ST THOMAS THE APOSTLE DAY: (JULY 3) (Red)

Collect
Almighty and eternal God, who, for the firmer foundation of our faith, al-
lowed the apostle Saint Thomas to doubt the resurrection of your Son till
word and sight convinced him: grant to us, who have not seen, that we
also may believe and so receive the fullness of Christ’s blessing; who is
alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Jesus Appears to Thomas One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” (John 20:24-29|NLT2013-

Thomas the Apostle, also called Didymus, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "Doubting Thomas" because he doubted Jesus' resurrection when first told of it; later, he confessed his faith, "My Lord and my God," on seeing Jesus' crucifixion wounds.

Some of us today criticized Him for doubting Christ resurrection but it was through his doubting that his faith was strengthened, one of the lessons we learn from St. Thomas today is that faith is required of us all, we necessarily need not to see and touch to build our belief in the living God.

Jesus through St. Thomas thought us that it is blessing for those who did not see but believe, I don’t know how long you have doubted the existence and Power of Christ as the Son of God but remember today of the blessing of those who did not see but believe.

You must have been looking up to God for one miracle or breakthrough and it seems not to be coming forth, does it create doubt in you or strengthen your faith? Remember that the Bible taught us that without faith it is impossible to please God for anyone who comes to God must first believe in His existence and He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

Finally friends, faith is the nucleus of Christianity for the Just Shall live by faith. Never allow situations of this life to waver your faith in Christ Jesus and don’t join those ones saying ‘seeing is believe’ whenever it comes to the matters of Christ Kingdom because we speak a different language from the World. ‘blessed are those who did not see but believe ‘

Traditionally, Thomas is believed to have travelled outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel, travelling as far as Tamilakam which are the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in present-day India. He is often regarded as the Patron Saint of India. According to Syrian Christian tradition, Saint Thomas was allegedly martyred at St.Thomas Mount, in Chennai, in 72 A.D July 3rd,and his body was interred in Mylapore, India.