Catholic Identity & Mission News

‘Doubting Thomas’

Welcome back to all for Term 2, and Happy Easter! I know Easter Sunday was a few weeks ago and while we are still in the glow of celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus, our liturgical calendar of readings has also been giving us a few ‘reality checks’ over the past couple of weeks. My own Parish priest noted in his homily on the Second Sunday of Easter that we go from the Resurrection one Sunday to ‘doubting Thomas’ the next – such is the journey of faith!

Thomas was one of Jesus’ disciples and was often referred to as ‘the twin’. In the Gospel of John, we hear how eight days after the Resurrection, Jesus stands among his disciples again however Thomas was absent. When Thomas returns and hears that the others have seen and spoken with Jesus, he says, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.’ A further eight days pass and Jesus returns. After offering them peace, Jesus encourages Thomas to ‘test’ that he is who he says he is. Thomas is left in no doubt and proclaims, ‘My Lord and my God’. Jesus teaches Thomas and says, ‘You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’ 

I have always appreciated the honesty of the Christian scriptures in their representation of the struggles of faith. Catholic theology is not fundamentalist – we understand there are different types of writings and ‘truths’ in the scriptures. The key truth is religious truth – that God entered human history in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and that the followers of Jesus have been entrusted to continue Jesus’ teaching and good works in Jesus’ name. In doing so, they will fulfill God’s Kingdom on earth because all will live as God would want them to. Now the Gospel writers could have just written that everyone believed and that there were no doubts and no issues but of course, this would be false. Doubt is a natural and valuable part of faith! In fact, a faith that never questions, challenges, sorts, prioritizes, confirms, or changes perspectives or ideas is counter productive to spiritual growth. 

But I think the best part of the ‘doubting Thomas’ story is how kind and understanding Jesus is. He does not belittle or scold Thomas, he uses Thomas’ error as a teaching moment (an example of us all in the education of our young people). He is empathetic and understanding and reinforces that with God, all is endlessly and emphatically OK. 

We are a multi-faith community and our individual journeys in faith make us each Thomas’ ‘twin’ at times. As we aim to prioritise a culture of dialogue about faith at the College, we must engage with doubt and with different ways of thinking and believing in terms of faith. So as we start our new Term, with our Year 12 Reflection Days, Glowrey and Marian House Feasts, and St. Peter’s Day approaching, may we all be deliberate in listening to, and learning from our Lord and our God – the greatest of teachers.  

Fiona McKenna

Deputy Principal - Catholic Identity & Mission