Monday, July 3, 2006
St. Thomas the Apostle


Feast (1969 Calendar): July 3
Double of the II Class (1955 Calendar): December 21

Today we remember the apostle Thomas, called Doubting Thomas. From the Tridentine Rite Website:
The feast of St. Thomas the Apostle is of double rite and its liturgical colour is red. According to tradition St. Thomas preached the Gospel in Asia and the Indian sub-continent. He is believed to have founded, inter alia, the St. Thomas Christians on the West coast of India, one of several groups using the East-Syrian family of liturgies
In an earlier section of the Gospel, St. Thomas said that he would go to Jerusalem to die with Jesus if needed. But, like the other apostles, he too left the Lord when the time came for the Crucifixion. And, after the Lord's Resurrection, St. Thomas is best known for doubting the Lord's Resurrection. While the disciples were in the upper room, the Lord appeared to them and ate with them. However, St. Thomas was not with them.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. 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." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to 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 into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

John 20:19-25
All of us also experience some form of dryness in the spiritual life or doubting that our prayers will be heard. The words of St. Thomas, as many saints have taught, are incredibly helpful for our salvation. The exclamation of Thomas: "My Lord and My God" is one of the chief pieces of Scripture used to refute the heresy of Arianism. In those situations of spiritual dryness we should keep in mind the words of Thomas and Our Lord's reply to Him:
Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

John 20:26-29
Even though St. Thomas was not with the apostles when they received the power to forgive sins, he did receive that power at a later time. That leads many scholars to admit that the apostles passed the power down to him through the imposition of hands. This same power has been passed down even until the present era. Our bishops and priests have that power because of Jesus Christ. If you have never gone to Confession, I highly encourage you to experience the greatest source of forgiveness on this earth in the confessional.

St. Thomas, after the events recorded in the Gospel, went off to preach the Gospel in India as Our Lord commanded: "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28:18-20).

St. Thomas went out and preached in Parthia, Persia, and India, even though he was reluctant to start the mission because he had to be taken into slavery by a merchant heading that way. Finally, he submitted himself to God's will and was freed from slavery. He formed many parishes and built many churches along the way. He is called the Apostle of India. Let us realize that we too are called to serve the Catholic Church and spread the Gospel. St. Thomas, the doubting apostle, eventually laid down his life for Jesus Christ. Our love for Christ must also be that great.

While in India, St. Thomas witnessed a group of people desperately trying to remove a post from the earth. With ease, St. Thomas removed it and thrust it back into the ground saying that water shall never again pass the point. Atop the post now stands Santhome Cathedral. And, quite miraculously, when the Tsunami of 2004 hit and destroyed much of the buildings in Chennai, the water stopped at the steps of the Cathedral. The miracle of St. Thomas is still alive.

St. Thomas the Apostle died in c.72 AD in India after being stabbed with a spear.

For more on the lives of all the Apostles, pick up a copy of "The Twelve: Lives and Legends of the Apostles" on paperback or as part of the online course on the Apostles, which includes a Certificate of Completion.

Prayer:

Give us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, a share in the glory of today's festival of Thy blessed Apostle Thomas: and grant that we may be uplifted by his patronage and drawn with fitting devotion to equal him in faith. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

3 comment(s):

del_button July 3, 2006 at 2:14 PM
Matthew said...

But, that is not part of Sacred Scripture. The Church did not approve of it; it is not divinely inspired. If you read the Gospel of Thomas, you can see how Gnosticism is such a large part of it. Gnosticism is a heresy, so I would not endorse believing any part of the Gospel of Thomas without consulting the other Gospels.

I suggest you look at this site:

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/gnostics.html

del_button July 3, 2006 at 3:39 PM
Darrell said...

It's so sad that the pseudo-gospel of Thomas has become so popular. Again. They've come into and faded out of fashion again and again so many times over the past 2000 years. Once again, they're "all the rage." I suppose people will always look for ways to consider themselves "Christians" without actually having to try to live like a Christian.

I highly encourage you to experience the greatest source of forgiveness on this earth in the confessional

It's an amazing sacrament. The sad thing is that there's simply no way to convey to a non-Catholic how amazing it is, how you can feel it working and feel the spiritual healing. Before my confirmation I was apprehensive about making confession... but now that I've made confessions and understand how it works, I absolutely love the sacrament. Yes, sometimes it is very painful and difficult... but that's because sin is painful and difficult. Reconciliation relieves that pain in a way that was never possible... for me, at least... in any form of Protestant faith. If I had to point to one reason alone as to why I don't believe I could ever leave the Church and go back to trying to live as a protestant, it would be the sacrament of confession. It heals me, it inspires me, and it honestly makes it easier for me to get just a little closer every day to living without sin.

del_button July 3, 2006 at 8:18 PM
Matthew said...

Darrell,

I completely agree. With the Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist, I will remain in the Catholic faith until I leave this earth. I would never leave the truth. I would never leave the joy that I feel now in the Catholic Church.

Post a Comment



Copyright Notice: Unless otherwise stated, all items are copyrighted under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. If you quote from this blog, cite a link to the post on this blog in your article.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links on this blog are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate, for instance, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made by those who click on the Amazon affiliate links included on this website. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”