(July 03, 2013) Study, meditation and mortification are not enough to bring us to
encounter the living Christ. Like St. Thomas, our life will only be changed when we
touch Christ’s wounds in the poor, sick and needy. Pope Francis said this during
Mass at Casa Santa Marta on Wednesday, as he marked the Feast of St. Thomas Apostle. The
Pope said that Jesus, after the Resurrection, appears to the apostles, but Thomas
is not there when he reveals his wounds to them. We do not know the reason for his
absence, the Pope said, as Jesus works in mysterious ways. It was only after a week
when he saw the apostles again with Thomas, and revealed his wounds, the doubting
Thomas in order to believe, wanted to put his fingers in the wounds. Thomas was stubborn,
but the Lord wanted exactly that, a stubborn person to make us understand something
greater. The Pope said when Thomas put his finger into Jesus’ wounds, he did not
say, 'It's true: the Lord is risen'. No! He went further. He said: 'God'. The Pope
pointed out that Thomas was the first of the disciples, who makes the confession of
the divinity of Christ after the Resurrection, and worshiped Him”. "And so - continued
the Pope, we understand what the Lord’s intention was in meeting Thomas after a
week. He wanted to guide his disbelief, not to an affirmation of the Resurrection,
but an affirmation of His Divinity. The only path to encounter Jesus-God is in His
wounds, the Pope affirmed. The Pope noted that in the history of the Church, people
have made mistakes on the path towards God. Some have believed that God can be found
on the path of meditation, and got lost on the path. Others thought they had to mortify
themselves, but even they did not arrive at the Living God. The Pope said that
Jesus tells us the path to encountering Him is to find His wounds. Pope Francis
concluded saying “We do not need to go for a refresher course to touch the living
God but to enter into the wounds of Jesus, and for this "all we have to do is go out
in the street. The Pope prayed to St. Thomas to give us the grace and courage needed
to enter into the wounds of Jesus and thus worship the living God.