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!
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