THOMAS - "UNLESS I SEE...I WILL NOT BELIEVE"

Andrea del Verrocchio's Christ and St. Thomas (1464-1483) at the Orsanmichele of Florence, Italy

John 20:19-29

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

I love the stories of the apostles like Thomas and Peter, who are so very like the rest of us in their humanity and imperfection, even as it's plain that they love Jesus dearly. Although the images of Thomas and Jesus usually show him reaching to touch Jesus' side, the Gospel story omits mention of the touch.

God's Woman

Peter, Thomas, are you my kin?
I call you, "Brother". Are we alike?
You imperfect ones, a doubter, a denier,
Am I your sister?

"I tell you I do not know him!"
Three times your Lord denied.
Oh, Peter, when you heard the cock crow,
Your salty tears were bitter.

You, Thomas, to touch, to see was all.
"Me believe? When I see the nail marks,
When I put my finger in his side."
"My Lord and my God!"

You, my brothers, deeply, fully human,
You flaw-filled men of God,
You give me strength; you give me courage.
Perhaps I'll be God's woman, after all.

June Butler 4/18/07

Image from Wikipedia.

"...SO BEAUTIFUL AS SPRING -"

Nothing is so beautiful as spring—
When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;
Thrush's eggs look little low heavens, and thrush
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;
The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush
The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.
What is all this juice and all this joy?
A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning
In Eden garden. — Have, get, before it cloy,
Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning,
Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,
Most, O maid's child, thy choice and worthy the winning.

"Spring" by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

How lovely to find a poem in the public domain at Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac, especially such a beauty as "Spring".

"...and thrush
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;"

Exquisite.

The song thrush is not native to our habitat, but below is a spring scene from the vine on our fence from a few years ago, which shows baby mockingbirds who think our rustling of the leaves to take a peek is a parent arriving to feed them and prepare themselves with mouths wide open.



Image of the song thrush eggs from Wikipedia.

DUNVEGAN CASTLE AND GARDENS - ISLE OF SKYE

Dunvegan Castle is a castle a mile and a half to the North of Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, situated off the west coast of Scotland. It is the seat of the MacLeod of MacLeod, chief of the Clan MacLeod. Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland and has been the stronghold of the chiefs of the clan for nearly 800 years. Originally designed to keep people out, it was first opened to visitors in 1933. Since then, the castle is consistently ranked as one of Scotland's premier visitor attractions. Over the years, the castle has been visited by Sir Walter Scott, Dr Johnson, Queen Elizabeth II and the Japanese Emperor Akihito.

And also by Grandmère Mimi and Cathy.



Below are pictures of the lovely castle gardens, which were laid out in the 18th century, no doubt at great cost and effort to make them look as natural as possible. The walk through the gardens was the highlight of my visit to the castle.



The bridge and waterfall.



The waterfall up close.



Monkey puzzle tree.



Daylilies? (amyj says that the flowers are Asiatic lilies.)



More flowers...


...and more flowers. (Penny tells me these lovelies are lacecap hydrangeas.)



...and more flowers, including blue hydrangeas...



And a birdie, a sea gull with pink legs and feet. (susan s. tells me the speckled bird is probably a juvenile.)



The sea gull's mate?

All this on the beautiful Isle of Skye.

Text and top photo of Dunvegan Castle from Wikipedia. The other pictures are mine.

STILL WAITING AND PRAYING....

From the Thibodaux Daily Comet:

A man accused of killing a priest more than 18 years ago was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday for intimidating a witness while serving time in the Lafourche Parish jail.

Derrick Odomes, 32, is accused of bludgeoning the Rev. Hunter Horgan to death in August 1992 inside the rectory of St. John's Episcopal Church in Thibodaux. Odomes was 14 at the time of the priest's death. He was arrested and charged with the killing in September 2007, though a judge ruled last year that he can't be sentenced if convicted because of his age at the time of Horgan's death.

Odomes was convicted of witness intimidation in late January following allegations that Odomes exposed himself to Haley Burkett, a Lafourche Parish jail guard, resulting in Odomes being charged with obscenity.

Burkett told the jury that Odomes threatened her in March 2010, months after she filed the obscenity charge, telling her he would come after her after he got out of jail.

“The victim was put in an untenable position and was unable to do her job by threat of violence,” said District Judge John Leblanc before handing down the five-year sentence.

Leblanc said his decision was the “only appropriate sentence” because of Odomes' “utter disregard for the circumstances” of his imprisonment.

