'Tis the Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle (died circa 72, the "Apostle of India;" A.K.A. Didymus ["twin"]), who evangelized the Saint Thomas Christians: Apostle-link ūnus, Apostle-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Apostles-link & Wikipedia-link Apostles; & Wikipedia-link Saint Thomas Christians.
Commentary: Wayback Machine.
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
(R/. the Gospel according to Mark, chapter sixteen, verse fifteen);
The Gospel according to John, chapter twenty, verses twenty-four thru twenty-nine.
Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, today’s Gospel tells of Thomas’s 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.Video reflection by Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M. (U.S.C. of Catholic Bishops): Daily Reflection.
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 say—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.
Video reflection by Doctor John Bergsma (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Daily Reflection.
Scripture Study—Day 91: Contentness Plateau, Day 12
The Second Book of Samuel, chapter three, verses twelve thru sixteen.
Commentary: Abner Defects to David (cont'd; 2 Samuel, 3:12-16).
'Tis also the festival of Saint Hyacinth of Caesarea, Martyr (circa 96-108), martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Anatolius of Laodicea, Bishop (died 283, A.K.A. of Alexandria), Bishop of Laodicea (268-283): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Laodicea.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Anatolius of Constantinople, Bishop (died 458), forty-fifth (XLV) bishop & first (I) Patriarch of Constantinople (449-458): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Constantinople.
'Tis also the festival of Saint Leo II, Pope (611-683), eightieth (LXXX) Bishop of Rome (682-683), one of the Byzantine Popes, who clarified & confirmed the acts of the Third Council of Constantinople (680-681, the sixth [VI] ecumenical council): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link; Pontifex-link & Wikipedia-link Pontifex, Wikipedia-link Byzantine Papacy, & Council-link & Wikipedia-link Constantinople.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"Christ belongs to you! Do not be afraid anymore—not even of the Cross, His cross that He will share with you. The royal triumph of Jesus leads to the Cross. But, we repeat, do not be afraid: in this way life, true life will be assured for you tomorrow."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. Paul VI (1897-1978, r. 1963-1978; feast: 29 May)
"Act as if every day were the last day of your life, & each action the last you perform."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church (1567-1622, feast: 24 January)
"What is prayer? Prayer is oneness with God."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"What purpose did God have in mind in making this world? The answer is that God intended to build a moral universe. He willed from all eternity to build a stage on which characters would emerge. He might have made a world without morality, without virtue, without character. He might have made a world in which each of us would have sprouted goodness with the same necessity, for example, as that of the sun rising in the east & setting in the west. But He chose not to make that kind of a world, not to make a world in which we would be good, as fire is hot & ice is cold. He willed to make a moral universe so that by the right use of the gift of freedom characters might emerge. What does God care for in things tiled into an infinity of space even though they be diamonds? For if all the orbits of heaven were so many jewels, glittering as the sun, what would their external but undisturbed balance mean to Him in comparison with the single character which could take hold of the tangled skein of a seemingly wrecked & ruined life & weave out of them the beautiful tapestry of saintliness & holiness?"
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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