“. . . blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

The term "Doubting Thomas" has entered the lexicon because there is a little bit of the skeptic in all of us. Our natural, human inclination - - when presented with some startling new information - - is to question it, and withhold judgment until we have examined the evidence, touched it, weighed it, decided for ourselves whether or not it is true.

As Christians, the evidence we have to go on has been passed down to us by people like Doubting Thomas. He stood in our place, and like a Devil's advocate, challenged the greatest miracle of all: the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Thomas was not content to recognize Jesus by His face alone. He insisted on putting His fingers in the wounds.

Pope Benedict XVI cites this scene as evidence that Jesus expects us to ask for explanations. He wants us to examine the evidence and prove to ourselves that Jesus is who He said He was.

We are blessed with the gift of faith at birth because the skeptics of Christ's time were won over by what they witnessed and were so inspired by the experience that they had to share what they had discovered with generations to come.

Tradition has it that Thomas traveled to India where he preached and established the church, converting many high caste Brahmins. He may have been skeptical at first, but he overcame his doubts and won many to the faith.

The way in which Thomas overcame his doubts can help when we’re struggling with negative, self-defeating thoughts of any kind:

1. •The first step in overcoming our doubts is to name them just as Thomas did. Many people go through life hobbled by self-doubts that they never fully articulate. They simply assume they aren’t good enough and are incapable of achieving all their hopes and dreams. Thomas didn’t assume his negative thoughts were true.
   

2. •Next, we have to be willing to suspend our disbelief. Thomas set aside his doubts long enough to return to the Upper Room. He was willing to re-examine and question his own doubts. He was prepared to admit he had been wrong.
   

3. •Thomas refused to be paralyzed by his doubts. Within one week, he took the first tentative steps on the staircase leading to the upper room. He was focused on the outcome, not the obstacles. He acted as if he believed.
   

4. •Thomas surrounded himself with positive, encouraging people. Their earnest belief opened his mind to the possibility that Jesus had arisen after all. In dark and difficult times, we all need a close-knit support group to boost our faith in ourselves.
   

For Thomas, seeing was believing, but for many people it’s the other way around - - believing is seeing. If we picture a goal in our minds, and the steps that must be taken to achieve it, we can reach it one step at a time.