The Mark of the Nails

An unbeliever has only one main object in life: to make as much money as possible and enjoy the comforts and material possessions of this world; for us, on the contrary, the goal is not this world marred by sin, but to abide with the Risen Christ “in the Father’s bosom” as John the Evangelist puts it.

Easter is not behind us, it stands always in front of us. In the Risen Lord, in fact, we see God’s answer to those wounds of anguish, fear and weakness which scar our hearts.

It is, I know, not easy to believe in the Resurrection. It was not easy even for the first Christians. Remember how the Apostles locked themselves up in the Upper Room in fear of reprisals, anguished by what had happened to their beloved Teacher? Perhaps some of them were even secretly disappointed that they had so foolishly allowed themselves to get involved in this whole Jesus affair. Yet Christ had already risen; news of the event had already reached their ears through Mary Magdalene… but for the Apostles it was still not quite Easter, at least not yet.

Easter is a perception reserved for mature souls; it is an Event that can only be received by those capable of walking along the paths of faith, which is why it is so easy to fall short of the Easter Mystery.

Sure enough, the Church is by no means a community of perfect men and women, yet it is precisely to this community of broken individuals that Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me do I send you.” (Jn. 20,21) In that Upper Room there was an empty seat, the one left by Judas, the traitor; and a man, Peter, whose eyes were still reddened from the realisation of the triple denial of his Teacher. Christ, however, is not afraid of the weaknesses of his children simply because it is His task to strengthen and redeem them in the first place. The Church is, in fact, a community of sinners who are constantly repenting, constantly mending their ways and forgiving each other – a process that requires humility, above all.

Doubting Thomas was not a great example of humility: he refused to believe in the words of his fellow Apostles; and deep down, he may even have felt indignant at his exclusion from the first encounter with the Risen Lord. But Jesus subsequently moved towards him and showed him the mark of the nails: a sublime gesture that put his pride to shame.

Thomas is typical of a great number of people these days; people who regard the Resurrection as something impossible, and we suffer for this. We would like Jesus to come and get us out of trouble; we expect the Lord to reveal Himself to the many sceptics in the world as he did with Thomas. In vain do we wait, for Jesus has left this task to us – He wants us to reveal His Resurrection through our lives.

It is therefore incumbent upon us to ask ourselves this question: how do we witness, through our lives, that Christ has actually risen? Faith, in fact, requires proof, witnesses; faith stands in need of role models. Are we an example to those searching for God?

True believers are called to show to the Doubting Thomas’ of this world the mark of the nails, the wounds of charity, the costs of discipleship. Only in this way will we be worthy to be called disciples of God and heralds of the Gospel of Mercy.

An atheist, and long-time friend of Dominican Father Jacques Loew, after spending many years observing his quiet, humble service in the harbour of Marseilles, one day told him, “If God exists, He will certainly be similar to you.”

What is the mark of the nails we show others every day? A strict examination of conscience is a dire necessity if we want to find out the underlying reasons for the delay in the redemption in our everyday environment. We may even find out that the cause of many troubles comes from within ourselves, and that we were totally unaware of it.

We wish all our readers a Happy Easter in the presence of our Risen Lord, and at the same time we pray to Saint Anthony that he may always assist you along the difficult road of life, even in showing others the mark of the nails.