in which we have placed our confidence. Thomas has the persistence to ask for that confirmation and our Lord provides it to him and to all of us who follow after him that we too might fall to our knees and exclaim, "My Lord and my God!"

This was the opportunity for Jesus to state, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." That is, after all, the definition of faith; to believe the truth of something without empirical evidence. This capacity of "knowing" the truth without good evidence of it as provided by the senses is a blessing from God. It is a grace that we receive when we reach out to Him. It is a gift that we must continually seek as it is gifted to us incrementally over time. As we mature our faith must also mature. 

The simple faith of a child is beautiful but it will be challenged by the complexities of the world as the child approaches the life of an adult. To withstand these assaults, faith must remain simple and unqualified. But it must also be bolstered by the necessary graces to understand and trust how this faith commingles with the confusing and profane nature of the world that is so demanding of our attention. How do we remain true to our faith and be the "light of the world" even as our surroundings seem to dissipate and even suffocate the truth? 

The remedy for this, I believe, can be found in the subject of this Divine Mercy Sunday. Ponder the image of our loving and merciful Lord offering to each one of us the infinite measure of His graces. Bathe in the rays of light and warmth that emanate from Him. Listen to Him as He gently asks you to, "Trust in me." This is exactly the grace that we have been seeking. We don't even really know what to ask for. But He knows what we need and He wants to provide for us in abundance. Therefore let us seek to be docile and have the faith to trust completely in Him. When we have attained possession of that level of faith, we will find that we have become a more perfect reflection of Him and truly be at peace with the world even as we become its light.

Were not our hearts burning . . .?

CARAVAGGIO
Supper at Emmaus
1601

Were not our hearts burning . . .?

Our Lord is always present, but he is not always present to us. Like the gentlemen on the road to Emmaus, we are often so handicapped by our myopic view of the world that we “miss” him, even as he walks by our side. As we read the scripture we wonder how it is possible that they did not recognize Jesus until he was in the familiar context of breaking the bread and giving blessing. Was our Lord playing tricks on them? Or were their hearts simply screened by shutters of their own making?

Consider the observations of these men after they recognized Jesus for who he was. Certainly they were amazed to see someone they never truly expected to see – a dead man, their Lord and Master, now alive. But they also noted that their hearts were burning within them as he spoke to them of scripture; revealing to them all of salvation history as it pointed to him. And wasn’t this the same feeling they experienced when they gathered at the feet of Jesus while he taught them? At the breaking of the bread and the blessing the scales fell from their eyes and the presence and divinity of Christ sat there before them . . . and the puzzle was solved as the last piece fell into place.

Many of us might exclaim, “If only that would happen to me!” We long to look into the face of our Lord or even just to grasp his feet that we might contain him and have him fully within our reality. Surely we can relate to the thoughts and emotions of these gentlemen as they journeyed away from Jerusalem on the way to Emmaus. But have we not already been gifted with his real presence?

Sometimes does not your heart burn when you hear the Word of God proclaimed at the Mass? This is truly the presence of the Word, our Lord, as he speaks to each one of us personally and individually, guiding us along the path he intends for us. It is for each one of us to listen carefully with our hearts, knowing and believing that he is in our presence just as his presence is real moments later upon the altar. What an infinite gift it is that we can, indeed, sit at his feet as he teaches, take in his wisdom and love, partake in the breaking of the bread and then truthfully take him into ourselves.

The gentlemen at Emmaus experienced all of this as well and rushed off with great joy to tell all the others. Let us look and listen faithfully as we celebrate the Eucharist that the scales may drop from our eyes and that our ears and hearts may be opened so that we too will experience the joy of the Risen Christ such that we are impelled to rush out to tell the others.

An encounter with the Risen Christ

LA FOSSE, Charles de
Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene
1680-85

 An encounter with the Risen Christ

Ask one hundred believers in Jesus Christ to describe who he is to them and one hundred distinctive answers will be delivered. Ask the same person this question a number of times spaced over the years and it will be answered somewhat differently each time. This will not be because of any sort of mistake or artifice on the part of the responders. Rather, it is a function of an emerging and continuously developing personal relationship with the Lord. Life experience, prayerful effort and sacramental graces all work to move this affair of love along.

Every year the Church gives us the opportunity to experience the resurrection of our Lord and prompts us toward a new encounter with the Risen Christ. Triumphant and generous with his mercy he opens wide his arms to lovingly receive us and lift us up upon his shoulders. Yesterday, Pope Francis addressed thousands of faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Square for the Regina Coeli, exclaiming, “Happy Easter! Christ is Risen! He is truly risen. Let the joyous wonder of Easter Sunday radiate through our thoughts, looks, attitudes, gestures and words.” He went on to note that such radiating wonder must come “from within us,” from a heart that is “immersed in the source of this joy.”

The Holy Father then noted the example of Mary Magdalene, who “wept for the loss of her Lord and could not believe her eyes seeing him risen.” She had already undergone a significant conversion after our Lord freed her of her demons so that she became his loyal and loving disciple; one who would not be frightened away from the foot of his cross at the time of his passion. But now, upon encountering her Lord, risen from the tomb, she embarked upon a new and even more joyous journey of conversion, seeing and understanding Jesus Christ with new eyes and a new heart.

We can all learn from this that our own conversions are never completed in our own lifetimes and we should not become so complacent as to believe that we have arrived at our ultimate destination. The inestimable gift that our Lord holds out for us is that he always has more in store for us to explore the depths of his sacred heart. And so we may always grow in our understanding and love for him, far beyond any comprehension we now have.  

This is the promise and gift he made to Mary Magdalene in the garden. Then he favored her by instructing her to go tell the other disciples that he will meet them. This is the same favor he gives to each one of us upon our encounter with him as the Risen Christ; that we too may race forward to give the glad news to others by “letting the joyous wonder of Easter Sunday radiate through all our thoughts, looks, attitudes, gestures and words.”