JESUS APPEARS TO SEVEN DISCIPLES

After this, Jesus appeared once more to his disciples at Lake Tiberias. This is how it happened. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael (the one from Cana in Galilee), the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of Jesus were all together.  Simon Peter said to the others, “I am going fishing.”

“We will come with you,”  they told him.  So they went out in a boat,  but all that night they did not catch a thing.  As the sun was rising, Jesus stood at the water’s edge, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.   Then he asked them, “Young men, haven’t you caught anything?”

  “Not a thing,” they answered.

  He said to them, “Throw your net out on the right side of the boat, and you will catch some.”  So they threw the net out and could not pull it back in,  because they had caught so many fish.

  The  disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”  When  Peter heard that it was the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment round him (for he had taken his clothes off) and jumped into the water.  The other disciples came to shore in the boat pulling the net full of fish.   They were not very far from land, about a hundred metres away.  When they stepped ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it and some bread.  Then Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”

  Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore full of big fish, a hundred and fifty-three in all; even though there were so many, still the net did not tear.  Jesus said to them, “Come and eat.”  None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord.  So Jesus went over, took the bread, and gave it to them; he did the same with the fish.

  This, then, was the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from death.

 (John 21:1-14)

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favour and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

GOSPEL OF ST.JOHN

“Pay attention to what I say, my son. Listen to my words. Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart. They will give life and health to anyone who understands them.” 
(Prov. 4:20-22)

JESUS THE WAY TO THE FATHER

“Do not be worried and upset,” Jesus told them. “Believe in God and believe also in Me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am. You know the way that leads to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way to get there?”

Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me. Now that you have known me,” He said to them, “you will know my Father also, from now on you do know Him and you have seen Him.”

Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need.”

Jesus answered, “For a long time I have been with you all; yet You do not know Me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why then, do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Do you not believe, Philip that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you,” Jesus said to His disciples, “do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does His own work. 

Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. If not, believe because of the things I do—yes, He will do even greater things , because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask for in My name, so that the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son. If you ask me for anything in My Name, I will do it.” (John 14: 1-14)

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to Lord Jesus Christ! Amen

ST.THOMAS -THE APOSTLE OF INDIA

Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and My God” (John.20:28)

“One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (called the twin) was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later the disciples were together again indoors, and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands; then stretch out your hand and put it on my side. Stop your doubting and believe!”

Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and My God” (John.20:28)

The deep desire to see his Beloved Master as well as the mutual love of Lord Jesus and St. Thomas is crystal clear here. He was thirsty /eager to meet Lord Jesus and knew that Jesus would appear again to meet him.

As we delve deeper into the Bible we can learn that since Thomas’ love towards The Lord was superior among others, he assured that it was his right to meet the Risen Lord.

Through his words to the other disciples, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe,” he was courageously claiming that ‘surely my Master will come forgiving and forgetting my absence there’.

He might have invited The Risen Lord by remembering the Precious Wounds.

When Lord Jesus appeared and called Thomas by his name, it proves the individual love of our Lord.

By touching the precious Wound of Jesus, Thomas gained a lot of courage and was filled with God’s Love once again, taking him to the deepest repentance.

Then He confessed His deep faith and was sure that the power of the Resurrected Lord went into his body when he sighed, “My Lord and My God.”

None in the Gospel fell into such deep relation with Lord Jesus. Here we see the mystery of the Risen Lord and with the thirst of Evangelization Spirit, St. Thomas went out into the world to spread Evangelization of the Good News.

The missionary zeal and love for his Master bought St. Thomas to Kodungalore, India in AD 52. He preached about our God and established the communities and churches. While he was at Mylapore he was stabbed to death in AD 72 at Chinnamalai. He was buried at Mylapore and later his mortal remains were transferred to Edessa in Syria and then to Orthona in Italy.

Even today his followers are filled with the grace to suffer and die for Christ. May the Glory of God be worshipped and honored for providing us such strong foundation for our faith.

Praise God for all Martyrs and Saints in Heaven, who are still working with us.

O Lord Jesus Christ, graciously be kind enough to deepen our grace of repentance daily and help us to serve You, our Savior whole heartedly.

St. Thomas, Apostle of India, Pray for us!