When people speak of closure, I have to wonder if there is any such thing. That the authorities were able to determine from DNA evidence that Odomes is quite likely the alleged murderer of Fr Hunter Horgan all these many years ago, was a relief to the members of the church and to the entire community. But there is certainly no closure, at least so far as I am concerned. I'm relieved that an alleged murderer is off the streets, but the news keeps coming in. There will be a trial for the murder for which the alleged killer cannot be sentenced. There will very likely be appeal after appeal before the case comes to a resolution.

While the judge's ruling rules out prison time on the murder charge, Odomes has five prior felony convictions and two outstanding felony charges — theft and obscenity — that could land him in jail for decades.

So we wait. And in the meantime, I pray for all who love Fr Horgan, and I pray for Derrick Odomes, and I pray that justice will be done.

WAXING CRESCENT MOON

Thin-sliced moon rises
Moving slenderly upward
Higher and higher

Image from Wikipedia Commons.

TOP 10 UNITED STATES DESTINATIONS

1. New York City, New York

2. Honolulu, Hawaii

3. San Francisco, California

4. Las Vegas, Nevada

5. Lahaina, Hawaii

6. Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

7. New Orleans, Louisiana

8. San Diego, California

9. Sedona, Arizona

10. Seattle, Washington

See the entire list of the top 25 most popular places visited in the US at TripAdvisor.

EL CINCO DE MAYO - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GAYLE!

Today is my beloved sister Gayle's birthday. She died five years ago on April 27. We celebrated her life in a memorial service on her birthday, May 5, 2006. After the service, we had a quiet gathering of friends and family. Later that evening, we had a not-so-quiet gathering, in other words, a party. Gayle loved parties, so it was fitting.

She also loved that she shared her birthday with the Mexican celebration. Of course! Another occasion for a party.

¡Viva México! ¡Viva El Cinco de Mayo!

Viva Gayle! May we meet in the kingdom!

Friends of Gayle set up The Dillenkoffer Endowment to provide scholarship grants to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered teens. If you'd like to make a donation, click the link or click on the plaque on the right sidebar.

We know that it's not easy to come out as a teenager. The consequences, at worst, can be nothing less than deadly. I greatly admire all the young men and women who have the courage to step forward and claim their identities in the face of the difficulties.

UPDATE: Here are the names of the winners this year:

$5K winner-Clay Stacy - St. Louis, MO
$3K winner-Kyla Kiefer - Perryville, MO
$1K winner-Jessie Doggendorf - Dittmer, MO
$1K winner-Hayley Gilchrist - Wichita, KS

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"How many more gay people does God have to create before we ask ourselves whether or not God actually wants them around?"

Minnesota State Rep Steve Simon

Watch the video of Rep Simon's full statement on pending legislation in Minnesota to ban marriage equality at The Friends of Jake. It's great.

Unfortunately, the legislation is likely to pass with Republican majorities in both houses.

A CERTAIN JUSTICE

Stolen from Padre Mickey. I don't know who did the shop job, but, if I find out, I will give credit.

As I said at Padre Mickey's:

"Mission Accomplished" was surely one of Bush's most embarrassing moments. As others, especially the press, fawned over Bush in his flight suit, I laughed. It was one of the most ridiculous performances I had ever seen. (Lightly edited)

I was wrong to laugh. It wasn't and isn't funny to the service members and civilians who have been killed or maimed since Bush's day of "triumph", nor is it funny to their loved ones. The wars go on, so the picture isn't true today, either. Still, I see a certain justice in the photoshop.

UPDATE: Image from BartCop.

THE BISHOP'S CHAPLAIN

Click on the cartoon for the larger view.

From Cartoon Church.

GET RID OF NON-SCIENCE IN LOUISIANA SCIENCE CLASSES

Support for the effort to repeal Louisiana's anti-evolution law is mounting. The American Institute for Biological Sciences, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Society for Cell Biology, the Louisiana Association of Biology Educators, the Louisiana Science Teachers Association, the National Association of Biology Teachers, and the Society for the Study of Evolution together with the Society of Systematic Biologists and the American Society of Naturalists have all endorsed Louisiana's Senate Bill 70, which if enacted would repeal Louisiana Revised Statutes 17.285.1, which implemented the so-called Louisiana Science Education Act of 2008. All of these statements are posted at the Louisiana Coalition for Science's website.

That should be enough to get the attention of the legislators who passed the stupid bill, but who can tell?

A real hero in the fight for repeal of the bill is Zack Kopplin, a high school student from Baton Rouge. His website is Repeal Creationism.

The Louisiana Science Education Act of 2008 should be renamed to the Louisiana Non-Science Education Act. The law disgraces and embarrasses all but the ignorant amongst us.

The text of the act may be found here.

