The new calendar year officially began in January and the new liturgical year started even before that. Nevertheless, the new Easter season seems to hold that similar feeling of a new year, a new start, a new beginning, even a new life. Easter Sunday promised great hope, and this hope has not only remained throughout the past week, but has grown in power and strength.
I attended the Saturday vigil for Divine Mercy Sunday and my experience of hope fulfilled surpassed my imagination. The joy I felt was from a single moment as I walked out of church after Mass. It has been over a year since the holy water fonts at the doors of the church were filled with anything except hand sanitizers. Before exiting the church, my eyes were caught by a woman who was also leaving but before she did, she paused and gracefully dipped her finger into the holy water receptacle. I found myself holding my breath; hope springing eternal in my heart. I hastened my footsteps–“could it be possible?” I wondered. I reached the holy water receptacle and there it was–actual holy water! Alleluia! Not only had holy water returned, but the pews were no longer blocked off, the aisles were not marked with duct tape showing the socially correct distance of 6 feet, and the offertory was reinstated. Yes, there is hope, for our church is being restored to its full glory.
It seems appropriate that these changes happened on Divine Mercy Sunday. The Lord’s people are returning to Him, humbly asking His mercy, no longer in fear of COVID-19, but seeking strength and recovery through Jesus Christ. The gospel for this particular Sunday also seem especially fitting for we read about doubting Thomas. I exhibited similar doubting behavior on my way out of church. I could not believe that the holy water I so craved for over a year would be back in church. Like Thomas, I would only believe it when I saw it and put my own fingers into the font.
I know God made sure that Thomas’s story was told for our benefit. We all can learn from his example and strive to keep our faith in Jesus even when we cannot see Him, but I must confess I always perceived Thomas in a different light. I felt bad for him. I never thought his doubt was true doubt. If I had been in his position, I would have said the same words but not because I doubted the truth, but out of sadness. Here Thomas’s master, Jesus Christ, had appeared to everyone except him. The gospel never states why Thomas was missing from the first reunion of the Lord with his disciples. Thomas may have truly doubted the apostles’ story, but I will always consider the frustration and dismay he must have harbored as well. If I were him, I would have longed to be in that room where Jesus first appeared after His crucifixion, and I would have rebuked my fellow disciples simply to shield myself from the pain of not having seen my Master again.
I believe the Church has been in a similar state of dismay for the past year. We have read the accounts of the apostles and know in our hearts that Jesus is alive, but last year we did not see this with our eyes because the churches were closed due to the pandemic. This year, however, the Church is recovering. The pandemic may be lingering in our midst, but the Church is growing stronger. No amount of sanitizer can keep us from the effects of this pandemic. Only the Lord’s mercy can truly save us, and praise be, we have it! Blessed are we who have not seen but who still believe.
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Originally published at Kitty in the City
Photo: Thomas Vitali, Unsplash / PD-US
