Ephesians 2:19-22 / John 20:24-29
If we say that seeing is believing, we are not saying anything new.
Seeing is a powerful faculty that we have in a world of sights, sounds, smells, taste and touch.
Seeing is such a powerful faculty that it plays an important part in the acceptance of what is real and what is not.
So unless we see it, we may not really be so ready to accept it and believe in it.
For St. Thomas, whose feastday we celebrate today, he not only demanded to see the Risen Jesus, he even wanted to confirm what he was seeing by insisting to put his finger into the holes made by the nails in the hands of Jesus and put his hand into the gaping wound at the side.
For St. Thomas, seeing was not enough. He wanted to touch, he wanted to feel, he wanted to know if the Risen Jesus was for real.
Whether St. Thomas did what he demanded by putting his finger into the holes of the hand of Jesus, and whether he put his hand into the side of Jesus, the gospel did not tell us.
But what we know was that in the end, he made a profound statement of faith: My Lord and my God!
And with that statement of faith, Jesus also turned the doubt of St. Thomas into a promise for us: Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.
Yes, it is a promise of Jesus to us, that we who believe will see His blessings, we will receive His blessings, and even though we may not be physically present at the Mass and the Devotion, His blessings will be us when we participate faithfully and devoutly in the online "live" broadcasts.