Daily Catholic Lectio
Fri, 3 July 2026
Saint Thomas, Apostle – Solemnity (India)
Isa 52:7-10. Eph 2:19-22. Jn 20:24-29
Hyphen of Faith
“Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
(a) Saint Thomas: The Hyphen of Faith
Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Thomas, the Apostle to India. Through Thomas, our ancestors in India placed their fingers into the wounds of Christ and their hands into His side. Saint Thomas became the hyphen that connected Jesus Christ with India.
After the death of Jesus, the disciples responded in different ways. Some remained behind locked doors because they feared the authorities. Others returned to Galilee and resumed fishing. Thomas, however, appears to have continued moving among the people.
The Gospel of John gives us important details about him. When Jesus decided to go to Judea after the death of Lazarus, the other disciples hesitated. Thomas said: “Let us also go to die with him.” His words reveal courage and his desire to remain with Jesus even in death.
Later, during the farewell discourse, Thomas asks: “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” His question leads Jesus to reveal: “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Thomas’s question becomes the occasion for one of the greatest revelations about Jesus.
In today’s Gospel, the other disciples tell Thomas: “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas refuses to believe unless he sees the marks of the nails and touches the wounds.
When Jesus appears and says, “Put your finger here and see my hands,” Thomas immediately surrenders: “My Lord and my God!”
This is the highest personal confession of faith in John’s Gospel. Thomas does not merely say, “Jesus is Lord.” He says, “My Lord.” He does not simply say, “Jesus is God.” He says, “My God.”
Faith becomes real when it becomes personal. The experience of God cannot be borrowed from another person. Just as our relationship with our father and mother is personal, our relationship with God must also become personal.
God’s presence may not always be visible to our senses. Yet what is beyond our senses is not therefore unreal. How beautiful our life would become if every moment carried the surrender of Thomas: “My Lord and my God!”
(b) The Readings
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah says: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation.”
In ancient times, a messenger climbed a mountain and announced news so that everyone could hear. To people frightened by war and violence, this messenger announced peace, comfort, salvation, and the reign of God.
Saint Thomas became such a messenger in India. The Gospel he proclaimed brought hope, life, and liberation to our land. Today, we too are called to bring good news to one another. Our words, actions, and relationships must become a Gospel.
In the second reading, Saint Paul uses the image of a building to describe the Church. The apostles are its foundation, and Christ Jesus is the cornerstone. Through the Gospel preached by the apostles, believers are joined to Christ and built together into a dwelling place of God.
Thomas became part of this apostolic foundation. Through his witness, the faith of the Church reached India. We are not strangers or outsiders. We belong to the household of God.
The Church is therefore not merely an institution. It is a living building in which every believer has a place. Christ holds the whole structure together.
(c) Lessons for Life
First, Thomas teaches us that questions are good. He asked Jesus, “Where are you going?” He questioned the testimony of the disciples. His questions were not empty. They led him towards a deeper faith. We should not be afraid to bring our questions to God. Honest questions can become doors to revelation.
Second, Thomas teaches us the importance of community. When the risen Jesus first appeared, Thomas was not with the other disciples. His absence became the reason for his struggle. The Christian community is the place where believers witness to one another: “We have seen the Lord.” Faith grows when we remain connected to the community of disciples.
Third, Thomas teaches us to overcome inner division. He was courageous enough to say, “Let us die with him,” yet later he said, “I will not believe.” Courage and doubt lived together within him.
Many of us also carry such divisions. We believe and doubt, surrender and resist, follow and hesitate. Jesus does not reject Thomas because of this struggle. He meets him within it and leads him to faith.
Fourth, Thomas teaches us to remain travellers. An ancient saying attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas says: “Be passers-by.” A traveller does not become attached to unnecessary burdens. He remembers where he began and where he is going.
The person who carries too much cannot travel freely. The person who is distracted by everything may never reach the destination. Thomas crossed lands and cultures because he remained faithful to his mission.
Through Saint Thomas, the Gospel reached us. We now have the duty to witness to that Gospel and pass it on.
Saint Thomas became the hyphen of faith between Christ and India. Today, we are called to become hyphens between Christ and others—between the Gospel and our families, between faith and society, between God’s love and those who have not yet experienced it.
May Saint Thomas help us to ask sincere questions, remain in the community, overcome our doubts, travel lightly, and confess with our whole life: “My Lord and my God!”
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
A Yesni Prays Initiative
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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