April 16, 2023

At every Mass, we share in the same joy of the first disciples who received the resurrected Christ.

As we continue to bask in the joy of Easter, we recognize that the joy we experience is the same joy of the first disciples, who received the Lord in his risen body. Through receiving Jesus in word and sacrament in the celebration of the Mass, we are experiencing the resurrected presence of Christ in a very real way.

Today’s Gospel passage says that the proof of Jesus’ resurrection was written down so that we might come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that through this belief we may have life in his name. The Scriptures we proclaim are not merely words on a page, but the living and active word of God, able to penetrate our minds and hearts with the truth about the resurrection of Christ and the promise of eternal life.

When Jesus appeared to the first disciples, he breathed on them and spoke to them in order to communicate the gift of the Holy Spirit. When we hear the Scriptures proclaimed, Jesus is also speaking to us with the breath of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was not content to merely have a written record of his life that we could appreciate in a historical sense. Jesus wants to speak to us personally and powerfully through the Scriptures. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can know his voice – as Thomas and the other disciples came to know his voice.

Let us also consider the resurrected presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Though we do not yet see Jesus in his human form, we truly see and receive his sacramental body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist. Through the celebration of holy Communion, Jesus Christ gives his whole self to us in a way that unites us to the experience of the first disciples. Once again, Jesus was not content to merely show his resurrected body to the first disciples and have us wait for his second coming. Jesus wants to give his resurrected body to every disciple in the Eucharist.

Because we receive Jesus’ body into our bodies, the celebration of the Eucharist creates a deeper union with him than even what Thomas experienced. Instead of seeing the marks of the nails in his hands, we receive him into our hands. Instead of putting our hand into his pierced side, we receive him into our hearts.

Let us rejoice, then, with the same joy of the first disciples! Jesus will come again today to give us his body. May the Holy Spirit deepen our faith in the word of God and the body of Christ as the presence of Jesus among us. We can come to every Mass expecting to encounter the risen Lord. As we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we can proclaim with Thomas the Apostle: My Lord and my God!