Reflections of a beloved son

“Thomas answered and said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”   John 20:28   Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle   St. Thomas is usually given a bad reputation with the nickname of “Doubting Thomas.” Yes, Thomas doubted when his brothers told him that Jesus is alive and has resurrected. But that does not define him as a person. Earlier on when Jesus was speaking with His Apostles, assuring them that there are many dwelling places in His Father’s house and that where He is going, they know the way.   At this Thomas asked, “Master we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?”   At this Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Because of Thomas’ questioning, Jesus made a profound statement that is commonly quoted today. This statement was a statement of identity.   Questioning and doubting does not always signify something bad or weakness. It can be a sign of a desire to deepen ...

When tragedies happen the question " Where is God "  is not an uncommon one that comes up. "Where is God in all this?"  With the recent worldwide outbreak of the coronavirus, one may ask the same question, especially when we hear day after day the reporting of the increasing number of deaths. "Where is God?" When tragedy struck America on September 11, 2001, the country came together. We stood united.  In 2003 when SARS broke out we were worried about my family in Hong Kong.  People were dying.  Then I remember the artists and songwriters put up a concert "1:99 Concert."  It was a fundraising concert.  The people came together.  A year later in 2004, a crippling tsunami and earthquake struck Indonesia and other parts of South Asia.  Seeing the report in Times was heartbreaking - the countless number of bodies on the sand after the water had subsided.  In February 2008 when a devastating earthquake hit Sichaun, China, the world came...

" Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe " were the words Jesus said to Thomas in the locked room (Jn. 20:27). When the other Apostles had told Thomas that Jesus had appeared to them and that He has truly risen from the dead, he did not believe and said that unless he saw Him and touched His wounds for himself he would not believe.  So, Jesus came back and appeared to Thomas.  When Jesus came back to show Thomas that He truly has risen, He laid out everything - He showed him His wounds.  Jesus was basically saying, "Here, look.  Look at the nail marks and my pierced side.  Look.  Touch it.  Feel.  It's me."  I read in a meditation that because Jesus showed us His wounds we can bring our wounds to Him.  At Golgotha, Jesus was stripped of everything - His clothing, His rights, and His dignity.  Jesus gave up everything in order to give us everything...

The gift that the Lord first gives to His disciples after His Resurrection is peace.   " Peace be with you."   This peace is not just the warm, happy feeling that comes when the sun shines on our faces and the gentle breeze breathes on our skin.  This peace is the calming sense that overcomes us, easing troubled hearts and convinces doubtful minds.  The feeling of knowing that all will be well, according to the plan of God.  The knowledge that the victory has already been won.  The hope of eternal life and the "resurrection of the body."  Jesus showed the disciples His wounds, emphasizing that He is flesh (not a ghost) and that He is truly risen.  He then also "opened their minds to understand the Scriptures."  In doing so, He was strengthening and encouraging the disciples, moving them to belief and faith, and instilling hope in their hearts, hope and knowledge that all He had shared with them and all that was foretold about Him in the Scr...