 clickable | | Healing the Wounds of Doubt We, like the apostle Thomas, have doubts from time to time. We are challenged to examine our faith with use of our reason and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Just as Thomas found faith and confessed it with the now famous words, "My Lord and my God," as a result of his personal encounter with the Risen One, so do we strengthen our faith and deal with our doubts each time we encounter him. –from the book Meeting God in the Upper Room by Monsignor Peter Vaghi |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"All the way to heaven is heaven, because Jesus said, 'I am the way.'"
— St. Catherine of Siena † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"I was sure that it was better for me to give myself up to your love than to give in to my own desires. However, although the one way appealed to me and was gaining mastery, the other still afforded me pleasure and kept me victim. I had no answer to give to you when you said to me, 'Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you.' When on all sides you showed me that your words were true, and I was overcome by your truth, I had no answer whatsoever to make, but only those slow and drowsy words, 'Right away. Yes, right away.' 'Let me be for a little while.' But 'Right away—right away' was never right now, and 'Let me be for a little while' stretched out for a long time."
— St. Augustine, p. 152
AN EXCERPT FROM
Confessions of St. Augustine † VERSE OF THE DAY
"And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God."
Luke 12:8-9 |  click to read more | | Saint Thomas the Apostle (1st Century – December 21, 72) Poor Thomas! He made one remark and has been branded as "Doubting Thomas" ever since. But if he doubted, he also believed. He made what is certainly the most explicit statement of faith in the New Testament: "My Lord and My God!" and, in so expressing his faith, gave Christians a prayer that will be said till the end of time. He also occasioned a compliment from Jesus to all later Christians: "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed" (John 20:29). Thomas should be equally well-known for his courage. Perhaps what he said was impetuous—since he ran, like the rest, at the showdown—but he can scarcely have been insincere when he expressed his willingness to die with Jesus. The occasion was when Jesus proposed to go to Bethany after Lazarus had died. Since Bethany was near Jerusalem, this meant walking into the very midst of his enemies and to almost certain death. Realizing this, Thomas said to the other apostles, "Let us also go to die with him" (John 11:16b).
Reflection Thomas shares the lot of Peter the impetuous, James and John, the "sons of thunder," Philip and his foolish request to see the Father—indeed all the apostles in their weakness and lack of understanding. We must not exaggerate these facts, however, for Christ did not pick worthless men. But their human weakness again points up the fact that holiness is a gift of God, not a human creation; it is given to ordinary men and women with weaknesses; it is God who gradually transforms the weaknesses into the image of Christ, the courageous, trusting, and loving one.
Saint Thomas the Apostle is the Patron Saint of: Architects
Argentina
Construction Workers
Cooks | Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle Reading 1 Eph 2:19-22 Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Responsorial Psalm Ps 117:1bc, 2 R.(Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness for us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. Alleluia Jn 20:29 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 20:24-29 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 Thomas 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."
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."
| Meditation: Ephesians 2:19-22 Saint Thomas, Apostle (Feast) You are . . . members of the household of God. (Ephesians 2:19) Members of the same household as saints like Thomas? It might seem like a stretch, especially when you think of how much the saints accomplished for Christ. You might feel that your life falls far short of such a high standard. But remember, as Thomas' own story tells us, the saints were not perfect. Look at the apostles, the "foundation" Paul says we are built upon: Peter misunderstood Jesus and denied him. All of them except John abandoned him. Thomas himself proclaimed he wouldn't believe Jesus had risen until he had probed the wounds with his own hands. But that is not the end of their stories. Jesus gave Peter the chance to proclaim his love three times, mirroring his threefold denial. Then Peter went on to lead the early Church. Jesus appeared to Thomas and let him see his wounds. Once Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus, he made one of the most powerful proclamations of faith you will hear in the New Testament: "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). From there, he went on to proclaim the gospel all the way to India! These apostles were no less members of the household of God when they struggled with unbelief or weakness than when they became courageous heroes of the faith. This means that you are no less a member of the household of God when you are painfully aware of your own weakness and unbelief. In fact, that's a great place to start because the more you know how much you need Jesus, the more open you will be to meeting him and receiving his grace. Look at Thomas: Jesus did not deny him the chance to touch his wounds. But he didn't stop there. He called Thomas further, beyond his weakness and into deeper faith. You are a member of God's household, and in this household, the saints are your big brothers and sisters. They have so much to teach you, especially through their stories about how God accepted them and continued to work in them. You can be confident that God will accept and work with you too. "Jesus, thank you for bringing me into your household of faith." Psalm 117:1-2
John 20:24-29 |  clickable | | my2cents:
"Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together...".
They found a cellular "glue" that looks like a cross, and it is said to hold the body together. Some will argue the fact, but to the believer it is neat to see physical glue work like that. But, is it necessary to see to believe? | Let us pray:
"Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. For steadfast is his kindness for us, and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever."
Go out and tell the Good News. But what if you don't see anything in the so called "Good News"? How can I go out with energy and excitement and with a sense of urgency, if I feel nothing inside, see nothing there? You open scriptures all the time, what is it that you see? Or fail to see? | Let us turn to the Lord:
""Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."
Saint Thomas is not a doubter, for He was one of the 12 believers. So why did Thomas say "I must see the wounds myself"? Afterall, all the others, plus another 500 or so, had seen the Lord with their very own eyes!
It was more like a prayer pleading to God, "I WANT TO SEE YOU!". | And it goes with the context. He was found in Church, praying. Jesus walks in and speaks to all, hopefully not frightening them with a sudden visit. For this He says "Peace be with you". Where else do we hear these words? In Mass.
Why? Because Jesus is present!
And we say "And also with you", but do you know you are speaking to the Lord!?
There are two senses I can not fathom, in Mass, and the senses are presences. One, is the Eucharist, but the other...the body of Christ. Church, ecclesia, Iglesia. A spanish reflection said that "Iglesia means community of communities. That means one thing...we belong together. The sense of community is important. If it were not, Jesus would not suddenly appear in Mass, in Community to the 12 Apostles.
He appears and does so to strengthen them, to make them lose fear, for them to truly have peace, but with the Peace from Heaven that is not of this world, a peace that is startling. A peace that is unshakable. The peace me and you can only dream of! But He gives that peace to those who are chosen. Another meaning of ecclesia is that of "chosen ones". yes, chosen for what? To be the body of Christ! To be the light...amen? |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
1 Peter 1:3-5 (Listen) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Thank You Jesus | |
