Our Saint of the Day is the patron of India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka! ✝️
July 3, 2025
Dear Friend,
As the world struggles with war, violence, and aggression, I think about St. Francis of Assisi. In particular when...
Two saints changed the world. The son of a wealthy cloth merchant and a young woman of noble birth might seem an unlikely pair to lead a holy militia devoted to austerity and radical simplicity. But in Francis and Clare, seekers who sought to live the Gospel had two holy warriors to follow.
In his St. Anthony Messenger article, “Francis and Clare: Assisi’s Most Dangerous Citizens,” Father Pat McCloskey, OFM, writes that the two saints “did not promote change merely for the sake of change. Francis and Clare simply responded to their society’s hunger for deeper conversion to Jesus’ way.”
And that is our sacred calling at Franciscan Media: to help bridge the Gospels to the wider world. Join us with your gift today!
Poor Thomas! He made one remark and has been branded as “Doubting Thomas” ever since. But if he doubted, he also believed. He made what is certainly the most explicit statement of faith in the New Testament: “My Lord and My God!” and, in so expressing his faith, gave Christians a prayer that will be said till the end of time. He also occasioned a compliment from Jesus to all later Christians: “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20:29).
Thomas should be equally well-known for his courage. Perhaps what he said was impetuous—since he ran, like the rest, at the showdown—but he can scarcely have been insincere when he expressed his willingness to die with Jesus. The occasion was when Jesus proposed to go to Bethany after Lazarus had died. Since Bethany was near Jerusalem, this meant walking into the very midst of his enemies and to almost certain death. Realizing this, Thomas said to the other apostles, “Let us also go to die with him” (John 11:16b).
Reflection
Thomas shares the lot of Peter the impetuous, James and John, the “sons of thunder,” Philip and his foolish request to see the Father—indeed all the apostles in their weakness and lack of understanding. We must not exaggerate these facts, however, for Christ did not pick worthless men. But their human weakness again points up the fact that holiness is a gift of God, not a human creation; it is given to ordinary men and women with weaknesses; it is God who gradually transforms the weaknesses into the image of Christ, the courageous, trusting, and loving one.
Saint Thomas is the Patron Saint of:
Architects/Builders/Construction Workers/Surveyors India Pakistan Sri Lanka Theologians
Although we are baptized and confirmed only once, the effects of these sacraments continue to affect us daily. Every time we dip our fingers into holy water and make the sign of the cross, we profess our dying and rising to new life in Christ. The gifts of the Holy Spirit offered at Confirmation are released only as we have the grace to embrace them. The Holy Spirit, alive in us, enables us to have a fruitful faith. In 1984, I contracted breast cancer. Before surgery, I received the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. When the priest laid hands on me, a sense of peace entered my being and has remained. Regardless of the outcome, I knew all would be well.
God has given us the sacraments to draw us into deeper relationship with him. Who would refuse such grace-filled gifts?
Independence Day is a time for patriotism and picnics, to be sure. A different way to think about this national holiday is to consider what our freedom actually opens up for us. Read between the lines of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, and you might be surprised to find the notion of Christian love and fraternity is truly at the root of our great nation.
Pray
We are free. That’s an amazing thing to behold, and we wouldn’t have that freedom without it being made available to us by you, Lord.
And more than free to simply do what we want, we are free to love with abandon, to build your kingdom in the here and now.
We’re free to share and amplify freedom where it is being stifled by oppression, racism, sexism, or classism.
We’re free to be compassionate, and paradoxically, free to be servants. It’s what you want us to do. It’s what your Son taught us to do when he washed the feet of his followers.
Today, we celebrate the beauty that is freedom. In God we do truly trust.
Act
Is there a part of you that is tethered or restrained from being free? Perhaps there is a relationship that is unhealthy, a lifestyle choice that is holding you back, or some other stumbling block. Think of how freedom from those obstacles might bring you closer to peace and closer to God.
Today's Pause+Pray was written by Daniel Imwalle. Learn more here!
