Urbi Et Orbi

In his "Urbi Et Orbi" message on Easter Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI prayed for the many troubled places in the world, going so far as to say "nothing positive" is coming out of the war in Iraq. While the mass media will hone in on that statement, that was not what stuck with me most from the message.

What I found very interesting was his decision to hone in on St. Thomas... Thomas the Doubter whose faith "was almost dead" before he put his fingers into the open wound in the Lord's side and into the nail holes in the Lord's hands. No question that doubting has become the popular method of examining Christianity, and we need more than ever educated, evangelization-minded Catholics willing to stand up for the faith and win back souls for Christ.

We may all be tempted by the disbelief of Thomas. Suffering, evil, injustice, death, especially when it strikes the innocent such as children who are victims of war and terrorism, of sickness and hunger, does not all of this put our faith to the test? Paradoxically the disbelief of Thomas is most valuable to us in these cases because it helps to purify all false concepts of God and leads us to discover his true face: the face of a God who, in Christ, has taken upon himself the wounds of injured humanity. Thomas has received from the Lord, and has in turn transmitted to the Church, the gift of a faith put to the test by the passion and death of Jesus and confirmed by meeting him risen. His faith was almost dead but was born again thanks to his touching the wounds of Christ, those wounds that the Risen One did not hide but showed, and continues to point out to us in the trials and sufferings of every human being.

And in Pope Benedict's closing....

Christ is risen and he is alive among us. It is he who is the hope of a better future. As we say with Thomas: “My Lord and my God!”, may we hear again in our hearts the beautiful yet demanding words of the Lord: “If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honour him” (Jn 12:26). United to him and ready to offer our lives for our brothers (cf. 1 Jn 3:16), let us become apostles of peace, messengers of a joy that does not fear pain – the joy of the Resurrection. May Mary, Mother of the Risen Christ, obtain for us this Easter gift. Happy Easter to you all.