Saint Who?
Saints Who Were Missionaries
Saint Thomas the Apostle
Martyr (1st century) Feast: July 3
Thomas is probably best known as the man who doubted, one of the Twelve who was not present when Christ appeared on Easter Sunday. When the other disciples tried to explain the Resurrection to him, Thomas said he would not believe until he saw the nail marks in Christ’s hands for himself. When the Lord appeared again, however, Thomas did witness to the truth through the profound words My Lord and my God!
We know very little about Thomas beyond a few other passages in the Gospels. He was apparently a twin, since that’s what his name means in Aramaic. The Twelve (with Matthias in place of Judas) did what the Lord told them to do after the Resurrection and spent the rest of their lives preaching the Good News.
According to tradition, Thomas traveled to India and died a martyr there. While there has been debate about whether Thomas truly reached India, recent archeological evidence indicates that there were Christians in India during the early centuries of the Church. In the southern city of Chennai, the Saint Thomas Cathedral Basilica stands over what is believed to be the tomb of the apostle who gave up his life in service to the Lord he once doubted.
Lord God, strengthen our faith against any doubts
or difficulties we face.
