The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle, exhort us to exercise our human talents and testing to contemplate the Way and Action that strengthens our faith, hope and love.
The Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians proclaims we are One in Christ.
* [2:11–22] The Gentiles lacked Israel’s messianic expectation, lacked the various covenants God made with Israel, lacked hope of salvation and knowledge of the true God (Eph 2:11–12); but through Christ all these religious barriers between Jew and Gentile have been transcended (Eph 2:13–14) by the abolition of the Mosaic covenant-law (Eph 2:15) for the sake of uniting Jew and Gentile into a single religious community (Eph 2:15–16), imbued with the same holy Spirit and worshiping the same Father (Eph 2:18). The Gentiles are now included in God’s household (Eph 2:19) as it arises upon the foundation of apostles assisted by those endowed with the prophetic gift (Eph 3:5), the preachers of Christ (Eph 2:20; cf. 1 Cor 12:28). With Christ as the capstone (Eph 2:20; cf. Is 28:16; Mt 21:42), they are being built into the holy temple of God’s people where the divine presence dwells (Eph 2:21–22). (Ephesians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.) (Ephesians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 117 calls on the nations to acknowledge God’s supremacy.
* [Psalm 117] This shortest of hymns calls on the nations to acknowledge God’s supremacy. The supremacy of Israel’s God has been demonstrated to them by the people’s secure existence, which is owed entirely to God’s gracious fidelity. (Psalms, PSALM 117 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus appears to Thomas.
* [20:19–29] The appearances to the disciples, without or with Thomas (cf. Jn 11:16; 14:5), have rough parallels in the other gospels only for Jn 20:19–23; cf. Lk 24:36–39; Mk 16:14–18.
* [20:28] My Lord and my God: this forms a literary inclusion with the first verse of the gospel: “and the Word was God.”
* [20:29] This verse is a beatitude on future generations; faith, not sight, matters. (John, CHAPTER 20 | USCCB, n.d.)
Mike Cherney comments that much of what we know about the universe comes from realities we cannot directly observe. We infer the existence of quarks, black holes, and dark matter from their effects. Evidence points beyond itself to a deeper reality; we also are willing to revise our understanding as we learn more.
I feel that faith may work in a somewhat analogous way. It is not belief without reason; it is trust grounded in signs, testimony, experience, and encounter. I feel that faith too can be dynamic.
The reading from Ephesians reminds us that we are “members of the household of God,” built upon the foundation of the apostles. Thomas, despite his “doubts”, is one of those foundation stones. Indeed, he is often credited as being the first great missionary to the East. My sense is that the Church does not rest upon people who never questioned. It rests upon ordinary men and women whose lives were transformed by their encounter with Christ.
We live in a culture that often imagines faith and reason to be adversaries. Yet Thomas shows us that honest questions can become pathways to a deeper knowledge. I have a sense that doubt is not the opposite of faith, rather indifference is. The opposite of faith may be closing ourselves to the possibility that truth may be greater than our current understanding.
On this feast day, my prayer focuses on the insights we might gain from Thomas the Apostle.
Dear Lord,
I feel drawn to bring both my mind and my heart to You.
Help me to grow in and through my search for answers.
Guide me in a sincere quest for understanding in the laboratory, in the classroom, and in the depths of prayer.
Help me discover, as Thomas did, how the search itself leads me to You. (Cherney, 2026)
Don Schwager quotes Touching the wounds of Christ and healing the wounds of our unbelief, by Gregory the Great (540-604 AD)
"It was not an accident that that particular disciple was not present. The divine mercy ordained that a doubting disciple should, by feeling in his Master the wounds of the flesh, heal in us the wounds of unbelief. The unbelief of Thomas is more profitable to our faith than the belief of the other disciples. For the touch by which he is brought to believe confirms our minds in belief, beyond all question." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 26) (Cherney, 2026)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 20:24-29 comments that as we celebrate St. Thomas’ feast day today, let’s consider this famous Gospel scene in light of our own faith in the risen Lord. We know that faith is a gift from God. But it also requires a response on our part: we must “not be unbelieving, but believe” (John 20:27). We have to decide that we will believe, even when we don’t have the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection that Thomas did—and sometimes even when we still have doubts.
Thomas’ initial skepticism didn’t prevent him from becoming a saint. In the same way, your doubts can be the gateway to greater faith. Whenever you are struggling, make the decision to believe, and then be patient. Just as he did with Thomas, the risen Lord will reveal himself to you!
“Jesus, even when I am filled with doubts, I trust in you!” (Meditation on John 20:24-29, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that the Letter to the Ephesians speaks about both Jews and Gentiles as part of the household of God, the foundation of the Church. When Jesus rose on Easter, Thomas had not seen the Risen Jesus. He wants proof and Jesus appears to him a week later. The risen Jesus appears still bearing the wounds for us. Ironically, “Doubting Thomas” gives the greatest expression of faith in the Gospel. The path from doubt to a stronger faith, like Thomas, is based on what disciples saw and experienced. Friar Jude reminds us that Jesus has blessed those that can trust what they have not physically experienced.
Father Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that for the theologian Diana L. Hayes, the question “Who am I?” is a central question for people of faith.
We are all our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper. God has placed upon all of us the responsibility of following in God’s own footsteps, of loving all people as God loves us, of seeking their greater good rather than our own individual success. We can only do this by letting go of the “isms” that continue to plague humanity—negativisms based on race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexual orientation, and religious creed. We must begin to remove the blinders we have placed on ourselves that restrict our vision, blinding us to the light of God shining through the face of all God’s people. We must come together as one, seeking to build a community of the faithful that rejects a narrow, dualistic perception of life.
“Who do you, God, say that we are?” We are your children, lost and wandering in a confusing and confused world, but never abandoned, never forsaken, never alone. We are your chosen ones, given knowledge of life and death, and the ability through your grace to use that knowledge to choose life in all of its diversity and to transform this world into your reign. This is our challenge for the coming century and perhaps for the new millennium. May we continue to be blessed with the wisdom and love of God in order to reclaim our full life in the Spirit and be transformed. (Rohr, n.d.)
We seek the guidance of the Spirit as we reach out to touch people and places where we seek to understand our role in being disciples who live and love in Jesus Way.
References
Cherney, M. (2026, July 3). Daily Reflection July 3, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved July 3, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-july-3-2026
Ephesians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 3, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/2?
John, CHAPTER 20 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 3, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/20?
Meditation on John 20:24-29. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved July 3, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/07/03/1607294/
Psalms, PSALM 117 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 3, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/117?
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Who Do You Say That We Are? Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved July 3, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/who-do-you-say-that-we-are/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Do Not Be Faithless - but Believing. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 3, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
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