04.28.2025 | Monday in Eastertide

A beautiful, sunny Monday morning here in the Carondelet Garden in South Saint Louis.  The skies should be sunny to partly cloudy all day with highs in the upper 80s.  Extremely warm for this late April in South Saint Louis.  Winds could occasionally gust over 40 MPH.  Of course, this means that thunderstorms are probably on the horizon.  Buckle up! The weather is going to change soon enough.

Some of our Roses have come into bloom this early Spring and they are glorious!  There is something that feels so perfect about a blooming rose.  The beauty, the scent, the velvet texture all combines for a bit of grace.

I was thinking about the Gospel reading from this weekend.  John Chapter 20 seems to have it all!  We have Mary Magdalene finding the empty tomb first! Jesus Christ has risen and, of course, my favorite Thomas the doubter!  What an amazing story it is!

Yet, for me, Thomas stands out. He was not there when the other disciples encountered the risen Christ.  They told him they had seen the risen Jesus, but Thomas was there on that Good Friday.  He saw the suffering.  He witnessed the horror. He heard the cries of anguish.  He saw it with his own eyes.  He wasn't going to pretend that didn't happen.  He saw his friend murdered.  It was real.  That is hard to forget even when your friends tell you that he's back.  How could that be, I saw him!  I saw it!  I was there!

Then it happened.  Jesus appeared again.  This time Thomas was there.  Jesus wasn't angry.  He didn't say you are worthless because you doubt.  He offered himself to Thomas.  Here, put your hands on my side.  Touch my hands and feet.  Touch me!  The horror of Good Friday was real, but it wasn't the end of the story.  The real story was just beginning.  Amen.