Going to the Holy Land for a pilgrimage is certainly a wish we would want to fulfill. And with the modern means of transportation, that can be quite easily achieved and afforded.
We would want to go that land which God had promised to Abraham and also see the places that the Bible talks about.
Above all, we want to trace the footsteps of the life of Jesus, from His birthplace to where He was buried.
We want to see the places where He had been, places that are still existing, like the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane.
More than that, we would want to bring home some souvenirs, like an olive wood carving of a cross.
Of course, our faith does not depend on these sights and souvenirs, but these are certainly enhancements that make our faith tangible.
As human beings, and as a people of faith, we need the visible and the concrete and the tangible as expressions of our faith.
When the risen Lord came and stood among His disciples in that room, there is no doubt that they saw Him. They even heard Him. He even breathed on them.
But Thomas wasn't there. So he missed out on all that.
So when the other disciples told him that they had seen the risen Lord, he retorted by making his demands.
Not only did Thomas want to see the Lord, he also demanded for the touch-experience: he wanted to put his finger into the holes made by the nails and his hand into Jesus' side. Otherwise he refused to believe.
And Jesus came back for Thomas. And He invited Thomas to put his finger and his hand into the holes and into His side.
The gospel did not tell us whether Thomas actually did it.
But Thomas made the profound expression of faith when he declared before the risen Lord - My Lord and my God!
Jesus said that happy are those who have not seen Him and yet believed.
But we do see Him. We see Him in those who are wounded by the hurts and disappointments of life, those wounded by rejection and criticism, those wounded by loneliness and helplessness.
Jesus said that "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you did it to me" (Mt 25:40)
We can see those who are wounded. When we reach out to touch them, we touch the wounds of the risen Lord.
In touching those who are wounded, we are healed of our own wounds.
Our faith is visible, concrete and tangible and it is expressed in persons in need of healing.
It is in touching the wounds of these people that we bring about the Lord's healing to them as well healing for ourselves.
Indeed our faith is so real. We give thanks to the Lord for this visible, concrete and tangible faith.