D. This Section shall not be construed to promote any religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion.

And the above statement from the text is nothing more than a load of BS.

BLESSINGS AND CONGRATULATIONS, BRYAN

On Monday evening, my grandson Bryan, pictured above in the red gown, was one of the confirmandi at St Matthew the Apostle Church in River Ridge. He stands with his Dad, Mom, and two brothers, William on the left and Andrew on the right. Grandpère was his sponsor. The girls wore white gowns and the boys red. Both Bryan and GP played their parts well. The mass was lovely, with the choir at St Matthew's performing and leading the congregational singing beautifully. Roman Catholic Archbishop Gregory Aymond gave a sermon suitable for all ages. Altogether, it was a lovely evening.



Above is Bryan with his aged (OMG, how aged!) grandparents. At a certain point in one's life the picture-taking should stop, right?

I should mention here my mea culpa for having missed my oldest grandson's confirmation, much to my regret, due to a misunderstanding on my part that Grandpère, also Joey's sponsor, was going to a rehearsal instead of the real thing. I should also mention that miscommunication in my family is not all that unusual.

In the top picture, Bryan's eyes caught the light of the flash and were blank. I shopped in eyes as best I could, but the result is far from perfect. Sorry, Bryan.



Above is the picture my daughter took of Bryan in front of the Resurrection cross. I wish I had caught him in his wicked moment with his arms stretched out. Alas....

PRAY FOR KIRSTIN

From Kirstin at Facebook:

Brain mets "progressing." [unprintable]

Unprintable!

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Kirstin the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE BISHOP WEARS ARMANI

From the Guardian:

The devil may wear Prada, but a Sicilian bishop has set out to show Satan does not have a stranglehold on designer clothing by ordering new vestments from Giorgio Armani.

Bishop Domenico Mogavero drew compliments from churchgoers when he turned out for mass on Monday on the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria in green silk vestments designed by Armani and decorated with symbols of vines, wheat, shells and starfish.

The bishop insists that his vestments are not part of a fashion show, that their beauty is for the glory of God. I'm willing to cut the bishop slack because of his delicious sense of humor.

Most recently he [Bp. Morovero] penned the preface to a book that details the financial scandals at the Vatican during John Paul II's papacy and was published on the eve of the Polish pontiff's beatification.

Another view of the vestments from Corriere del Mezzogiorno.



So. What do you think? Thumbs up, or thumbs down on the Armani vestments?

UPDATE: Of the rumors that the pope has a weakness for Prada shoes, L'Osservatore Romano says that the pope's shoes are are made "by an Italian artisan". Further:

"The Pope is not dressed by Prada but by Christ," the newspaper stated.

All right, then.

OSAMA BIN LADEN'S DEATH

Thus far, I haven't said much about Bin Laden's death. At The Lead, I said, "May the Lord have mercy upon him." I add now that God is just, and God is merciful, and I'll leave it to God to sort out Bin Laden's fate.

With all due respect and sympathy to all those who have suffered or died due to Bin Laden's evil schemes, I cannot find it within myself to take joy in the death of another human being. I wanted Bin Laden stopped from doing harm, and now he's stopped. For that I feel relief.

Several posts by bloggers speak wise words about Bin Laden's end. Mark Harris, at Preludium, Penny's post titled A Note About the Death, and Rmj at Adventus. Rmj picked up commentary from around and about and added his own.

As a sign that I am entirely human and capable of taking the low road, I said the following at Penny's blog:

Still, I take a certain satisfaction in the timing. For all George Bush's bluster, Osama bin Laden was not killed on his watch but on the watch of a president who has been labeled a terrorist by certain citizens of this country. Not exactly a Christian sentiment on my part, eh?

What I did not add at Penny's blog is the rest of what I wanted to say: "Up yours, all you Americans who call our president a terrorist!"

NOT NINJA NUN! NOT MI5!

From the Daily Mail:

The secret identities of two nuns who took pride of place next to Prince William and his new wife at the Royal Wedding have been unveiled.

They were seen by two billion people around the world, looking on demurely as William and Kate listened to prayers during the service.

But despite their unassuming appearance, rumours began to surface that one of the women was a secret 'ninja nun' intended to protect the Royal couple, after she was pictured wearing black trainers.

Speculation was rife that the taller nun, wearing Reebok Classics with her traditional habit, was on hand to pounce on any intruders.

One internet user wrote: 'I guess they were undercover agents, MI5.'

But today she has been revealed to be Sister Annaliese Brogden - a 52-year-old nun from the Community of the Sisters of the Church.

Her identity was disclosed by her bemused father Geoffrey Brogden who said she always wore trainers - no matter what the occasion.

