So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
Eight days later, His disciples were again in the house, and St. Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to St. Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” St. Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!”
(John 20:25-28)
𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭?
In Romans 16:26, St. Paul speaks of our moral obligation to practice “obedience of faith.” In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we are reminded that “the first commandment requires us to nourish and protect our faith with prudence and vigilance, and to reject everything that is opposed to it.” (CCC 2088) The Catechism goes on to explain the difference between voluntary and involuntary doubt about the faith, as well as incredulity, explaining that these are three specific ways of sinning against the faith.Voluntary doubt about the faith disregards or refuses to hold as true what God has revealed and the Church proposes for belief. Involuntary doubt refers to hesitation in believing, difficulty in overcoming objections connected with the faith, or also anxiety aroused by its obscurity. If deliberately cultivated doubt can lead to spiritual blindness.
Incredulity is the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it. “Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.” –Catechism of the Catholic Church 2088-2089
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