In the luminous aftermath of Easter, Holy Mother Church bids us linger at the empty tomb, to contemplate with hearts still burning the immensity of the Resurrection. On Dominica in Albis, so named from the white robes newly baptized wore throughout the Easter Octave, the Church presents us with two passages full of light and faith: 1 John 5:4–10 and John 20:19–31. Together, they form a tapestry of victory, testimony, and the blessedness of belief.
“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith.” (1 John 5:4)
In these words, St. John draws us into the mystery of divine sonship and triumphant faith. It is not through worldly power, nor even human strength, but through the gift of faith — a faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God — that the world is conquered. St. Augustine, commenting on this passage, writes:
“Who is he that overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Believe, and you have overcome; doubt, and you are vanquished.”
(Tractates on the Gospel of John, 1 John, Tractate 6)
The Resurrection itself is the divine sign that the world, with its sin and death, has been overcome. Yet this victory must be appropriated by each soul through faith — a living faith, not mere assent.
In the Gospel, we are drawn into the Upper Room on the evening of that first Easter:
“Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: Peace be to you.” (John 20:19)
The doors were locked out of fear, but no barrier could hold back the glorified Christ. St. Gregory the Great marvels at this wondrous reality:
“Our Redeemer appeared in a body which could enter through closed doors, a body that, in His resurrection, had remained incorruptible and yet palpable.”
(Homilies on the Gospels, Homily 26)
He stood among them, offering that peace which the world cannot give — the peace of the Resurrection, the peace that flows from wounds transfigured into fountains of mercy.
But Thomas was absent. His doubt, so human, becomes the occasion for a profound confession. When Christ invites him to touch His wounds, Thomas proclaims:
“My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28)
St. Cyril of Alexandria reflects on this, emphasizing how Thomas’s faith becomes a model for all:
“Thomas, after touching the hands and side of Jesus, proclaimed Him not merely man but also God, thus expressing his faith by a double confession: he calls Him ‘Lord,’ indicating mastery over all things, and ‘God,’ indicating His divinity.”
(Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 12)
Christ’s gentle rebuke to Thomas — “Blessed are they that have not seen and have believed” — reaches down the centuries to us. The Church Fathers unanimously interpret this not as a condemnation of Thomas, but as an encouragement to the countless generations who would believe without the tangible proofs afforded to the Apostles.
In these readings, then, Dominica in Albis crowns the Easter Octave with a summons to mature faith: a faith not based on sight, but rooted in the victorious love of the Risen Christ. It reminds us that baptismal grace — symbolized by the white garments once worn throughout the Octave — is not the end, but the beginning of the Christian life, a life lived in victorious faith.
As St. Leo the Great preached on this day:
“The faith which the blessed Apostle Thomas professed after his doubts is the faith of all, strengthened by the experience of the Resurrection.”
(Sermon 76 on the Lord’s Resurrection)
Thus, clothed anew in the risen Christ, we go forth from the bright days of Easter, bearing within us the testimony that “the Spirit, and the water, and the blood” bear witness on earth — the Spirit poured into our hearts, the water of Baptism, and the blood of Christ shed for our redemption.
Faith, our white garment, is our victory.