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 revealed or  confessed  his  sins  to  them;  and  thus,  while  our  Lord  imposed on  the  apostles  the  duty  of  deciding  as  to  the  condition  of  the sinner, and  of  acting  as  judges,  He  equally  imposed  on  the  faithful  the duty of  revealing  the  condition  of  their  souls,  and  of  confessing  their own individual  sins.

The peace  of  God,  and  the  consolation  given  by  the  holy  Sacrament of Penance. When our  Saviour  was  born  into  the  world,  the  angels sang: “Peace  on  earth  to  men  of  good  will.”  And  now  that  the  work of Redemption  was  accomplished,  and  He  was  on  the  point  of  returning to heaven,  our  Lord  imparted  peace  to  His  own;  and,  in  order  that all might  receive  this  peace  of  soul,  He  instituted  the  holy  Sacrament of Penance. By means  of  this  Sacrament  any  poor,  anxious  sinner  can receive pardon  and  grace,  and  with  these  peace  for  his  uneasy  soul — that peace of  God  which,  according  to  St. Paul (Phil.  4,  7),  “surpasseth  all understanding”, and  is  the  greatest  treasure  on  earth. The Sacrament of Penance  was  not  instituted  to  torment  us,  but  to  console  us. It is the  tribunal  of  God's  mercy,  and  will  enable  us  to  stand  one  day  before the tribunal  of  His  justice,  and  obtain  everlasting  peace. We cannot possibly thank  our  loving  Saviour  sufficiently  for  having  instituted  this holy Sacrament.

The Divinity  of  our  Lord  stands  out  prominently  in  the  chapter we have  just  read,  for  only  God  could  impart  the  Holy  Ghost,  and only God  could  give  to  mortal  men  the  power  of  forgiving  sins. It would have  been  impossible  for  our  Lord  to  have  said:  “Receive  ye the  Holy  Ghost,  and  whose  sins  you  shall  forgive  they  are  forgiven”, had He  not  been  God. The sixth  apparition  of  our  Lord  (to  Thomas) is a further  and  incontestable  proof  both  of  our  Lord’s  Resurrection and of  His  Divinity. 1. He  knew  the  thoughts  of  Thomas,  and  knew that he  had  said:  “Unless  I see  the  marks  of  the  nails. . . I will not believe.” He  was,  therefore,  omniscient,  as  God  alone  can  be. 2. When Thomas worshipped  Him  and  called  Him  his  Lord  and  his  God,  Jesus did not  say:  “What  are  you  doing,  Thomas? I am not  God!”  No,  He accepted  the  apostle’s  homage,  and  called  those  blessed  who  believed without, however,  requiring  ocular  evidence.

The faith  of  Thomas  was  not  without  merit.  We  might  be  inclined to think  that  Thomas’  faith  was  not  a virtue  and  had  no  merit,  because he only  believed  after  he  had  seen  and  touched  the  risen  Saviour. But we should  be  mistaken. It was  only  the  Body  and  the  wounds  of  our Lord that  Thomas  could  see; he  could  not  see  His  Godhead. As, however, Thomas  had  the  will  to  believe,  the  tokens  of  our  Lord’s  marvellous Resurrection enabled  him  to  recognise  His  Divinity,  and  believe  in  it. His faith,  therefore,  was  a gift  of  God,  and  a true  and  meritorious faith. The chief  priests  and  scribes,  even  had  they  seen  and  touched the risen  Lord,  would  not  have  believed  in  Him,  because  the  will  to believe  was  wanting  to  them.