FIRST READING
You are built upon the foundation of the apostles.
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians (Ephesians 2:19-22)
Brethren: You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm117:1.2 (R. Mark16:15)
R/. Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.
O praise the Lord, all you nations;
acclaim him, all you peoples! R.
For his merciful love has prevailed over us;
and the Lord’s faithfulness endures for ever. R.
ALLELUIA John 20:29
Alleluia. You believed, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“My Lord and my God!”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (John 20:24-29)
Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord. ”But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “You have believed because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Today’s Reflection
When Jesus appeared to the disciples after his resurrection, Thomas was not with them. Later, after eight days, Jesus appears again when Thomas is present. What is striking is that Thomas missed Jesus when he was outside the communion of the apostles, but once within the communion, he has the opportunity to experience Christ’s presence. We too can experience the presence of Christ in and through the ‘communion of the community’. “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst”, says Jesus (Mt 18:20). Thomas had such a powerful experience of the risen Christ in the company of his fellow apostles that he surrendered his life to him with the most profound profession of faith, “My Lord, and my God!” This experience is what led Thomas to go out to a distant land as a missionary and establish Christian communities that even today bear significant testimony to Christ. Like Thomas, we shall do well to remain in communion with the body of Christ, the Church, so that we experience the power of the risen Lord and are empowered to bear witness to him.