July 3, 2019 Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle

2017년 7월 3일 수요일 성 토마스 사도 축일 

오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp

제1독서

에페소서 2,19-22
형 제 여러분, 19 여러분은 이제 더 이상 외국인도 아니고, 이방인도 아닙니다. 성도들과 함께 한 시민이며, 하느님의 한 가족입니다. 20 여러분은 사도들과 예언자들의 기초 위에 세워진 건물이고, 그리스도 예수님께서는 바로 모퉁잇돌이십니다. 
21 그리스도 안에서 전체가 잘 결합된 이 건물이 주님 안에서 거룩한 성전으로 자라납니다. 22 여러분도 그리스도 안에서 성령을 통하여 하느님의 거처로 함께 지어지고 있습니다.

복음

요한 20,24-29
24 열두 제자 가운데 하나로서 ‘쌍둥이’라고 불리는 토마스는 예수님께서 오셨을 때에 그들과 함께 있지 않았다. 
25 그래서 다른 제자들이 그에게 “우리는 주님을 뵈었소.” 하고 말하였다. 그러나 토마스는 그들에게, “나는 그분의 손에 있는 못 자국을 직접 보고, 그 못 자국에 내 손가락을 넣어 보고, 또 그분 옆구리에 내 손을 넣어 보지 않고는 결코 믿지 못하겠소.” 하고 말하였다. 
26 여드레 뒤에 제자들이 다시 집 안에 모여 있었는데, 토마스도 그들과 함께 있었다. 문이 다 잠겨 있었는데도 예수님께서 오시어 가운데에 서시며, “평화가 너희와 함께!” 하고 말씀하셨다. 
27 그러고 나서 토마스에게 이르셨다. “네 손가락을 여기 대 보고, 내 손을 보아라. 네 손을 뻗어 내 옆구리에 넣어 보아라. 그리고 의심을 버리고 믿어라.” 
28 토마스가 예수님께 대답하였다. “저의 주님, 저의 하느님!” 29 그러자 예수님께서 토마스에게 말씀하셨다. “너는 나를 보고서야 믿느냐? 보지 않고도 믿는 사람은 행복하다.”

July 3, 2019
Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/

Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass

Reading 1

 Eph 2:19-22

Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God, 
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. 

 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 117:1bc, 2

R. (Mark 16:15)

Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness for us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever. 
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. 

 

Gospel

Jn 20:24-29

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,

was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."
But Thomas said to them,
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow

 

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

 

The message I get from today’s readings, when read together, is the invitation from God for us to be united to and in Christ.  As I wrote this, I wondered who “us” was.  In Ephesians, Paul is uniting the uncircumcised believers with the circumcised believers and encouraging them to recognize that the Lord is “building them together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”  In John, Jesus is blessing those “who have not seen and have believed.”  The common word seems to be “believers”.  An invitation for unity of all believers?  Maybe so.  To what end?  Today’s Psalm answered that question for me.  “Go out to all the world to tell the Good News.”   I would also add be the Good News.  This seems like a tall order from my prayer today. 

So I asked what it could mean for me on a personal level.  The response was to simply be a reconciling and unifying presence in the world in my world, in my daily life.  Look for those opportunities to reach beyond, but start in my daily life.  An invitation to start in my community, my work place, my relationships.  Where can we be more accepting of one another? 

I don’t think this means that we have to agree on all things but maybe move toward the belief or choosing to believe (without seeing) that we are being called together to be a “dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” 

So, I will simply invite us all to consider today - How can we each be the reconciling, unifying presence of Christ today?  Imagine how things could be different if we each embraced this invitation to be the Good News, be Christ to the world.

