“Doubt Me Not…” By: Eric Gajewski From the work, "Fortress of the Soul"
Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe… And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said: Peace be to you. Then he saith to Thomas: Put in thy finger hither, and see my hands; and bring hither thy hand, and put it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing.JN 20: 25-27
And on the eight day Jesus cometh. Objectively, faith stands for the sum of truths revealed by God in Scripture and tradition and which the Church presents to us in a brief form in her creeds, subjectively, faith stands for the habit or virtue by which we assent to those truths. It is with this subjective aspect of faith that we are here primarily concerned. "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." St. Augustine If I believe only what I see carnally than I am faithless; if I see with the inner eye of the soul I am but an eagle soaring far above the sea of reason. On this day let us pause to reflect interiorly to see if we act more like Thomas or more like the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thomas responded and needed “to see” but the Virgin Mary “already saw”. Let us be more like Mary in our own daily lives “seeing” before the fact and relying upon Divine Providence to “work things to our advantage”. The number eight marks a “new beginning” and thus we see in the Old Testament circumcision taking place on the eight day; we see only 8 survivors aboard the Ark during the Flood and now can transfer this understanding to the New Testament. The number 8 symbolizes circumcision of the heart (Baptism of Desire) through Christ and the receiving of the Holy Ghost (Romans 2:28 - 29, Colossians 2:11 - 13). Those in Christ are becoming a new creation, with godly character being created by the power of God's Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:10; 4:23 - 24). God seemingly "hides" in Selfless Love's game of the soul only to "show Himself" later on
