Saturday, April 26, 2025

Why the Heart - Divine Mercy Sunday

 “Bring your hand and put it into my side.”

 Jesus had many wounds from His crucifixion. The wounds from the nails in His hands and His feet; the wounds on His head from the crown of thorns; the wounds on His back from the scourging; the wound on His shoulder from carrying the weight of the heavy, wooden cross.

 But of all of these wounds, Jesus invites Thomas to touch the wound on the side. This was the wound where the Roman soldier, the centurion, had thrust a lance through skin and rib and into the very heart of Jesus, from which poured forth blood and water.

 On this day, a week after His resurrection, Jesus invites the doubting, and even cynical, Thomas to place his finger where the lance went through – not simply to touch the outer flap of skin, but to put his finger “into…”

 Into what?

 Thomas’ expression tells us – he cries out, “My Lord and my God!” –Thomas has touched the heart. A beating heart. Jesus’ heart! He is alive! And it shocks Thomas. Wouldn’t you be shocked if someone who you thought was dead has a heart beat that you can touch?

 From this moment, Thomas believes. His heart is changed.

 In a way, we can say that when Thomas touches Jesus’ heart, it is really Jesus who touches Thomas’ heart. Thomas’ heart was cold and dead because of doubt and cynicism. But when Jesus touches Thomas’ heart, his heart becomes is afire with love. Thomas’ faith has been resurrected.

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 This past week, our holy father, Pope Francis, the successor of Peter and shepherd of the flock, has died and gone to meet our heavenly Father.

 His passing afforded me some time to reflect about Pope Francis’ reign, which is called his “pontificate.”

 On the one hand, I have very much applauded the Pope for reminding all the world about the dignity of the human person, about our need to walk with all people, and about how every person is not a problem to solve, but a soul with hearts that we must love – whether friend or enemy, people with whom we agree or disagree.

 Additionally, many on the “inside” have spoken about Pope Francis’ deep prayer life and his private works of charity. In these ways, the holy father offered us a chance to be closer to Jesus and the Gospel. Many have come back to the faith because of him and grieve his passing. This is wonderful and I praise God for it.

 At the same time, I have also struggled with the Pope’s weaknesses. Even though many in his inner circle have insisted that the Pope had no intentions on changing Church teaching (which he couldn’t do anyway), and while he was motivated by genuine love of bringing people on the peripheries back to the faith (which I applaud), the Pope was often unclear in what he said. And his lack of clarity often sowed confusion.

 When he was clear, his tone was often frank and severe, the most choleric of words being saved for his priests – priests who often found themselves tasked with cleaning up the messes caused by his lack of clarity. This sowed some resentment in his priests, especially those who have trying to be faithful during a time of decadence and scandal.

 While Pope Francis often emphasized the need to welcome others and not to judge, I found him very judgmental towards those who were trying to have larger families, or worshipping in more historical (or one may say traditional) ways, or fighting against secularism in sacrificial lives – all of which we as Catholics are called to do.

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 This admixture of good and bad in a Pope caused me some discomfort in the past decade. I saw enemies of the Church exploiting the confusion; I saw some good Catholics falling away; and I saw some lukewarm Catholics reaffirmed in their lukewarmness.

 During my moments of reflection this week, I have found a clear connection to Saint Thomas whom we just heard about. The temptation for any of us is like that of Saint Thomas: to just not care about any of it, to grow in cynicism, resentment, doubt, lack of charity and courtesy. In short: the temptation for any of us at any given time is to lose our heart.

 Thomas needed to touch the heart of Jesus because he himself had lost his heart.

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When Pope John Paul II died back in 2005, I wept. I genuinely loved the man. And I could not speak enough good things about him. I had a great heart for him. I fully believed he had a great heart. I am sure there are many who feel the same way about Pope Francis. As we all should. 

It is okay to not like certain leadership styles or to bristle at confusing ways of expression. That’s fine. What is not fine is when we become uncharitable. Whether it is the pope or a pastor, a principal or a teacher, a coworker or a family member or a neighbor or a stranger, we are all called to be gentle and kind and courteous and charitable, to give all a generous belief in having a good heart.

 Trolling on the internet, gossip, manipulation, complaining to others, and that voyeuristic curiosity that leads to doom-scrolling instead of prayer – these actions not only turn us into a Thomas who may lose his heart. These are signs that we already have! 

This is why Jesus came to Thomas today. It is why Jesus comes to you and me today. If you have an issue with someone, if your faith in the goodness of another has been damaged, you need to put your hand into Jesus’ side. Put your complaint there. He is asking you to touch His heart. Tell Him what bothers you; pray to Him about the one you disagree with. Let Him resurrection your faith; and your hope; and your love.

 Like Thomas, we must place our hand into Jesus’ heart. In doing so, we will rediscover our own.

 In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

1 comment:

  1. Thank you, Father Gerber! I needed to hear this.

    ReplyDelete