St Thomas’ profession of faith is so simple and yet so powerful. He could not believe until he could see and touch the risen Lord. He could not believe because he was not at peace, he wasn’t free. Only when he received the peace of the risen Christ were his fears replaced with deep faith and love. A devout old lady from Ghana came to receive Communion; the priest was taken aback when in response to The Body of Christ she replied: ‘It sure is!’ Her response is just as much an act of faith as St Thomas’ was. Sometimes we can receive the Lord and not see, not even be aware that we are receiving our risen Saviour. Yet, He is as present to us in this sacrament as He was to St Thomas in the upper room, as He was in the faithful heart of the old lady. A verse from St Thomas Aquinas’ wonderful hymn ‘Godhead here in hiding’ can help us to doubt no longer but believe:
I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see,
But can plainly call Thee Lord and God as he;
Let me to a deeper faith daily nearer move,
Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.
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