HOMILY

APRIL 12, 2015

Fr O’Grady

Thornton Wilder, the pulitzer prized author wrote the novel “The Eighth Day”. It is about an ordinary family. They are good and decent but their lives are being ruined by very evil people. Wilder does not come down on either side as the novel ends. It is not a question of the good and innocent being seen to triumph or the evil being seen to suffer.

He does make a very special point, however, that does give hope.. He likens the family situation to a tapestry. It is a beautiful tapestry, but at the present, the family can only see the underside of it where there are knots and threads coming out and unable to make any sense out of it. But God on the other hand can see the tapestry from the other side..the upper side and to Him, it is just beautiful.

Today as St Thomas questions and doubts Jesus and his faith..he is basically just looking at the underside of that tapestry or life and it does not make sense. But Jesus says in other words..“Thomas, don’t doubt our worry so much.. I am here..it will all work out..Let me show you the other side”.

Are there not many times when we too also question, doubt and worry like Thomas. Priest have heard similar questions before..such as>

“Father, I just don’t feel the faith anymore like I used to”

If you’ve said this then Thomas the doubter is for you.

“Father, I just lost my job, my mother is sick and my husband and I don’t communicate like we had.. I guess God does not care”.

If you have said this then Thomas is for you.

“Father, I pray and pray and pray but God never seems to answer my prayer..”

If you have thought this then Thomas is for you.

“Father, how can there be a God when there is so much suffering and killing in the world?”

If you’ve said this then Thomas is for you.

“Father, religion is not just the same anymore, I wonder if God is really there”.

If you have said this then Thomas is for you.

Sometimes I feel sorry for St Thomas since he was labeled as the doubter but if truth be told he did us an enormous favor in giving us the OK to also do the same and that through questioning and doubting and bringing our feelings to the Lord we find out a deeper love of God.

For Note what Jesus said to him as he doubted. Jesus invited Thomas to “COME AND TOUCH ME.. PUT YOUR HAND INTO THE NAIL MARKS AND INTO MY SIDE AND BELIEVE!”

In short what Jesus was saying was to put aside all the intellectual and scientific and political arguments and prejudices and simply come and touch me.

TOUCH THE LORD IN DAILY PRAYER

TOUCH HE LORD WITH OUR HONESTY AND STRUGGLES

TOUCH THE LORD BY MEETING HIM IN THE WAYS HE HAS SUGGESTD THROUGH THE CHURCH, COMMUNION, SACRAMENTS AND PEOPLE OF OUR DAILY LIVES.

How often unlike St Thomas we might have nagging doubts but cover them up with things that will never lead us to Jesus.

We chose those things or actions that give us false hope and pleasuresare superficial.

The comic Lily Tomlin once said, “money will buy happiness but only for 20 minutes..and so many people will go from 20 minutes of this to 20 minutes of that and 20 minutes of another things and never really deal with the issue of God in their lives.”

Doubts pose the greatest danger if we cover them up and never deal with them but they have the greatest potential for growth if we are honest, bring them to Jesus and touch the Lord in the daily events of our lives”.

A Man was vacationing in a small cabinin California mountains. He was feeling alone and depressed. Something was radically wrong with his life. God seemed to have deserted him and his faith was flickering and threatening to go out.

Then something strange happened. God seemed to speak to him and say,

”Start living out the Gospels. Start living out the teachings of Jesus even though you don’t understand them”

Once he made that decision and lived by being loving, forgiving, caring donating to the poor and hungry and trying to make a difference even in small ways…HE FOUND JESUS.

WHEN HE USED HIS HANDS TO HELP OTHERS LIKE THOMAS HE TOUCHED THE HANDS AND WOUNDS AND SIDES OF JESUS AGAIN AND REDISCOVERED HIS FAITH.

The late congressman from Florida Claude Pepper remarked: “LIFE IS LIKE RIDING A BICYCLE. YOU DON’T FALL OFF UNLESS YOU STOP PEDDALING”.

So too with faith..stop practicing it and we fall off.

So St Thomas the Doubter and Apostle is a great gift to all of us who struggle to find the Lord and meaning in our life. His honesty, his courage, and his determination brought him to touch Jesus. When we doubt in the same way..don’t get discouraged. Bring it to Jesus, touch him in he needs of others, pray in the spirit of the church and above all else..KEEP PEDDALING!