Plans for the Feast of St. Thomas

by | Jul 3, 2008 | Feast Day Plans, Liturgical Year, Saints | 6 comments

St. Thomas the Apostle

The feast of St. Thomas is celebrated on July 3rd.

We haven’t been celebrating the feast days of the Church much lately, since we have been out of town, and then were busy daily with swimming lessons. I am hoping to change this, starting tomorrow, with the feast of St. Thomas.

In Thomas’ best known appearance in the New Testament, he doubts the resurrection of Jesus and demands to touch Jesus’ sacred wounds before being convinced. The above painting by Caravaggio, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, depicts this scene.

This story is the origin of the term Doubting Thomas. After seeing Jesus alive (the Bible never states whether Thomas actually touched Christ’s wounds), Thomas professed his faith in Jesus, exclaiming “My Lord and my God!”; because of this, he is also called Thomas the Believer. His martyrdom for Christ was further testament of his faith.

Here are a few ideas for the day:

Prayer:

O Lord, we rejoice in the example of St. Thomas, Your Apostle. Grant that we may ever be helped by his prayers and imitate his faith with fervent devotion. Amen.

Food/Snacks:

Reading:

Craft:

  • Color a picture of St. Thomas to add to our Liturgical Notebooks. We will be using the picture of St. Thomas from The Saints Coloring Book Volume 2; and the page titled “My God and my All, have mercy on us.” from our Eucharistic Adoration coloring books.
  • Finger Paint… and maybe even make our own paint!
  • Make Finger Puppets, or a St. Thomas Spoon Saint.

Copywork:

“My Lord and My God!”

Or this poem about St. Thomas (found online) for my older children:

These things did Thomas hold for real:
the warmth of blood, the chill of steel,
the grain of wood, the heft of stone,
the last frail twitch of blood and bone.

His brittle certainties denied
that one could live when one had died,
until his fingers read like Braille
the markings of the spear and nail.

May we, O God, by grace believe
and, in believing, still receive
the Christ who held His raw palms out
and beckoned Thomas from his doubt.

~ author unknown

If any of you have any other ideas, please leave them in the comments, I’d love to hear them! I hope you all have a blessed day!

St. Thomas ~ Pray for us!

6 Comments

  1. Thought and Action

    I assumed today is the Feast of St Irenaeus, a great Bishop and Martyr of the Church. Today is 3rd July.

    Reply
  2. Salve, sancta parens!

    There is more than one Saint honored today July 3. St. Irenaeus, St. Leo II, as well as St. Thomas. All three are great men of God and can be given veneration.

    Reply
  3. Thought and Action

    Yes, that is correct. Perhaps the blog owner will do a little feature or provide a link for further information on these great Saints of the Church.
    Let us venerate these great Saints of the Church.

    Reply
  4. Kathleen Miller

    Therese,

    May you and your family have a Blessed Fourth of July and weekend!!!

    God Bless America!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  5. Jessica Gordon

    Credo and Salve, Sancte Parens ~

    There are actually at least 5 feasts that can be celebrated on July 3. In the old rite, St. Irenaeus was honored yesterday, as well as St. Heliodorus and St. Leo II. You may also want to know that traditional rites in the diocese of Brooklyn and Los Angeles Commemorate All Holy Popes on July 3. We are not fortunate enough to have the extraordinary rite offered in our area and here we honor St. Thomas. Yesterday, we also read to our children about St. Heliodorus who is on the traditional calendar for July 3.

    We celebrate both calendars. St. Thomas happens to be one of the patron saints of one of my boys, hence the extra devotion.

    God Bless!
    Jessica

    Reply

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