Ninja nuns. MI5. How silly! Sr Annaliese wears exactly the brand and color trainers that I wear when I want to dress up from my white trainers - say when I'm wearing dark colored slacks, and the dirty white trainers would stand out. I don't wear the trainers on every occasion, say with skirts and dresses, but I'd like to.

The 80-year-old [father] from Needham Market, Suffolk, said: ' She has her trainers on most of the time because she finds them the most comfortable things to wear.

' She has always worn them and I am sure she thought they were the most appropriate thing to wear at the wedding.

Brava! I wish I had Sr Annaliese's moxy. Don't believe me about the trainers? See mine below.

She [Sr Annaliese] was made a chaplain at the Abbey after spending 12 years at St Paul's Church, Bristol. She has played an important role in several high-profile events.

So there!

VERGER BEN WILL NOT BE DISCIPLINED

Ann Fontaine tells me that Twitter is all a-twitter about the news that Westminster Abbey Verger Ben will not be disciplined. I had no idea that punishment was considered because Ben did joyful cartwheels, but Ann tells me that yesterday there was talk of discipline. Oh dear! Some person or persons need to lighten up.

Since I don't tweet, I'm often out of the loop, so I'm grateful to Ann for helping me to keep up.

PRAY FOR THE FEDERAL ELECTION IN CANADA

David@Montreal and Janet Murray have asked for prayers for the very important federal election taking place today in Canada, our good neighbor to the North. Pray for the election of leaders who will best serve the people of the country, rather than the special interests.

Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of Canada in the election of officials and representatives; that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and their nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF QUINCY SAYS NO TO ANGLICAN COVENANT

The Episcopal Diocese of Quincy
Anglican Covenant Responses

We, the deputies of the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy, each having read the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant thoroughly and prayerfully and various documents in favor and not in favor of adopting the covenant, report our unanimous response (with one lay deputy absent due to serious illness):

1) We have grave reservations about the “instruments of the Communion,” the authority bestowed by the proposed covenant and the hierarchy it creates. The only hierarchy of the Communion has been a spiritual one, bonding all Anglicans to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Lambeth Conference is an important gathering of the Communion’s bishops, each now by invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It may issue recommendations or spiritual advice to the Communion, but has no binding authority.

The Anglican Consultative Council, created by the Lambeth Conference in 1968, is not widely recognized as an authoritative body in the Communion, nor does it appear to be clearly known to the average Anglican.

The Primates’ Meeting seems to have taken on a life of its own and again is not widely understood or seen as a source of authority.

While the present wording of the Covenant does not clearly establish these bodies as an authoritative hierarchy it is a move in that direction.

We only recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as our spiritual head, and no other earthly international authority. We see no reason to change this.

2) Despite protests to the contrary, it is clear that section 4 is punitive. It is a break with the history of the Communion, which has been a warm fellowship of churches in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury and who share common sources of worship and tradition.

3) The need or desirability of a Covenant, with or without section 4, seems to us counterproductive, sewing seeds of conflict and endangering the great productivity with which God has blessed our Communion.

4) While manifold blessings are being given us as our global community draws closer together, we must recognize that the world in which we live is still very diverse. The customs, circumstances, growth and spiritual needs of people throughout our world share much in common and yet remain quite divergent as our histories, traditions and social interactions are not always the same. We recognize that the continents and countries of our world each have unusual, sometimes unique, needs to which God, through His Church, will respond in varying ways. We can only respect these needs and differences and recognize God’s grace showered on us all.

5) All of our deputies feels the language of the proposed Covenant is too vague, unclear and not concise. Specifically it was called “gobbledygook.” The average church person probably will have little idea what the covenant really says or means, if she or he can be induced somehow to read it. We doubt few have any real interest in a covenant.

6) We feel rather than binding the Communion together in closer fellowship, the proposed covenant, with or without Section 4, is an invitation to conflict and will lead to further stress and distrust that will endanger our future together.

7) We shall attend General Convention determined to listen carefully and be open to the Spirit. However, with the knowledge and urging of that Holy Spirit we have received up to this point, we shall will vote against adopting the Covenant.

Submitted by:

The lay and clergy deputies to the 2012 General Convention from the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy, 24 April 2011.

Add another "no" vote by a diocese to endorsement of the proposed covenant. Keep them coming.

The response is not yet posted to the diocesan website.

THE PRICE OF GAS

I am not sure if you got up very early Friday morning to watch the wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate.

The wedding ceremony was fine.

However, following the ceremony, due to the economic downturn and the extremely high price of gas, the entire wedding party was transported from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace in horse-drawn carriages!

