Today’s Gospel reading on this Second Sunday of Easter consists of two scenes. The first takes place on the evening of Easter Sunday while the second takes place one week later. In the first, Jesus appears to ten of the twelve disciples and explains what His resurrection means for them. To comfort their fear, Jesus confers the sign peace on them. With His resurrection comes peace and reassurance of the Father’s mission. He shows them his hands and his side as confirmation. They rejoice in the risen Lord. Jesus then breathes on them, giving them the Holy Spirit. He empowers them to continue His mission of spreading peace, including the forgiveness of sins. We are thus reminded of how God also breathed life into the first human, Adam. We too have received the same breath of spiritual life by virtue of our Baptism. The second scene involves the disciple Thomas, who was not present on Easter evening. Doubting the resurrection, he expresses how he must see and feel the nail marks before he will believe. Now, one week later, Jesus appears again and shows Thomas the “proof” he had been seeking. Thomas does not hesitate, boldly proclaiming perhaps the most profound words of the Gospel: “My Lord and my God!” In response, Jesus blesses all future generations who will believe in Him although they have not “seen.” In the concluding paragraph, John then summarizes why he wrote this Gospel. He desires to help us believe that Jesus is both the “Christ” (which means the anointed one, the promised savior) and the Son of God equally divine with the Father. This proclamation is just as important for us today as it was for those early audiences who were experiencing their own doubts and often persecuted for their Christian belief. So, as we receive Holy Communion, may we repeat in our hearts the astounding words of St Thomas: “My Lord and my God.” And through receiving Him, may we share in his divinity in both this life and eternal life.