Today, with joy, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle, known as the Apostle of India. (In India, all the dioceses celebrate the solemnity. You are familiar with India, the cradle of diverse cultures, languages, and ancient religions. We, Catholics, have only a history of 2,000 years. But the Rig Veda and the Sanskrit language date back before 5,000 years.
It is actually a profound thought to consider that, through Thomas, our ancestors reached out their hands to touch the wounds of Christ, placing their fingers in His hands and their hands into His side. Saint Thomas is the living link between Jesus Christ and our Indian soil.
After Jesus’ death, the Apostles respond in three ways: Some remain behind locked doors, fearing the Jews, afraid of being punished themselves. Some return to Galilee, to their native places and former occupations, especially fishing. But Thomas chooses a third path: walking among the people, living as one with them.
3 lessons from Thomas' life:
(a) Asking Questions Is Good: In both John’s Gospel and the Gospel of Thomas, Thomas dares to ask what others might silently wonder. In apocryphal writings like the Gospel of Thomas, which is not part of the canonical Bible but offers intriguing insights, Thomas is called Didymus Judas Thomas. The name Didymus means twin, and scholars have explored its possible meanings. Questioning is part of deepening our faith. It is not a lack of belief, but a hunger for truth.
Again, after the Last Supper, during Jesus’ farewell discourse, it is Thomas who asks, “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5). The disciples tell Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas, however, responds without even naming Jesus—simply “unless I see the mark of the nails…” But the moment Jesus appears and says, “See My hands,” Thomas surrenders.
b) personal Faith: Without waiting, he confesses: “My Lord and my God!” This is the most personal and profound confession of faith in the Gospels.
Thomas’ journey teaches us that faith must be personal. We cannot live off others’ spiritual experiences—not even those of our parents. Like Thomas, we must encounter Christ ourselves. And that encounter, while not always sensible or visible, is no less real.
(c) Be God's pilgrim: In verse 42 of the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says, “Be passersby.” This means: carry nothing, cling to nothing, live lightly, walk purposefully. A traveller burdened with too much or distracted by many things will not reach the goal. Thomas was a pilgrim around the world for Christ. Francis Xavier, who came to India, Goa, in the 15th century, narrates about the incredible challenges in the evangelization; the persecution of the emperors, inability to communicate, and even the pandemics.
According to tradition, Thomas was killed by the emperor of Mylapore; he was killed by a spear/sword to his chest, the proper place where he touched the Lord. He carried the same wounds of the Lord.