Tractatus Alter, Pars Prior, Cap. 15. De tactu sanctomm vulnemm Christi per manum sancti Thomae apostoli.

Tractatus Alter, Pars Prior, Cap. 15. De tactu sanctomm vulnemm Christi per manum sancti Thomae apostoli.

I bless you and give thanks to you, Lord Jesus Christ, illuminator of all your faithful in the darkness of this world, for your great mercy and special appearance and comfort to your apostle Saint Thomas in the faith of the risen Lord, which surpasses all human understanding and cannot be grasped by mortals, but is known only through faith and divine revelation. Lord God, you have done many wonderful things since the beginning of the world, and you still perform miracles every day in heaven and on earth for the glory of your name. Even though these things can't be fully understood or investigated by humans, they are very easy for you and are done and arranged for the salvation of the elect. For this beloved disciple of yours did not stubbornly stand in his own understanding nor did he speak maliciously, saying that he wouldn't believe unless he saw and touched you; therefore, he earned mercy and grace, so that he could clearly see you with his own eyes and reverently touch you with his hand, leaving behind all doubt and strengthening the faint-hearted in faith. Seeing your humanity and believing in your divinity hidden within, he exclaimed with great devotion and full faith, saying: "My Lord and my God." I firmly believe this, I truly profess it, I openly declare it, I boldly preach it, and I desire to announce it to all peoples even to the ends of the earth, so that all may believe in you and be saved: My Lord and my God, behold my Creator and my Redeemer. This is the true and firm faith that leads believers to the kingdom of heaven. O how great is the multitude of your sweetness, Lord, which you frequently show to your holy and chosen friends in this life, amid tribulations and temptations, and you allow them to taste it and encourage them to progress and persevere through words and examples. Sometimes you hide yourself so that they may weep and seek you, and desire to see you, and recognize their own weakness by falling and becoming sluggish, and not think highly of themselves or presume to be above others. After this, you show yourself again and comfort those who are grieving; you enlighten and teach them, so they don't despair in the day of trouble or lift themselves up in the day of good fortune, but rather remember that they are mortal men and sinners, always in need of God's grace and mercy, not angels confirmed in glory. I praise and magnificently commend your piety and gentleness, for after the offering of peace and the gift of forgiveness, you showed yourself to be devout before your holy apostle Thomas, as he humbly and reverently knelt before you, earnestly seeking your mercy, and you revealed the glorious sacred wounds of your stigmata, which are more worthy than all the treasures of the world, more precious than all gems, more beautiful than all red roses, and sweeter than all fragrant flowers and spices. These shine more brightly than all the adornments of heaven, they bring joy to the souls of the saints, they ignite the hearts of the faithful more fervently, they soften the hardness of sinners more often, so that they may weep more intensely, they stir the sluggish to pray longer, they draw the devoted to kiss more frequently, and they move the kind-hearted to give thanks to you more fervently. These wounds of Christ, often remembered and seen by the devout and holy Father Francis, pierced their hearts and made them weep, so that even outside, the sacred stigmata would visibly appear on his body. These five holy and beloved wounds of Jesus still deeply move many devoted religious people, as well as secular individuals, both men and women, often stirring them within and compelling them to tears when they see the image of the Crucified in church or hear or read about the Passion of Christ, or reflect on it for the praise of God. Amen. About the great grace of devotion and firm faith of Saint Thomas the Apostle. O how great a grace of devotion this holy Apostle Thomas received from touching your sacred wounds, my God, even more than many saints who saw you alive in the flesh and after your resurrection believed in you. So I bless you and give you thanks, Lord my God, for teaching me to believe rightly and to live well through your apostles, and for helping me to confess my true faith without any hesitation or doubt. You said truly: Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father. So give me, Lord, the strength to speak the truth and to confess my faith boldly, just as Saint Thomas spoke before you in the presence of the apostles, saying: My Lord and my God. What could be clearer, truer, more perfect, and more trustworthy than this voice? Regarding this, blessed John writes: Thomas answered and said to Him, namely to You, my Lord God: "My Lord and my God."^✦ Many faithful people have called upon you, addressing you by various holy names according to their faith and devotion, and rightly so, according to your ineffable dignity, which far exceeds the height and praise of all creation and every name of dignity in heaven and on earth. Some called out to you in prayer: "Have mercy on me, Jesus of Nazareth," some: "Son of David," some: "Good Master and Lord," some: "Rabbi or Rabboni," some: "Teacher and Savior of the world," some: "Great Prophet and King of Israel," some: "Behold the Lamb of God," as John the Baptist said, some: "You are the Son of God," as Nathanael said, some: "We have found the Messiah," as Andrew said, some: "You are Christ, the Son of the living God," as Simon Peter and other apostles said through the revelation of the heavenly Father. And that all the words of divine naming and the words of holy preaching may be perfectly concluded in one, briefly and faithfully, Saint Thomas, illuminated by the Holy Spirit and fully instructed, and confirmed in faith by you, Lord, present, spoke openly and confidently to you, our Lord, with a clear voice: "My Lord and my God." In these words, he briefly summarizes everything that can be truly said and believed about you according to both divine and human nature, for the praise of you and the salvation of all who believe in you, Christians throughout the world. Grant me, Lord my God, to hold firmly to this holy and universal faith of yours, to adorn it with good works, and to stand steadfastly in it, never deviating from the truth. Amen.