Project BLACK MAMBA

'Tis the Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle (died circa 72): Apostle-link ūnus, Apostle-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

St. Thomas was one of the Twelve Apostles. He is remembered for his incredulity concerning Christ's resurrection from the dead. When the other apostles told Thomas they had seent he Risen Lord, he replied, "I will never believe it without probing the nail-prints in his hands, without putting my finger in the nail-marks & my hand into his side." When Jesus later appeared to him & told him to put his finger in the wounds of his hands & side, Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord & my God!" Thomas later preached the Gospel to the people of India. Since the fourth century, the celebration of the transference of his body to Edessa has been commemorated on 3 July.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feast of St. Thomas
The Letter to the Ephesians, chapter two, verses nineteen thru twenty-two;
Psalm One Hundred Seventeen, verses one(b,c) & two;
The Gospel according to John, chapter twenty, verses twenty-four thru twenty-nine.

Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, today's Gospel celebrates St. Thomas the Apostle. Why do we love this story of doubting Thomas so much? Perhaps because he is a saint especially suitable for our time. Modernity has been marked, from its beginning, by two great qualities: skepticism and empiricism, the very qualities we can discern in Thomas: "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

And I think a good amount of skepticism and "show-me" empiricism is called for in many situations and contexts. We shouldn't be credulous, gullible, or naïve. Sometimes it is indeed good to wipe the slate clean, to clear out old cobwebs and intellectual humbug, perhaps especially in the area of religion. Indeed, Catholicism has a very rich intellectual tradition, a tradition of questioning, wondering, seeking understanding.

Yet when the risen Jesus re-appears, this time in the presence of Thomas, he invites the doubter to look, to see, and to touch. Then that devastating line: "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

'Tis also the festival of Saint Leo II, Pope (611-683), eightieth Bishop of Rome: Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.