 http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp

NO DOUBT

"Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe!" �John 20:27

St. Thomas is known for his doubt. However, Thomas was not the only one in Jesus' circle who doubted (see Mt 28:17; Lk 24:21ff). Though Thomas struggled with doubt, he had no trouble with fear. He was brave enough to exhort his fellow apostles to follow Jesus to Jerusalem even if it resulted in death (Jn 11:16). Thomas missed the first Resurrection appearance of Jesus. Could that be because he was the only apostle not locked in the upper room out of fear? St. Thomas apparently understood deeply Jesus' words: "Fear is useless. What is needed is trust" (Mk 5:36). He evangelized as far as India. A few years ago on vacation, I attended a Mass said by a priest from India. His town in India had been visited by St. Thomas, and a devotion to St. Thomas persisted in that town 2000 years later. No apostle evangelized as many miles away from Jerusalem as did Thomas. His combination of faith and fortitude are a great example to us today. Jesus did not berate or criticize Thomas for his doubt. Instead, Jesus reached out to him. Likewise, Jesus still reaches out to us today, especially in the Eucharist. Jesus loves each of us as we are, but He loves us too much to let us remain as we are. With St. Thomas, let Jesus stretch you out of doubt and fear, and into faith and courage.

Prayer: Father, give me a heart filled with faith and the Holy Spirit. May I impact thousands of people for Your kingdom.

Promise: "This means that you are strangers and aliens no longer. No, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God." —Eph 2:19

Praise: "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20:28)

 http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/

 "Do not be faithless - but believing"

What can give us unshakeable hope and confidence in the face of failure, defeat, and death? The apostles had abandoned Jesus in his hour of trial when he was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemani by Judas and arrested by the Jewish authorities. Their fear turned to despair when Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion for his claim to be the King of the Jews. In that hour of darkness on "Good Friday" the apostles saw Jesus' death as defeat rather than victory.

From death and despair to joy and victory
on Sunday morning when they heard the reports from the women who saw the empty tomb, they were slow to believe that Jesus had risen as he prophesied to them previously. Their despair turned to joy when the Risen Lord at last appeared to them and showed them the scars of his victory - his pierced hands, feet, and side. Jesus had indeed triumphed over the enemies which held the human race in slavery to sin, Satan, and death.

The  last apostle to meet the resurrected Lord was the first to go with him to Jerusalem at Passover time. The apostle Thomas was a natural pessimist. When Jesus proposed that they visit Lazarus after receiving news of his illness, Thomas said to the disciples: "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16). While Thomas deeply loved the Lord, he lacked the courage to stand with Jesus in his passion and crucifixion. After Jesus' death, Thomas made the mistake of withdrawing from the other apostles. He sought loneliness rather than fellowship in his time of sorrow and adversity. He doubted the women who saw the resurrected Jesus and he doubted his own fellow apostles who also testified that Jesus had risen.

When Thomas finally had the courage to rejoin the other apostles eight days later, the Lord Jesus made his presence known to him and reassured him that he had indeed overcome death and risen again. When Thomas recognized his Master, he believed and exclaimed that Jesus was truly Lord and truly God!

Through faith we meet the Risen Lord
Through the gift of faith we, too, are able to recognize the presence of the risen Lord in our personal lives. The Holy Spirit reveals the Lord Jesus to us and helps us to grow in knowledge and understanding of God and his ways. Through the gift of faith we are able to proclaim that Jesus is our personal Lord and our God. He died and rose that we, too, might have new life in him. The Lord offers each of us new life in his Holy Spirit that we may know him personally and walk in this new way of life through the power of his resurrection. Do you believe in God's word and in the power of the Holy Spirit?

"Lord Jesus Christ, through your victory over sin and death you have overcome all the powers of darkness. Help me to draw near to you and to trust in your life-giving word. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and strengthen my faith in your promises and my hope in the power of your resurrection."

Psalm 117:1-2

1 Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!
2 For great is his steadfast love toward us; and the faithfulness of the LORD endures for ever.  Praise the LORD!

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Touching the wounds of Christ and healing the wounds of our unbelief, by Gregory the Great (540-604 AD)

"It was not an accident that that particular disciple was not present. The divine mercy ordained that a doubting disciple should, by feeling in his Master the wounds of the flesh, heal in us the wounds of unbelief. The unbelief of Thomas is more profitable to our faith than the belief of the other disciples. For the touch by which he is brought to believe confirms our minds in belief, beyond all question." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 26)

  

More Homilies

 July 3, 2017 Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle