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A Chat With Thomas

25/4/2025

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, April 27th, 2025:
Divine Mercy Sunday

John
20.19-31

It was evening on the day Jesus rose from the dead, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then 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.”

When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

But Thomas, who was called the Twin, one of the twelve, 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 the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

After eight days his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, 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. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Characters- Narrator (You)
- Thomas

Narrator [absorbing a jam-packed Gospel with a million and one threads to comment on]: So, I see the sacrament of reconciliation being initiated here. That’s big. But how can I ignore Jesus’ grand entrance via teleportation? I guess when you conquer death, walls just don’t matter anymore.

[pauses, reflecting]

Still … everyone else saw Him, and believed. Thomas didn’t.

[squints, curious and contemplative, with an ounce of judgment and a pinch of self-righteousness]

Seriously, Thomas. You didn’t even bat an eye to Jesus defying the laws of nature. Even though your ten brothers [had to double-check the math on that one] stood there, wide-eyed, telling you in amazement, “We have seen the Lord,” you still said, “Yeah, no, brethren. Unless I can touch the holes in His hands, I’m out.”

[shakes head, incredulous]

You walked with Him. Ate with Him. Watched Him raise the dead. You heard Him say He’d suffer, die, and rise again. And yet … you still wanted more proof?

Thomas [with the patience and love of a saint]: I understand your confusion. I’ve heard it echoed through centuries. “Doubting Thomas,” they call me – a cautionary tale.

[chuckles]

You’re right – I did walk with Him. It was the greatest adventure of my life: to follow Him through it all, to witness the miracles and wonders left in His wake. Everything He did, every step He took was filled with love – and it was transformative. The world never felt more peaceful, and all of life seemed to be in such rich harmony. Yes indeed, the days He walked the earth were the brightest days – He who is the Light of the World.

Imagine, then, what happens when that Light is suddenly extinguished. When the days feel like night, and the nights grow even darker still. We followed Him, and He brought us to breathtaking heights – closer to truth, closer to hope. Now, picture the fall from that mountaintop. How jarring would it be to find yourself in the deepest valley you’ve ever known, one that mirrors the heights in intensity, only in the opposite direction?

“Grieving” is an understatement for what I felt in that moment.

[smiles softly]

I was a shattered man. I needed to know – without question – that it was Him. It was never His power I doubted but His presence. I couldn’t afford even the slightest bit of uncertainty. I needed to be sure that He was truly there.

Empirical evidence. Tangible proof. Haven’t you needed those things, too?

Vanessa Noujaim

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There Is Only One Type

24/4/2025

4 Comments

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, April 27th, 2025:
Divine Mercy Sunday

Revelation
1.9-11a, 12-13, 17-19

I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven Churches.”

Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, but see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Often, I’m wandering about this world thoughtlessly, even though my Just Us coffee bag encourages me to “Ask the hard questions for a better world.” After a recent outburst from my son, I began thinking about all the times I heard the phrases, “Boys will be boys,” and “It’s just in their nature [to be destructive or violent].” While I can accept this as a temporary state of their nature during the intense period of hormonal transition to adulthood, I don’t accept this as definitive truth. If God were to have His way, we would all be living in the true image and likeness of Him, Our Creator. Instead, He allowed us to have our way, in which we often choose to separate ourselves from our true and intended nature. This nature was exemplified by the most fully integrated human being who ever existed – Jesus. And He is not violent; “A bent reed He will not break” (Isaiah 42:3). He draws things together rather than tearing them apart.

So when I come up against common behavioural patterns often stereotypically assigned to one group or another, I find myself responding in one of two ways. My way: supposing it must be true because it’s my general experience and actually alleviates me from any personal responsibility to change or address that belief. Or God’s way: scrutinizing my personal experiences around the belief and reorienting to the definitive truth – God made each and every one of us in His image and likeness – which opposes every stereotype.

Until Jesus walked the earth, God was also subject to a couple of stereotypes: first, the assumption that God could take the form of a spirit only; and, second, that God could never die. But this reading from Revelation challenges those perspectives. This vision of Jesus in his bodily form came to the writer between 34 and 66 years post-crucifixion … that day when God died. And in this presentation of the Lord, He said, “I was dead, but see, I am alive forever and ever.” So, God chose to be both fully human and fully divine, and He also died and came back to life. He has the power to resurrect the dead yet, astonishingly, I can blindly assume a disposition of complacency when it comes to trusting in His capacity to enact change.

Our Father is constantly calling us back to our true and intended nature. He is calling us to shed self-destructive behaviours so we can be more fully integrated with His goodness and virtue. He is calling us to examine continually what the world says of us so that we can decide if it aligns with His voice or if it is a false skin we are called to shed.

On the advice of a dear friend and experienced parent, I chose to embrace my son after his difficult outburst, shed the stereotypical belief that boys are, by nature, destructive, and prayed for him. Within the hour, God returned my son to his typical gentle nature, filled him with repentance, and restored our relationship. May the glory of God’s risen Son shatter any false beliefs you may hold in your heart. His love can restore all things.

Lori MacDonald

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The Chief Cornerstone

23/4/2025

4 Comments

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, April 27th, 2025:
Divine Mercy Sunday

Psalm 118

R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever.

Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever.

The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever.

Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God, and he has given us light.

R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Have you ever reached a point where the only words left to say were, “Thank you, Lord Jesus”? I have – and in those moments I've known deep within, “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”

“Let Israel say, ‘His steadfast love endures forever.’” Let the house of Aaron say it. Let those who fear the Lord say it. These words echo in my heart when I reflect on God’s mercy through life’s storms. I recall the peak of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, a time when news of death filled the airwaves and uncertainty gripped the world. Yet, while many were laid off or lost loved ones, God spared my family, friends, and neighbours and preserved my job. That was not by chance. It was because of His steadfast love.

When churches reopened, social distancing regulations did not allow the choir to sing at Mass, so I gladly volunteered to read and lead hymns during Mass. I wasn’t trying to show off; I was testifying. Like the psalmist, I could boldly say, “The Lord is my strength and my might; He has become my salvation.”

But the trials didn’t end with the pandemic. One painful memory stands out. My coworkers and I disagreed and were called into a meeting. Each person was asked to share their side. As one colleague spoke, she twisted the truth, spewing lies about me. My heart sank. I sat in shock, eyes filled with tears. Another coworker joined in, backing the lies. It felt planned, as if they had conspired to make me the scapegoat.

When I calmly spoke up and said she was lying, she raised her hand to slap me but stopped mid-air. I thought, if I had done the same, I’d likely be fired and reported to immigration. Many of us are far from home, trying to survive and support our family. Yet God reminds me, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in mortals.”

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” This scripture defines my journey. From rejection, shame, and false accusations, God raised me up. In moments of silence, pain, and waiting, I learned to praise.

With each tear, in every misunderstanding, and through all the loneliness, the Word has taught me to say, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" – not because the pain disappeared, but because God's love remained.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank You for turning trials into testimonies. Thank You for being the Defender, the Light, and the Salvation of the World. May I never stop rejoicing in Your goodness, no matter what comes. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Michaelina Dawson-Otoo

4 Comments

Take Courage

22/4/2025

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A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, April 27th, 2025:
Divine Mercy Sunday

Acts
5.12-16

Many signs and wonders were done among the people through the Apostles. And the believers were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem.

Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by.

A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

[This reflection was originally published on 19 April 2022.]

“None of the rest dared to join them …. ”

Obviously, no one wanted to meet the same end as Jesus Himself. But despite the fact that they were held in high esteem, no one dared to join the Apostles.

Although I call myself a follower of Christ, I can identify with it being dangerous to join His Church. In some parts of the world, martyrdom is a very real possibility — and we are fortunate here in Canada that our “martyrdom,” though certainly not painless, usually means being ridiculed and ostracized for standing up for what the Church teaches.

What prevents me from daring to live in the power of the Holy Spirit like the Apostles?

What if I don’t know the answer to a question or falter in a debate? What if I pray for someone and it doesn’t come to fruition? What if they think I’m crazy? What if it negatively affects someone else’s belief in God? What if my worst-case scenario comes to pass?

All these questions come from the part of my mind that is accustomed to self-sufficiency and seeks control, likely as a result of my own painful experiences of disappointment, embarrassment and grief. But even through my understandable desire to avoid these difficult feelings, I can see that the fear behind these questions fails to allow God to take His rightful place as Author of All and the Ultimate Good.

Only He knows how my prayers should be answered.

The more I live in the power of the Holy Spirit, the more I will see the world with His eyes and know that He does indeed desire healing for all — but that He will accomplish it His way, in His time.

The truth remains that the more I take courage to pray for and truly love others, the more likely it is that I will see signs and wonders in His mighty name.

In this week following the greatest feast of the Church, may we live in the power of the Holy Spirit as did the first believers — the first witnesses of the resurrection — and bring forth signs and wonders, regardless of the cost, as we rest in the peace that God’s sovereignty brings.

May we dare to join them.

Lindsay Elford

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A Chat With Thomas

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, April 27th, 2025:Divine Mercy Sunday

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

There Is Only One Type

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, April 27th, 2025:Divine Mercy Sunday

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

The Chief Cornerstone

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, April 27th, 2025:Divine Mercy Sunday

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Take Courage

​A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, April 27th, 2025:Divine Mercy Sunday

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Archives

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, April 27th, 2025:
Divine Mercy Sunday

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, April 27th, 2025:
Divine Mercy Sunday

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, April 27th, 2025:
Divine Mercy Sunday

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, April 27th, 2025:
Divine Mercy Sunday