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

JOHN PAUL II - ONE STEP AWAY FROM SAINTHOOD

From the The Economist:

JOHN PAUL II’s beatification on May 1st will be the most exalted ceremony at the Vatican since his funeral six years ago. More than 50 heads of state are expected, plus hundreds of thousands of the faithful, largely from the late pope’s native Poland. The former pope is now just one stage—canonisation—away from full sainthood. The adulation of his communism-toppling 27-year reign and powerful personality will inevitably highlight the less stellar record of the accident-prone Benedict XVI.

"[L]ess stellar record"? Oh dear!

Why the heads of state for a beatification in the Roman Catholic Church? Oh right. The Vatican is a state, and the pope is a head of state. It's all so confusing.

Giovanni Maria Vian, editor of the Vatican’s semi-official daily, L’Osservatore Romano, says that Benedict’s actions show him to be “not just a great intellectual, but also a simple, humble, good man”. The peak of the scandal, in the “annus horribilis” of 2010, is past, he says. But he acknowledges that the situation in Ireland still requires a “long penitential journey”.

However, as mentioned in the article, there was the suspension of 21 Roman Catholic priests in Philadelphia, month before last, in the year 2011, and there could be more surprises ahead.

Thanks to Ann V for the link.

UPDATE: Torey Lightcap at The Lead posts that President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, despite his "total disregard for life", will be present at the ceremony.

GUESS WHERE WE WENT YESTERDAY

To a wedding! Yes, another wedding. A student from Nicholls State University, who kept in touch with Grandpère after they both left the university, married his lovely bride yesterday at St Francis de Sales Cathedral, pictured above. The wedding was lovely, as was the reception, with lots of good food, drink, and music by Louisiana Spice. If you check their website, you will see that the guys in the band dress like 1940s and 1950s gangstas or FBI operatives - take your pick.



The band was hot. GP and I danced a couple of slow dances and one fast dance, and I'm still recovering from the fast dance. Imagine! One lively dance does me in. During one of our slow dances, I kissed GP while we were dancing - twice. I think he liked that. Of course, I'd had a couple of glasses of wine, which is my limit because two glasses make me tipsy.

Anyway, this morning I'm still exhausted and achy. Since I spent a good part of Friday in Westminster Abbey, virtually speaking, and over an hour in St Francis Cathedral yesterday, I'm being an example to no one and not listening to it's margaret and skipping church this morning. Mea culpa!

I was just going to mention the activity below at St John's, which would have me in my church, quite willingly, again tomorrow evening:

Please join us for a Eucharist this Monday, May 2, at 6:00 p.m., along with the Reverends Tom & Beth Papazoglakis, as we dedicate the series of pictures (on the wall in the parish hall) donated to St. John’s by the Papazoglakis family in memory of Katherine Bourgeois. These papyrus, made by the Coptics, come from Egypt and depict many of the major themes in the life of Christ found in the gospel.

Alas, my daughter just now informed me via Facebook that our grandson will be confirmed tomorrow evening, and, since Grandpère is his sponsor, we will be at St Matthew the Apostle Church instead, willingly again, but surprised. The last we heard of this event was in the fall that the Confirmation would be "sometime in the spring". There is nothing like a last-minute, surprise reminder.

St Francis Cathedral is quite lovely. The parish was established in 1847, but the present building was constructed in 1936 in the neo-Gothic style. Other views of the cathedral may be seen at the website New Orleans Churches. I must tell you that the colors in the pictures at the website are not true, and the stained glass windows are much more beautiful than they appear in the photo. I wish I'd had my camera with me, but in honor of the wedding, I changed to my smaller, dressy purse, which does not include the pockets and pouches of my everyday handbag. The rose window above the altar is far prettier than it appears, and, as the pictures rightly show, the organ and the Stations of the Cross are impressive. The Stations remind me of those in the church I attended as a child in New Orleans, St Rose of Lima. St. Rose is no longer an active parish.

Since I didn't attend my church, I'll listen to MadPriest's service at St Laika's. The music included in his services is usually always excellent. I ask you: Where else can you hear "Joy to the World" performed by Three Dog Night on Easter Day? I've already seen Ellie Finlay's posts and pictures at The Anchorhold, and they are wonderful and thought-provoking.

UPDATE: I listened, and the service at St Laika's is very good, indeed. The music, the sermon, all of the service is well-worth a listen. My only further recommendation is that since the Gospel is John's story of Thomas the doubter, MadPriest might have added the wonderfully incarnational painting by Caravaggio, titled "The Incredulity of Saint Thomas", which is below. I like to show the painting at least once during the Easter season.