When Thomas saw and heard Jesus, he expressed in a few words what he felt in his heart: "My Lord and my God," he exclaimed, moved to the depths of his being. It is at the same time an act of faith, of surrender and of love. He openly confesses that Jesus is God and recognizes him as his Lord. Jesus answered him: "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have believed without seeing. And Pope John Paul II comments: "This is the faith that we must renew, following in the footsteps of countless generations of Christians who for two thousand years have confessed Christ, the invisible Lord, even to the point of martyrdom. We must make our own, as many others did before us, the words of Peter in his first Letter: You have not seen him, but you love him; now, believing in him without seeing him, you have an unspeakable joy. This is true faith: absolute surrender to things that cannot be seen, but which are capable of fulfilling and ennobling a whole life".
From that moment on, Thomas was a different man, thanks in good part to the fraternal charity that the other Apostles had for him. His fidelity to the Master, which seemed impossible in those days of darkness, was forever firm and unconditional. His words have perhaps served us many times to make an act of faith-my Lord and my God, my Lord and my God-when we pass before a tabernacle or at the moment of the Consecration at Holy Mass. His figure is for us today a motive of trust in the Lord, who will never leave us, and a motive of hope if ever those who are closest to us by divine will pass through moments of disconcert in their fidelity to God. Our encouragement in such a situation and the Lord's grace will work miracles.
With the Liturgy we ask the Lord today: ...grant us to celebrate with joy the feast of your Apostle St. Thomas; may he help us with his protection so that we may have in us abundant life through faith in Jesus Christ, your Son, whom your Apostle recognized as his Lord and his God.
Our Lady, who was so close to the Apostles in those days, would attentively follow the evolution of Thomas' soul. Perhaps she was the one who prevented the Apostle from turning away definitively. We entrust to her today our fidelity to the Lord and that of those whom God has placed in our care in some way. Faithful Virgin.... pray for them... pray for me!