Secondary Level
October
6th - Feast Day of St. Thomas
Saint
Thomas was one of the Twelve Apostles of our Blessed Lord.
St. Thomas is truly one of the most beloved of all the disciples of
Christ. It
was he who doubted the Resurrection of Christ and demanded proof.
The story which is told in the Gospel of St. John Chapter 20:19-29,
relates how Thomas was missing when Jesus visited the other disciples.
Jesus returned and showed Thomas His hands and His pierced side.
Thomas fell to his knees and said, “My Lord and My God!”
St.
Thomas preached the word of God in the Far East in what is now known as India.
In the section of India called the Malabar Coast, there is a magnificent
Church dedicated to St. Thomas.
Almost every Christian male child born there is called Thomas, after the
Patron Saint of the province.
Because
of his preaching, St. Thomas angered King Misdai, the ruler of India, who
ordered his soldiers to lead St. Thomas up to the highest mountain in Malabar.
They all ran their spears through his saintly body.
Saint Thomas, also called “the doubter” not only believed the truth
about Christianity, but gave his life for its preservation as so many other
martyrs of the Christian Church.
Although
the Feast of St. Thomas is October 6th, he is also commemorated on the first
Sunday after Easter, the Sunday of Thomas.