St. Thomas, Apostle

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 51, 18 December 1902, Page 31

St. Thomas, Apostle

St. Thomas, also called Didymus, was one of the 12 Apostles. He was a fisherman on the Lake of Galilee when Our Lord called him to be His Apostle. There are only three incidents related of him in the Gospel, but these are enough to to make his character more familiar to us than that of any other, except SS Peter and Paul. By nature slow to believe, too apt to see difficulties and to look at the dark side of things, he was withal a most sympathetic, loving, and courageous heart. Once when ™ Jesus s P° ke ot the mansions in His Father's house St. Thomas in his simplicity asked : ' Lord we know not whither Thou goest, and how can we know the way ? When Jesus turned to go towards Bethany to the grave of Lazarus, the desponding Apostle at once feared the worst for his beloved Lord, yet cried out bravely to the rest, let us go and die witht Him.' After the Resurrection incredulity again prevailed and whilst the wounds of the crucifixion were imprinted vividly on his affectionate mind, he would not credit the report that Christ had indeed risen. But the actual sight of the pierced hands and side and the gentle rebuke of his Saviour went home at once to his generous heart Unbelief was gone for ever, and his faith and ours has ever triumphed in the joyous utterance into which he broke : ' My Lord and my God ! ' Vigil of the Nativity. It was formerly the custom of the faithful to spend the night preceding a great solemnity in the church. Hence the term vigil, or watch, which we now p-ive to the "whole day preceding a solemn festival. Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. The institution of the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas) is attributed to Pope Telesphorus in the year 138. Originally Christmas Day was often confounded with the feast of Epiphany. On the Feast of Christmas Day, the Catholic priest is permitted to say three Masses, in commemoration of the temporal, spiritual, and eternal birth of Christ. Whenever Christmas Day falls on a Friday, it is permitted to eat flesh meat. St. Stephen, the First Martv,r. St. Stephen was one of the seven who were chosen to assist the Apostles in the daily distribution of alms, and who, by the imposition of the Apostles' hands, were raised to the order of deacons, and qualified to discharge some of the inferior duties of the sacerdotal office. By his zealous efforts in the propagation of the Gospel, he stirred up the hatred of some of the Jews, who stoned him to death. He thus had the honor of beine the first of Christ's disciples to seal his faith with his blood.