Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle

Good morning. Today we receive from Saint Thomas the Apostle assurance that it is perfectly normal to at times have uncertainties. Our Lord’s words to Thomas were “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” 

In reflecting upon the brief encounters we have of the life of Saint Thomas and upon these words from today’s Gospel I found myself thinking about the uncertainties and doubts of childhood and our jobs as parents to help our children overcome those uncertainties. Again we find ourselves looking to this ‘Doubting Thomas’, to his words just prior to Our Lord’s Passion “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” This offers us a very precious teaching, it exemplifies for us a total belonging to Jesus. Where He goes, we go. 

So too this is with children, where we go as parents, so go our children. Children look to follow us and come to feel secure in the love provided for them by us, their parents, and the doubts and uncertainties that come naturally with finding their way through life are safely and securely met and overcome with the certainty and love we, their parents, have ready to offer. Children likewise learn to venture forth with certainty through the confidence we as parents extend to them to do the right things and to make the right choices. Unfortunately we are increasingly sending the wrong message to our children, we see this so clearly with our approach to making sexual choices; we say to them “we know you are going to have sex, so the best thing you can do is use a condom and practice safe sex.” There are all kinds of things wrong with such a statement, but one thing for certain is it suggests we do not expect much of them and that we have little confidence in them to make the right choice. Children learn to make the right choices by living the truth, by seeing and hearing the truth lived out in their parents; and by allowing our children to make decisions and choices, they learn to be responsible and to trust themselves. As parents we need to rejoice in our children’s achievements and let them know we love and appreciate who they are. We raise children of conviction by exemplifying conviction in our own lives. If our children have been shown the way they will not get lost. Make a great day! 

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and work of Saint Thomas the Apostle.