The Believing Thomas
The Incredulity of St. Thomas (1601) by Caravaggio (1571-1610) "Because you have seen Me, Thomas, you have believed."--Jn 20:29 Yesterday we heard the episode related by John the Theologian of that octave of Pascha, the week after Christ's Resurrection. When He rose, He appeared to many: to Mary Magdalane, to the other myrrhbearing women, to His apostles in the closed room, to His disciples on the Road to Emmaus. Yet to one in particular He did not appear in that first week: Thomas, called Twin (Didymos). Why Thomas was not with the rest of the Eleven in the upper room is unknown. All we know is the fact that he was not there. Because he was not there, He did not see the Lord's theophany that morning, and it was such a glorious happening that Thomas could not believe the news of it. Maybe he was a pessimist who was reluctant to believe such news; perhaps he was, as he is often presented now, a man who needed evidence. Regardless...