In today's Gospel from John, Thomas doubts his friends when they tell him that Jesus appeared to them.  Often called "Doubting" Thomas (Thomas the Brave according to today's sermon), Thomas stands in for all of us who have moments of disbelief when it comes to Jesus and His divinity.  We want a tangible Jesus, one who will appear to us physically and erase all doubt from our minds.  Or, at least we think we do.

To me, it's kind of like winning the lottery.  People talk about wanting it all the time, yet the reality of such an event would change our lives in ways we cannot possibly comprehend.  Are we truly ready for the demands that such an experience would give?  With the lottery, people's entire mindsets need to change.  Spending, taxes, work, day-to-day living would suddenly be all foreign to us.  Sure, we might not have to worry about paying our bills (unless we really squander the new-found wealth), but we also would not know how to talk to our family or our friends.  How secretive would we have to become?  Who could we trust?

A lot of the same questions come up if Jesus were to appear to us directly.  Historically, He only seems to do so physically for people who are ready for such an experience, whose lives are in such a place that they can literally drop everything and follow Him.  Often those people have to deal with isolation from their family and neighbors as well as accusations of insanity.  These are the saints, those who are willing to devote absolutely everything into the service of God.  And even some of these most devoted are not visited directly by God.

Jesus is with us, always.  Thomas got to see Him face-to-face.  Blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe.

Happy Easter!

Lent has officially ended and the celebration of our Lord's resurrection has begun!  While Lent lasts forty days, the Easter celebration (in the Church, at least) lasts fifty.  Fifty days to celebrate Jesus's defeat of death.

And it all starts today.  In the midst of Easter eggs (often equated as a symbol of Christ's tomb, with a golden surprise inside), Easter bunnies (ancient tradition held that many bunnies gave birth on Easter Sunday), and Easter chocolates (chocolate tastes good ... not everything has a direct Easter reference), it is possible to lose track of the importance of this day.  

We have been born into a new life.  Due to Jesus's sacrifice and resurrection, our resurrection is assured.  Our lives on this Earth are just the beginning of a wonderful existence.  We are not destined to nothingness, but to fulfillment.

Easter is a time of renewal.  It is time to renew our relationships and our lives.  May this spirit of renewal last longer than the upcoming fifty days, and may it be a driving force in everything that we do.

Happy Easter!

Here we are: the final day of Lent!  Well, I just got back from Easter Vigil Mass (the longest mass of the Catholic Church, running at least three wonderful hours), so it is technically Easter.  You see, the Catholic Church follows the long held (until the Industrial Revolution) tradition of sunset being the start of each new day.  This explains a mystery that had bothered me when I was younger.

Jesus says that He will rebuild "this temple" (meaning His body) in three days.  The Church often talks about Jesus rising on the third day, yet He died around noon on a Friday and rises again on Saturday night.  That's only a day and a half ... until you take the sunset deal into account.

Jesus dies and is buried before sunset on Friday so that the Jews do not violate their law which does not allow a person convicted of a capital crime to hang from a tree (or remain crucified) during the Sabbath.  This is the first day.  God takes the Sabbath off (that's right, the Sabbath is Saturday, not Sunday); He has since the first week of time.  This is the second day.  Night falls on Saturday (which is actually Sunday due to the tradition of sunset being the end of the day), and Jesus rises from the dead, bringing salvation to all of the world.  The third day!

Alleluia!