We are constantly called to respond to the invitation to open ourselves up to the graces of this reality.
The apostles struggled to embrace it because they were still in great fear in the wake of the Crucifixion, and were in a locked room. Showing the power of His Resurrection, Christ passed through the locked door and entered the room. They rejoiced, realizing the great reassurance that He was indeed alive again. Furthermore, He brought them peace, and the Holy Spirit.
Thomas expressed doubt when the apostles shared the news, reflecting the struggle all of the apostles had in grasping news of the Resurrection. St. Thomas even want to see and touch the wounds of Christ. A week later, they were all in a locked room, still struggling with fear. Christ broke through the locks and their fear to present Himself, and gave Thomas exactly what He sought. Thomas moved beyond seeing to believing.
As we continue to celebrate the Easter Season, we open ourselves ot the ways that the Risen Christ makes Himself real to us and the power of the Resurrection. We may not see, but we can still embrace the joy that Christ is Risen and is with us in a powerful new way as we see by faith the ways He presents Himself to us.
His Presence shows how He has overcome evil, sin, and death. He now bestows mercy in abundance on the Church and the world, so that we can experience forgiveness. (Today marks the beginning and end of the Sectional War of the 1860s, and today's Feast of Divine Mercy Sunday offers us an opportunity to embrace anew the power of Divine Mercy by which we are forgiven.)
He is present when we gather as Church and when we strive through the struggles of this life with hope that God is bringing us closer to Himself.
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