Saints of the Day
'Tis the Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle (died circa 72, A.K.A. Didymus ["twin"]).
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feast of Saint Thomas
The Letter to the Ephesians, chapter two, verses nineteen thru twenty-two;
Psalm One Hundred Seventeen (R/. the Gospel according to Mark, chapter sixteen, verse fifteen), verses one(b/c), two;
The Gospel according to John, chapter twenty, verses twenty-four thru twenty-nine.
Commentary: Festal Readings.
Gospel 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 Deacon Arthur L. Miller (U.S.C.C.B.): Festal Reflection.
Do you remember Hamlet’s great line, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy”? If we stubbornly said—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.
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