Feast Day: July 3
St Thomas is the Patron saint of Argentina, architects, cooks, and construction workers
St Thomas is a unique saint. He has a bad reputation of being the “doubter” and most people remember him as the one who was obstinate and lacking in faith. However, the opposite is true. He was known to ask a lot of questions carefully, and to be a logical person.
In the scriptures there are three mentions of him, first that he asks Jesus about where he was going and that he wanted to know the way there so that he could follow him. Jesus then graced him with the wonderful words “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” which is the core of Christian belief. The earliest Christians were known as the followers of “The Way”. Christian Philosophers are satisfied and delighted when they realize that Christ is the objective Truth they are looking for. Finally, by being alive and realizing God’s goodness we are humbled but thankful when we acknowledge that he is our Life.
In the Gospel of John, Thomas also motivates the disciples to visit Lazarus tomb despite the danger of being killed with Jesus, thus being a catalyst to the disciples witnessing one of the greatest miracles of Jesus’s ministry.
The other instance where Jesus talks to Thomas is the well-known situation where Thomas did not want to be tricked, but desired to see Jesus alive on his own. Here he was acting like a person like ourselves who needed to use his own logic and experience to see the truth. By this we see that he is a real man, not tricked by delusions, and after the moment where he puts his hand into the lance hole and his fingers into the nail holes, he declares a great personal realization and truth about Jesus when he says: “My Lord and my God”. This becomes a doctrine that Jesus is truly and fully God and Man.
We can learn a lot from St Thomas from reading the scriptures. Something that we can take from his character is to listen, inquire, and make our own decision to become educated followers of Jesus. Traditionally St Thomas is known to have traveled to Iraq, India, and other countries spreading the word about Jesus. He died a martyr in India and was buried on a mountain considered holy to several religions. St Thomas teaches us that once he understood the Truth about Jesus, he took to heart the instructions to spread the good news to the ends of the earth.
St Thomas Pray for Us!
Article by Theresa Harmata
