July 3, 2021 Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle

2021년 7월 3일 성 토마스 사도 축일 

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

제1독서

에페소서 2,19-22
.형제 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, 2021
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://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

Today is the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle. In the passage from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, he describes the community of believers both as a household and as a temple. The Psalm praising the Lord is mixed with a charge from Mark’s Gospel to share the Good News. The Gospel is the well-known story of Thomas questioning Jesus’ resurrection.

My sense is that Thomas may have been mistreated by history. Although he is the one who is known for expressing his doubt, I do not feel that he was unreasonable in his responses. I can remember when my sister died. I would have liked a miracle that brought her physically back to life. I can remember thinking at her funeral how much I would have liked a Lazarus type of resurrection. This was not a reasonable thing to expect. My guess is that even if family members had told me that they had been visited by her, I would not have been expecting to find an empty coffin. Instead, my thought would have been that these family members had been through a lot and that sometimes dreams can seem very real.

From the scripture accounts, Thomas seems to have had a genuine commitment to Jesus and his work. Thomas shows his willingness to take on and die at the hands of those with power in Chapter 11 of John’s Gospel. In the Last Supper account in John’s Gospel, Thomas is the one who asks Jesus where He is going and how do we get there. This leads me to think that Thomas was not one who took his belief in Jesus lightly. I also reflect on the whole of the apostles (not just Thomas) needing the Spirit on Pentecost for the fervor to spread Jesus’ message.

Tradition may give some additional insight into Thomas. Thomas was believed to have been a carpenter by trade. Perhaps this may have given him a more practical, action-oriented point of view as well as some understanding of Jesus’ background. In post-Pentecost times, Thomas was the one credited with bringing the Good News to China and India being martyred in the process.

My prayer today considers how I fit into Thomas’ legacy.

Dear Lord,
My sense is that questioning can be a natural part in the process of coming to a deeper understanding.
My career has taught me that confidence comes through personal and shared experiences.
I see You gifting faith through these experiences.
I thank You for the ways in which You seem to touch our lives and share Your presence.
I ask for Your guidance in coming to and sharing awareness of Your gifts. 

Allow me to see my part in the household and temple of believers. 

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

 

BELIEVE IN JESUS’ BODY

“My Lord and my God!” —John 20:28

At the elevation of the host at Mass, we proclaim with St. Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28) Jesus invited Thomas to touch His body, so that he might believe that Jesus was truly risen. In Holy Communion, Jesus likewise invites us to touch and receive His Body, that we might also grow in faith. There is a connection, then, between St. Thomas’ doubt and the physical body of Jesus.

In the first letter of John, we are told that every true spirit recognizes Jesus Christ come in the flesh (1 Jn 4:2-3). In the Holy Eucharist, Jesus literally comes in the flesh (Jn 6:53-56). Polls tell us that large numbers of Catholics today doubt that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, less than half the registered Catholics in the USA regularly attended Sunday Mass. Perhaps that is why we were taught to pray quietly the words of St. Thomas, “My Lord and my God,” as the priest elevates the consecrated host in the Eucharistic prayer. If we believed that Jesus, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, true God and true Man, the Resurrection and the Life (Jn 11:25), was truly present in the Eucharist, we couldn’t stay away from Mass. Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist at Mass (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1376-1377). Believe that Jesus is truly present  in the Holy Eucharist (Jn 6:40, 47). Receive Him at Mass, even daily if possible.

Prayer:  Father, may I desire to receive Jesus in Holy Communion as often as You desire it for me.

Promise:  “You are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God.” —Eph 2:19

Praise:  “Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?” (Jn 14:5) St. Thomas did find the Way and now intercedes for us in heaven.

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

 Which comes first, fasting or feasting? The disciples of John the Baptist were upset with Jesus' disciples because they did not fast. Fasting was one of the three most important religious duties, along with prayer and almsgiving. Jesus gave a simple explanation. There's a time for fasting and a time for feasting (or celebrating). To walk as a disciple with Jesus is to experience a whole new joy of relationship akin to the joy of the wedding party in celebrating with the groom and bride their wedding bliss.

A time to rejoice and a time to mourn
But there also comes a time when the Lord's disciples must bear the cross of affliction and purification. For the disciple there is both a time for rejoicing in the Lord's presence and celebrating his goodness and a time for seeking the Lord with humility and fasting and for mourning over sin. Do you take joy in the Lord's presence with you and do you express sorrow and contrition for your sins?

The closed mind that refuses to learn
Jesus goes on to warn his disciples about the problem of the "closed mind" that refuses to learn new things. Jesus used an image familiar to his audience - new and old wineskins. In Jesus' times, wine was stored in wineskins, not bottles. New wine poured into skins was still fermenting. The gases exerted gave pressure. New wine skins were elastic enough to take the pressure, but old wine skins easily burst because they had become hard and had lost their ability to expand and stretch. What did Jesus mean by this comparison? Are we to reject the old in place of the new?

Treasuring the old and new wine of the Holy Spirit
Just as there is a right place and a right time for fasting and for feasting, so there is a right place for the old as well as the new. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old (Matthew 13:52). How impoverished we would be if we only had the Old Testament or the New Testament books of the Bible, rather than both. The Lord gives us wisdom so we can make the best use of both the old and the new. He doesn't want us to hold rigidly to the past and to be resistant to the new work of his Holy Spirit in our lives. He wants our minds and hearts to be like new wine skins - open and ready to receive the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Are you eager to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God's word and plan for your life?

Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit, that I may grow in the knowledge of your great love and truth. Help me to seek you earnestly in prayer and fasting that I may turn away from sin and willfulness and conform my life more fully to your will. May I always find joy in knowing, loving, and serving you.

Psalm 85:9,11-13

9 Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12 Yes, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him, and make his footsteps a way.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: No need to fast in the presence of the Bridegroom, by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD)

"The Pharisees and John's disciples were fasting, and the apostles were not. But Jesus answered them in a spiritual way and indicated to John's disciples that he was a bridegroom. John taught that all hope in life lay in Christ. While he was still preaching, however, his disciples could not be received by the Lord. Up until the time of John, the law and the prophets prevailed, and unless the law came to an end, none of them would subscribe to faith in the gospel. The fact that he said there was no need for his disciples to fast as long as the bridegroom is with them illustrates the joy of his presence and the sacrament of the holy food, which no one need be without while he is present, that is, bearing Christ in the light of the mind. But once he is gone, Jesus says that they will fast, for all those who do not believe that Christ has risen will not have the food of life. By faith in the resurrection, the sacrament of the heavenly bread is received. Whoever is without Christ will be forsaken, fasting from the food of life." (excerpt from the commentary ON MATTHEW 9.3)

 

 

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July 3, 2020 Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle