The Wounds of the Cross
The story of doubting Thomas is so deeply woven into our culture that his name has become an idiom in everyday speech. This story tells us about belief. In this reflection, as we mourn Francis, our Pope of hope and mercy, I’d like to move beyond believing and explore what it truly means to know the risen Jesus.
Seeing appears to be secondary to the true desire of Thomas. What he really wants is to touch Jesus. The risen body of Christ is not a ghost or an illusion; it is real, physical. The proof Thomas seeks is tangible and tactile; he wants to feel the Saviour in the fullest sense of the word.
Thomas does not reach out to touch the familiar face of his friend as a means of recognition. Instead, he reaches for what is new and terrible to him—the horror of the wounds of Jesus’s death. It is through touching these wounds that the reality of the Resurrection is made known to Thomas.
In His eternal sacrifice, Jesus embraces the entirety of the world’s brokenness in an act of all-encompassing mercy. Every wound —physical, psychological, spiritual— is nailed to the Cross with Him.
When we touch the side of our wounded neighbour, perhaps wipe a tear or offer comfort, as Pope Francis did so many times, we touch the wounds of the Cross. It is in these acts that the truth of the Resurrection becomes clear.
We read: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe". Blessed because we are not merely spectators to this miracle. Our belief is inseparable from our actions, and from our mercy.
Mercy, given and received, is our solidarity with Christ, crucified in our brokenness.
This Sunday is celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday, marking devotion to an image of Christ showing the wound in his side, as revealed to St Faustina.
The Hebrew word that is often translated as "mercy" is rachamim, the plural of the word womb, carrying connotations of protection, nurture, and the gift of life. Through these wounds, we enter the new life of Jesus. As our fingers touch his side, we come ever closer to the beating of his sacred heart.
We did not get to see what Thomas and the other disciples witnessed that day in Jerusalem, but we can touch what they touched. We do this at Mass, and in every moment that we reach out to the wounded world He bore.
Today's readings: Acts 5:12-16 Psalm 117(118) Apocalypse 1:9-13,17-19 John 20:19-31
Source: Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday
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