SAINT THOMAS
Apostle and Martyr
(† First Century)
St. Thomas was another one of the fisherman on the Lake of Galilee whom Our Lord called to be His Apostles. By nature slow to believe, too apt to see difficulties and to look at the dark side of things, he had nonetheless a very sympathetic, loving, and courageous heart. Even if we are skeptical of things, we can still believe in miracles, and that Christ Himself is present at the Holy Mass.
When Jesus spoke to His apostles of His forthcoming departure, and told His faithful disciples that they already knew the Way to follow Him, Thomas, in his simplicity, asked: "Lord, we know not whither Thou goest, and how can we know the way?"
When the Master during a journey turned back to go toward Bethany, near Jerusalem, to the grave of Lazarus, the apostle Thomas, knowing of the malevolent intentions of the Jerusalem religious authorities, at once feared the worst for his beloved Lord. Yet he cried out bravely: "Let us go then and die with Him!"
After the Resurrection his doubts prevailed, and while the wounds of the crucifixion remained vividly imprinted in his affectionate memory, he could not credit the report that Christ had risen. He said that he would not believe unless he saw the wounds in His hands, and probed the wound in His side. Then, eight days later, at the actual sight of the pierced Hands and Side, and the gentle rebuke of his Saviour, his unbelief vanished forever. His faith and ours have always triumphed in his joyous utterance: "My Lord and my God!" (This is why we say this phrase at the elevations of the Flesh and the Blood at the Consecration at Mass. At least we should be saying it at the Elevations.)
That St. Thomas, after the dispersion of the Apostles, went to India, where he labored and died at Meliapour, is a certain fact of history. The Roman Breviary states that he preached in Ethiopia and Abyssinia, as well as in Persia and Media. Surely his was a remarkable history, reserved for the inhabitants of Christ's glory to see in its fullness some day.
Before he died in Meliapour, he erected a very large cross and predicted to the people that when the sea would advance to the very foot of that cross, God would send them, from a far-distant land, white men who would preach to them the same doctrine he had taught them. This prophecy was verified when the Portuguese arrived in the region, and found that the ocean had advanced so far as to be truly at the foot of the cross. At the foot of this cross was a rock where Saint Thomas, while praying fervently, suffered his martyrdom by a blow from the lance of a pagan priest. This happened, according to the Roman Breviary, at Calamine, which is in fact Meliapour, for in the language of the people the word Calurmine means on the rock (mina). The name was given the site in memory of the Apostle's martyrdom.
When St. Francis Xavier came to India, the signs of blood were still to be seen on the cross where this murderous deed was committed; and more than once drops of blood appeared on this cross during the celebration of Mass, when crowds of people were present. St. Xavier, shortly after his arrival in India, went to the tomb of St. Thomas, and passed many days and nights there in prayer. He begged God fervently to bestow upon him the Spirit and zeal of this holy Apostle, that he might be able to restore the Christian faith which St. Thomas had preached there, but which had gradually been entirely exterminated. Before undertaking any important work, he went, if possible, to the tomb of St. Thomas; and when this was impossible, he invoked the holy Apostle's intercession, and endeavored to follow his example in all things.
Reflection: Cast away all disquieting doubts, and learn to triumph over outlived weaknesses as Saint Thomas did, who by his ignorance has instructed the ignorant, and by his incredulity has served the faith of all ages.
(On a similar note, I had one of these experiences once. I, once upon a time, went to the Novus Ordo, and was the commentator, who read announcements, intentions, etc. Anyway, I had been told by someone during the time when I was converting, that Angels were present at the Consecration of the Mass. It actually made some sense to me, who knew nothing at that time. Anyway, it was Easter time at this church. On the altar was NOTHING, except the risen Christ on a cross. I had received Holy Communion, while kneeling on the altar, and had returned to my spot, where I was the commentator. This man came up from my left to receive Him in Holy Communion. He was carrying a little boy of maybe three years of age. The little boy began pointing to the ceiling, and asking dad who all those people were. The dad, who I now suspect did not believe, said "no one was there." I knew at that time what I had heard was true. That was for me! I believe this child had seen the multitude of angels, and this confirmed my Faith even more. To paraphrase what Our Lord had said: "...be as little children...")
Thomas was called unbelieving by Christ, although he disbelieved only one article, the resurrection. Hence, it is clear that he who doubts, or rejects only one article of faith, cannot be counted among true Catholics, although he believes all the others. A Catholic must believe every truth revealed by the Almighty, be it great or small, as God cannot fail either in small things or great. The offense which we do to God by denying even the smallest article of faith, is as great as if we denied an important one, or all of them together; for, it is just as if we said: God has been deceived, or He has deceived us in revealing this article. Whether this is said of great and important articles, or of one that is small, makes but little difference; or if we desire to make a difference, we must say that it is a greater offense to God to ascribe to Him a fault in a small matter than in a great; for, what can be more blasphemous than to maintain that the Almighty has been deceived in a trifling matter, or that He intends to deceive us? They should ponder on this, who sometimes entertain doubts about an article of faith, or even go so far as to say that in some matters, they agree with non-Catholics, and consider them right. These are no longer Catholics. Their faith is lost; and if they do not repent, as St. Thomas did, they will go to perdition, because they are incredulous. They are disobedient who obey nine of the Commandments but not the tenth. What is the fate of the incredulous? Christ Himself pointed it out when He said: "Who believes not in the Son, will not see life, but the wrath of God will remain with him." (John viii.)
(Let's get off our high horses and be more like the innocent babes of this world. Then, and only then, can we see more clearly what we need to know.)
I would like to add someone to your prayers. His name is Fr. Joseph Rinaldo. He is with 'The Servants of Charity', which is located in Chelsea, MI. They help those who can't make it in the world, and have pretty much given up on by their families. Today is the 50th anniversary of his ordination, along with Fr. Fortunato Turati, who is his close friend. Fr. Rinaldo is quite a guy, and knew some very important people in his life. St. Padre Pio is the one who told him to leave his homeland of Sicily, since he was speaking out against the Mafia. He told him that if stayed, the mob would have to kill him. Padre Pio said to go to the USA to avoid this end. Fr. Rinaldo also knew Bishop Fulton Sheen, and was friends with him. This was one of the first religious Fr. Rinaldo met upon landing in the U.S. He also, in his frequent visits to India, and served Mother Teresa's nuns. He also, when a boy server stationed in Rome, met Pope Pius XII, and was invited into the Pope's residence to have breakfast, after being near the Pope's room between serving Masses. The boys needed to serve wherever they were called to, and were ready at the moments notice. They must have had some 'off' time to be where they were at the time. So you see, he has met some of the real 'bigs' within the Church's history. Please pray for him as he is winding down in the waning hours of his life.
He is a Bible scholar, and has been to most of the places in Scripture, knows the layouts, and knows when and why the New Testament was written. I could listen to him all day to his stories of his life. Quite interesting, to say the least. Some people get tired of his stories, but they are maybe more than a little ignorant of what importance these stories have, even to us. He had to endure Nazi oppression in his childhood, but he persevered to the priesthood, and is still serving, not just the needy, but helps us understand what we need to know. Please keep him and his fellow 'Servants' in your prayers.
St. Thomas, pray for us that we have the eyes of Faith you did. Remember, as St. Paul states in his epistle to the Hebrews: "...without Faith it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God, must believe that he is, and rewards them that seek him."
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