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Today is Laura Brannigan’s birthday.. enjoy her most famous song

Ordinary Time: July 3rd 
Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle 
 
St. Thomas, the Apostle, who at first did not believe, has become for the Church one of the first witnesses to her faith. She is fond of appealing to his testimony and frequently puts in our mouths those simple words whereby he expressed the fervor of his regained faith: “My Lord and my God.” It is known that St. Thomas preached the Gospel in Asia beyond the frontiers of the Roman Empire, probably in Persia and possibly as far afield as India.   
 
 
St. Thomas 
There is very little about the apostle Thomas in the Gospels; one text calls him the “twin.” Rarely during Jesus’ lifetime does he stand out among his colleagues. There is the instance before the raising of Lazarus, when Jesus was still in Perea and Thomas exclaimed: “Let us also go and die with Him.” Best-known is his expression of unbelief after the Savior’s death, giving rise to the phrase “doubting Thomas.” Nevertheless, the passage describing the incident, had as today’s Gospel, must be numbered among the most touching in Sacred Scripture. 
 
In the Breviary lessons, Pope St. Gregory the Great makes the following reflections: “Thomas’s unbelief has benefited our faith more than the belief of the other disciples; it is because he attained faith through physical touch that we are confirmed in the faith beyond all doubt. Indeed, the Lord permitted the apostle to doubt after the resurrection; but He did not abandon him in doubt. By his doubt and by his touching the sacred wounds, the apostle became a witness to the truth of the resurrection. Thomas touched and cried out: My Lord and my God! And Jesus said to him: Because you have seen Me, Thomas, you have believed. Now if Thomas saw and touched the Savior, why did Jesus say: Because you have seen Me, Thomas, you have believed? Because he saw something other than what he believed. For no mortal man can see divinity. Thomas saw the Man Christ and acknowledged His divinity with the words: My Lord and my God. Faith therefore followed upon seeing.” 
 
Concerning later events in the apostle’s life, very meager information exists. The Martyrology has this: “At Calamina (near Madras in India) the martyrdom of the apostle Thomas—he announced the Gospel to the Parthians and finally came to India. After he had converted numerous tribes to Christianity, he was pierced with lances at the king’s command.” 
 
Reflection: Cast away all disquieting doubts and learn to triumph over old weaknesses as St. Thomas did, who “by his ignorance hath instructed the ignorant, and by, his incredulity hath served for the faith of all ages.” -Butler, Lives of the Saints 

Pope St. Pius X granted an indulgence to all who, looking at the Body and Blood of Christ, say the words of St. Thomas, “Dominus meus et Deus meus” – My Lord and my God. This pious invocation is retained in the current edition of Manual of Indulgences (USCCB) and is often silently uttered by the faithful during the Elevation of Host and Chalice after consecration during the Mass. It also may be silently uttered in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament during Eucharistic Adoration. 

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