Blessed, Believing Thomas

“Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
John 20:29b, NABRE

Blessed are
all
who believe,
no matter the route they take.

Blessed are the absent
who empower us
to give witness upon their return.

Blessed are those unafraid
to enter the doubter’s debacle,
expressing what the timid fear to.

Blessed are the troublemakers,
who beckon a Divine greeting of
“Peace!”
into our midst.

Blessed are the ones
brave enough to have
their hearts and minds opened;
they show us the path of conversion.

Blessed are the voices
that cry out with joy
at newfound insight:
“My Lord and My God!”

Blessed is the lineage of
Insolent Abraham
Unbelieving Sarah
Deceptive Rebekah
Trickster Jacob
Evasive Moses
Murderous David
Questioning Mary
Denying Peter
ancestors allowed to move on
from their weak or worst
human moments.

Blessed are those who
behold the nail prints,
penetrate those marks,
plunge their hand into the water-blood font;
these have revealed the entrance
into the Body of Christ—
a wounded place.

Blessed are those wounds,
still present,
not healed but glorified;
Blessed are those wounds
still present
that heal and glorify.

Blessed are you, Believing Thomas,
in whom we often see our twin:
absent
defiant
demanding
accepting
faith-filled.

Pray for us,
Blessed, Believing Thomas.