Once someone asked me if I find it hard being a priest today when people are so skeptical. I answered, "To be honest, I wish they were more skeptical!"*

A recent case in point is The DaVinci Code. The novel is great fun. I enjoyed it immensely.** However, the problem is that some (including the author) have taken seriously its account of Christian origins. As I was listening to the audio book, I found myself asking: How can people fall for this stuff? For sure the novel is exciting and it does confirm many current prejudices. I just hope readers will not stop with Dan Brown. So much more awaits the person who wants to know the rest of the story.***

In today's Gospel we see a man who is the patron saint of skeptical inquiry. When met with an astonishing claim, he asked for evidence. He even devised a reasonable test, "Unless I see." It was not enough that the claim sounded good. Thomas was a plain, honest man. He wanted the truth.

God loves honest skeptics, especially folks who are willing to be skeptical about their own selves. We need people who recognize that what matters is not whether they are "right" but whether they open themselves to the truth. Thomas was such a man. And it led him not to smugness, but worship: "My Lord and my God."

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