Message of Abbot Paul - Sunday - 7th April 2024
Abbot Paul • April 6, 2024
Today we keep to Octave of Easter, the Sunday after Easter Day, a day that is known by many different names: Low Sunday, Quasimodo Sunday, Sunday ‘in albis’, the Sunday of Thomas and, in the Catholic Church in recent times, since decreed by Pope St John Paul II in 2000, Divine Mercy Sunday. I fear you’re going to have to look up all those names and read about them, barring the Sunday of Thomas, which will become obvious when we take a look at the Gospel for today, which is from John, (Jn 20: 19-31). Our Gospel passage focusses on Thomas’ declaration of disbelief and on how his doubts were healed. There is, of course, much more to the passage than that, above all the bestowing of the gift of the Holy Spirit on the apostles by the risen Christ on the very day of his resurrection. “The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. ‘As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’ After saying this he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.’” However, the passage begins with the appearance of Jesus to the Eleven, when Thomas is missing, so there are only ten apostles present. “In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side.” This is the only resurrection account where the disciples have no difficulty in recognising Jesus and show no fear. The only fear they have is of the Jewish authorities. The doors are locked, and yet Jesus comes and stands among therm. His greeting is one of peace, while at the same time showing them his hands and his side. The peace of Christ is to be found in his open wounds.
“Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, ‘We have seen the Lord’, he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.’” Thomas expresses his doubts in a powerful way. He needs to see Jesus and to touch him, indeed to do far more than simply touch him, if he is to believe. The witness of the other ten is not enough for him. So it is that a week later, when Jesus appears again, Thomas is there and he’s waiting. It would appear that the day of the Lord’s resurrection has become a fixture, the Lord’s Day. “Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you’ he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’” Those open wounds cause Thomas to do exactly what Jesus asks of him, doubt no longer but believe. When he exclaims, “My Lord and my God,“ Jesus replies, “You believe because you can see me, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Thomas’ proclamation of faith goes far deeper than the mere acceptance that Jesus is risen from the dead. He recognises Jesus to be his Lord and his God. We are those who believe without seeing, our faith based on the witness of the first disciples, who did see and touch the risen Jesus and knew him to be their Lord and God.
In fact, John ends the chapter, probably the original ending of his Gospel, with this comment, a fitting conclusion. “There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.” The Gospels only contain a small sample of the works and teaching of Jesus, and John focusses on even fewer than the Synoptics do. But, ultimately, what has been written is there that we might believe and come to faith in Jesus, the Son of God, and have life through his name. My own testimony is very simple, for what it’s worth; if I still believe, if I am still a Christian and a Catholic, it is because of the Gospel. It really is the Word of Life.
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We are sad to announce that Fr Stephen died on Monday 21st October 2055. He was 94. He died peacefully in hospital, having recently fractured his shoulder. He was a beloved member of the monastic community, who had settled back at Belmont after many years on Belmont parishes, including in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford and Weobley. He will be much missed. His Requiem Mass will be at Belmont on Wednesday, 5th November at 11.30am followed by burial in the monastic cemetery. The Reception of his Body into the Abbey Church will take place on Tuesday, 4th November, at 5.45pm.
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