The Gospel of John, chapter 20:25

Any artist who has ever painted a picture or sculpted a statue of the risen Lord owes St. Thomas a debt. Thomas wanted an image of the risen Lord that was absolutely clear; he wanted to see and touch the wounds of Christ.

Ever since, artists have been in sync with Thomas’s visual and tactile demands and have provided us with such images. But, the image of the “wounded” Lord is not simply a matter of imitation or of taste. It is, rather, a matter of faith. Lacking those wounds, the risen Lord is not the crucified Lord.

Thomas has helped artists and all of us recognize that before a resurrection, there is always a death. Thomas has helped us feel that our God is a God who takes human suffering seriously, and that out of it–even out of its seeming meaninglessness, can come wondrous meaning and glorious new life.

The risen Lord that Thomas demanded to see is worth believing in because He wears the wounds of death while promising the power of life. That Lord assures us that faith in him is justified, hope in Him will be fulfilled, and loving Him, even in suffering, brings about new life.

The Christian is someone who knows how to die and how to rise. The faith of the Christian is the most realistic of faiths for it knows darkness and light; it knows dying and rebirth; and it shrinks from neither.

Fr. Hugh Duffy