Feast of Saint
Thomas, apostle
(Ephesians 2:19-22; John 20:24-29)
Mortimer Adler was the quintessential Jewish intellectual
– prolific and deep. He was a devotee of
St. Thomas Aquinas, but for a long time resisted becoming a Christian. He said that he did not have the gift of
faith. Finally, however, he submitted to
what his mind was telling him. He was
baptized an Episcopalian and ultimately joined the Catholic Church. He, like today’s saint, came to admit that he
was mistaken.
For all the doubt he harbored, St. Thomas can be credited
with a genuine change of heart. He
doesn’t have to express belief in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Calling Jesus, “Lord” and “God” transcends acceptance
of the other apostles’ testimony. True,
as the gospel passage testifies, he has the benefit of seeing the resurrected Jesus,
but he gives up all pretension about having to touch Jesus’ wounds in order to
believe. Such a grossly physical act
would nullify faith as it comprises empirical proof.
The story about Thomas indicates that the disciples of
Jesus did ask themselves the question if they were seeing things. They prove
themselves not visionaries but practical men who were willing to die for what
they saw and heard. We too must act on
our belief that Jesus has risen.
