Christ is risen!
On the eighth day, our Lord appears to Thomas, passing through closed doors. When the Lord appeared on the first day of the week, in the evening immediately after his Rising, the other apostles had the doors shut “for fear of the Jews.” But in this case, no reason is given. Why, then, are the doors shut? The shut doors parallel Thomas’s closing of his mind and heart: “I will not believe.” Likewise, just as he passed through closed doors, the risen Lord shows that he can penetrate Thomas’s doubt, causing him to exclaim: “My Lord and my God!”
Together with the holy apostle, let us also cry: “My Lord and my God!” The risen Lord, who can pass through closed doors and overcome the apostle’s doubt, also has the power to enter the gates of our own hearts, gates which are all-too-often closed by our own fear, our self-doubt, our willingness to settle for less, for passing passions instead of immortal friendship with God. And yet, the Lord, forgiving all things by the Cross and Resurrection, desires and is able to enter once again into our hearts and our lives, offering himself to us once more for our salvation, that we may attain unto his everlasting communion of Love, which he shares eternally with the Father and the Spirit.