Monday, July 3, 2023

† '.Have you come to believe because

†Quote of the Day
""All the way to heaven is heaven, because Jesus said, 'I am the way.'"
–St. Catherine of Siena

†Today's Meditation
"Whenever we receive Communion, we enter into communion with the Holy Trinity. Did anybody ever tell you that? With each reception of Holy Communion, we experience, already here on earth, the same divine activity that we will one day experience in all its fullness in heaven—the divine activity of love eternally taking place within the Trinity…God wants to live his triune life in us. We are called to be dwelling places for the Holy Trinity and to enter into a personal relationship with each of the persons in God."
—Vinney Flynn, p. 27-28

†Daily Verse

Then [Jesus] said to 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.' 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 believe.'"
–John 20:27-29

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St. Thomas the Apostle

St. Thomas the Apostle (1st c.) was one of the twelve disciples who accompanied Jesus during His earthly ministry. He is remembered for his disbelief in the news of Christ's Resurrection until he physically saw and touched Jesus' wounds—thus earning him the name "Doubting Thomas." After Pentecost he traveled and preached throughout Persia and southeast Asia. Early traditions ascribe his main work and martyrdom to India, so that he is also called the "Apostle of India." He converted many to Christ, worked miracles, and established the Church in the East. One tradition holds that on his way to India he met and baptized the Three Wise Men of the Nativity who first venerated Jesus at Bethlehem. St. Thomas is also remembered for being a skilled carpenter, and according to Indian tradition he built the first churches in India with his own hands. St. Thomas the Apostle is the patron of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, architects, builders, masons, surveyors, theologians, against blindness, and of people in doubt. His feast day is July 3rd.

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."

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Reflections with Brother Adrian:

From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"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" end quote bible verse.

Do you believe our Lord holds us together? If yes, you are well on your way to the deepest of faith.

Because, as we speak, scientists are looking for this "matter" in the universe that can cross all the universe, and they've spent millions of dollars and years on a project. Why does this matter? Because, it is what joins us all. And if we find that matter, it should be life changing. Because the matter is the answer to the why. And our connection to the answer will mean everything, the very meaning of life. And here we have it in Scripture...that we are being built together, as a temple, a place for God to dwell. What a tremendous purpose!

We pray today:
"Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
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." end quote Psalms.

They say that in Heaven, there is construction going on. Could it be a mansion? A Temple? A Kingdom? What is being built? And for who? And would you like to be a part of this movement?

In the Gospel today we heard:
_"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." end quote Bible verse.

From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, today's Gospel tells of Thomas' doubting the Resurrection. Indeed, Catholicism has a rich tradition of questioning, seeking understanding. Aquinas, another great St. Thomas, spent much of his life asking and answering hard questions about the faith.
Do you remember Hamlet's great line, "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy, Horatio"? If we stubbornly said—even in the area of science—that we will accept only what we can clearly see and touch and control, we wouldn't know much about reality.
There is, in most areas of life, a play between knowing and believing. It is not unique to the religious sphere of life. Blaise Pascal summed it up: "The heart has its reasons that reason knows not."
It is not that we who have not seen and have believed are settling for a poor substitute for vision. No, we are being described as blessed, more blessed than Thomas. God is doing all sorts of things that we cannot see, measure, control, fully understand. But it is an informed faith that allows one to fall in love with such a God." end quote Bishop barron.

And it is the common question of most nonbelievers today, "unless I see".

And the sentence is incomplete. Because it should end with "for myself", so completely we would hear "unless I see for myself!" then I would believe.
And there is no problem with that. Because St. Thomas' prayer was answered a week later, when our Lord entered the locked doors. What do locked doors mean? They were afraid to open them or to keep them open. But our Lord hears the prayers inside. And He answers them.
He said He would answer them. He said "seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened".

But very few want to seek, or lift a finger to knock.
This always reminds me of the famous Michelangelo painting of the Sistine chapel, where man is weakly trying to lift a finger to touch the mighty finger of God the Father, Creator of the universe.
Sometimes, I see myself in that picture. Just caught up in the world, and when it comes to God stuff, we just kind of make it out to be too hard, just looking downcast to touch God.

So how can we pierce the darkness and let ourselves come to God and touch Him?
St. Thomas gives us a clue. His finger touched God. His finger entered the wound of Christ, where the water and blood gushed out. As He touched it, the words must've said in his head "how can this be! This is so amazing! His flesh is so alive, yet the wounds are so alive too! And the wounds mean something. The meaning of St. Thomas touching a wound means something too. Everything in this Gospel means something.
Everything...matters.

Let's pray:
Lord, give us the strength to knock on Your door. Give us the will to build Your Temple. Give us the grace and love of Heaven and earth as You Love Heaven and Earth, for Your children...me and so many, that need You so much. Help us see You, and touch You, and love You and serve You forever!