July 3: Feast of St Thomas, Apostle

Theme: Faith culminating in self-surrender and service

Readings: Eph 2:19-22; Jn 20:24-29

Dear friends in Christ, today, the Church celebrates the feast of St Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. When the disciples of Jesus dispersed on account of persecution in Jerusalem, Thomas travelled to India and preached the gospel of Jesus fearlessly among the Hindus beginning from 52 A.D., establishing seven Christian communities (known later as “St. Thomas Christians”). In A.D 72, he suffered martyrdom, using his blood to bear witness to the faith he proclaimed by words of his mouth.

Whenever the name of Thomas the apostle is mentioned, the first thing that comes to the mind is his doubt when he heard that Jesus visited the other disciples at the upper room after His resurrection. However, looking beyond Thomas' doubt, we will see someone who never wanted to base his knowledge of the risen Lord solely on the testimony of others, but rather wanted to enrich his faith through a personal encounter with Him, as well as a man whose faith culminated in his self-surrender to Jesus and heroic service to the Gospel.

When Thomas finally encountered the risen Jesus personally, he exclaimed, “My Lord and my God,” thereby enlightening the other disciples about the divinity of Jesus: He is not only Master/Lord or Son of the living God, but God Himself. Hence, Thomas gifted the early Church with what would become the true identity of Jesus.

Dear friends, St Thomas challenges us to desire to know and encounter Jesus personally, to allow such encounter with Him to transform our beliefs and our lives, and to use such encounters to transform the lives of the people around us, bearing witness to Jesus with everything we have.

St Thomas, pray for us

Fr Isaac Chima

 Good Friday: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima

Theme: THE CROSS: Jesus transforms whatever He touches

Dear friends in Christ, the Good Friday Ceremony – the Veneration of the Cross – is a celebration of the victory of the ‘foolishness of God’ over the wisdom of man, a celebration of the transformation of the symbol of shame – the cross – into a symbol of our salvation. This transformation is courtesy of Jesus, who transforms whatever he comes in contact with.

Before the death of Jesus on the cross, the cross was a symbol of shame, a course reserved only for criminals and other outlaws. In that case, death on the cross was the most shameful of all deaths. It was for this very reason that the Pharisees and the elders, who instigated the condemnation of Jesus, asked Pilate to have Him crucified on the cross. They wanted a shameful death for Him. However, the nature of Jesus is to transform whatever he touches. His encounter with this symbol of shame – the cross - transformed it into a symbol of salvation, a symbol that is revered and venerated. Jesus touched the symbol of shame and transformed it into a symbol of faith and salvation.  Such is the power of Christ.  

Dear friends, the church invites us to open ourselves to Christ, to allow ourselves to be touched by Him. He transforms whatever He touches. If he comes in contact with you, your life will never remain the same. Today, we have the cross of Christ in our midst; it will be lifted up in all parishes in the world. Let us embrace it, let us venerate it so that we will feel its transforming power.

Every Good Friday, we listen to the Passion narrative; it is not a sweet story. It is rather a sad one, a story that recounted the injustice of the powerful over an innocent man. This narrative should push us to take a decision to defend the course of the innocent. It was the silence of those who were supposed to talk that led to the triumph of injustice in the trial of Jesus. Therefore, we should realize that any form of silence from us in the face of injustice can lead to the death or the suffering of someone who is innocent. We should realize that evil triumph when good people do nothing. The Passion of Christ should push us to say ‘no’ to being silent in the face of evil in our society. It should lead us to say that we will never allow the voice of injustice to triumph wherever we are gathered, be it in the family or in the workplace.

Lastly, it was our sins that necessitated the coming of Christ to die for us. Hence, as we condemn those who unjustly judged Jesus for their wickedness, we should also ask ourselves whether we are still committing those acts that made Him to accept the sorrowful journey to Calvary. Every form of sin is a betrayal of Christ who died for us on the cross. Every sinful act increases the weight of that cross. We condemn him to death any time we fell into sin.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima

PUSC, Roma