1 Peter 1:6-7

Bible Verse
- 1 Peter 1:6-7 -

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have
had
to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith -
of
greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be
proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ
is
revealed.

____________________________________________________________________________

When God permits his children to go through the furnace, he keeps his eye on
the
clock and his hand on the thermostat. His loving heart knows how much and
how
long.
- Warren Wiersbe


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December 21st - Saint Thomas, Apostle and Martyr
(d. First Century)

Saint Thomas was one of the fisherman on the Lake of Galilee whom Our Lord
called to be His Apostles. By nature slow to believe, too apt to see
difficulties and to look at the dark side of things, he had nonetheless a
very
sympathetic, loving, and courageous heart.

When Jesus spoke to His apostles of His forthcoming departure, and told His
faithful disciples that they already knew the Way to follow Him, Saint
Thomas,
in his simplicity, asked: "Lord, we know not whither Thou goest, and how can
we
know the way?"

When the Master during a journey turned back to go toward Bethany, near
Jerusalem, to the grave of Lazarus, the apostle Thomas, knowing of the
malevolent intentions of the Jerusalem religious authorities, at once feared
the
worst for his beloved Lord. Yet he cried out bravely: "Let us go then and
die
with Him!"

After the Resurrection his doubts prevailed, and while the wounds of the
crucifixion remained vividly imprinted in his affectionate memory, he could
not
credit the report that Christ had risen. But at the actual sight of the
pierced
hands and side, and the gentle rebuke of his Saviour, his unbelief vanished
forever. His faith and ours have always triumphed in his joyous utterance:
"My
Lord and my God!"

That Saint Thomas, after the dispersion of the Apostles, went to India,
where he
labored and died at Meliapour, is a certain fact of history. The Roman
Breviary
states that he preached in Ethiopia and Abyssinia, as well as in Persia and
Media. Surely his was a remarkable history, reserved for the inhabitants of
Christ's glory to see in its fullness some day.

Before he died in Meliapour, he erected a very large cross and predicted to
the
people that when the sea would advance to the very foot of that cross, God
would
send them, from a far-distant land, white men who would preach to them the
same
doctrine he had taught them. This prophecy was verified when the Portuguese
arrived in the region, and found that the ocean had advanced so far as to be
truly at the foot of the cross. At the foot of this cross was a rock where
Saint
Thomas, while praying fervently, suffered his martyrdom by a blow from the
lance
of a pagan priest. This happened, according to the Roman Breviary, at
Calamine,
which is in fact Meliapour, for in the language of the people the word
Calurmine
means on the rock (mina). The name was given the site in memory of the
Apostle's
martyrdom.

Reflection: Cast away all disquieting doubts, and learn to triumph over
outlived
weaknesses as Saint Thomas did, who by his ignorance has instructed the
ignorant, and by his incredulity has served the faith of all ages.


Quote:
''Be assured that we shall obtain more grace and merit in
one day by suffering patiently the afflictions that come to us
from God or from our neighbor than we would acquire in ten
years by mortifications and other exercises that are of our
own choice."
-(St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church, 1567-1622)

Bible Quote:
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that
which we have preached to you, let him be anathema. As we said before, so
now I
say again: If any one preach to you a gospel, besides that which you have
received, let him be anathema. (Galatians 1:8-9)


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PSALM 125

[1] They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be
removed,
but abideth for ever.

[2] As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about
his
people from henceforth even for ever.

[3] For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous;
lest
the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.

[4] Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright
in
their hearts.

[5] As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead
them
forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.




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