Dear Friends, the Easter season always inspires me with the story of Thomas and his journey to a moving profession of faith: “My Lord and my God!”

It is probably the best and for sure the most personal Creed.

I have chosen these words for my Easter greetings this year, because it seems to me that humanity today expects from Christians a renewed witness to the resurrection of Christ.

It needs to encounter him and to know him as true God and true man.

If we can recognise in Thomas the doubts and uncertainties of so many Christians today, the fears and disappointments of many of our contemporaries, with him we can also rediscover with renewed conviction, faith in Christ dead and risen for us.

This faith, handed down through the centuries, continues on because the Risen Lord dies no more.

We may all be tempted by the disbelief of Thomas. Suffering, evil, injustice, war, sickness, death, does not all of this put our faith to the test?

Paradoxically the disbelief of Thomas is most valuable to us in these cases because it helps to purify all false concepts of God and leads us to discover his true face; the face of a God who, in Christ, has taken upon himself the wounds of injured humanity.

Thomas’ faith, hope and love were almost dead but were born again thanks to him touching the wounds of Christ, those wounds that the Risen One did not hide but showed, and continues to point out to us in the trials and sufferings of every human being.

Christ is risen and he is alive among us. It is he who is the hope of a better future.

As we say with Thomas: “My Lord and my God!”, may we hear again in our hearts these beautiful yet demanding words, and become apostles of peace, messengers of a joy that does not fear pain; the joy of the Resurrection.

Happy Easter to you all!