Today is the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle. In this photo, the third reliquary from the left contains the finger of St. Thomas, the one that he poked into the Wounds of Our Lord. It is venerated in Rome at the "Church of the Holy Cross at Jerusalem".

Our Lord always brings good from apparent evil...in the case of Thomas, He proved His "aliveness" by showing Himself to Thomas. His words ring down through the ages in an encouragement to us: "Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed."

Rev. Hilary Maurice Vigo, in his 1878 book, The Immaculate Conception: The History, Trials, and Triumphs of the Work of God at Lourdes, writes of Thomas:

"He had said he would not believe the Resurrection of his Divine Master unless he was assured of it by his sight and touch. And Jesus appears to him after the resurrection, and invites him to put his finger into the holes the nails had made in His Hands and Feet, and his hand into the spear-gash in His sacred Side. What condescension! He, therefore, does not wish us to believe blindly the truths of faith; and, far from prohibiting, He, in fact, counsels study and examination, in order that we may become convinced of their dogmatic certainty....Look at St. Thomas: by his apparent incredulity he gave an occasion to the Divine Redeemer to illuminate him, and at the same time to enlighten and convince all Christians regarding the truth of His resurrection."