FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS, APOSTLE AND MARTYR; SAINT LEO II, POPE AND SAINT HELIODORUS OF ALTINUM, BISHOP ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 3RD Today, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle and Martyr; Saint Leo II, Pope and Saint Heliodorus of Altinum, Bishop. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases and eye diseases. We pray for all architects and construction workers. We pray for the poor and needy, for justice, peace and unity in our families and our world. And we continue to pray for the Church, the Clergy, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏🏽
SAINT THOMAS, APOSTLE AND MARTYR: St. Thomas also called Didymus (twin) was a Jew and one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. St. Thomas is commonly known as “Doubting Thomas” because he doubted Jesus’ resurrection when first told of it; later, he confessed his faith on seeing Jesus’ crucifixion wounds. He has become for the Church one of the first witnesses to her faith. St. Thomas was a dedicated but impetuous follower of Christ. When Jesus said that He was returning to Judea to visit His sick friend Lazarus, St. Thomas immediately exhorted the other Apostles to accompany Him on the trip, which involved certain danger and possible death because of the mounting hostility of the authorities,, he immediately said to the other apostles, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” (Jn 11: 16). At the Last Supper, when Christ told His Apostles that He was going to prepare a place for them to which they also might come because they knew both the place and the way, St. Thomas pleaded that they did not understand and received the beautiful assurance that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. But St. Thomas is best known for his role in verifying the Resurrection of His Master. St. Thomas’s unwillingness to believe that the other Apostles had seen their Risen Lord on the first Easter Sunday merit for him the title of “doubting Thomas”. Denying their story, he told them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in His side, I will not believe” (Jn 20:25). Eight days later, on Christ’s second apparition, St. Thomas was gently rebuked for his skepticism and furnished with the evidence he had demanded— Christ appeared and said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” At this, St. Thomas became convinced and exclaimed: “My Lord and my God!” thus making a public Profession of Faith in the Divinity of Jesus. St. Thomas is also mentioned as being present at another Resurrection appearance of Jesus—at Lake Tiberias when a miraculous catch of fish occurred.
After Pentecost, St. Thomas is traditionally believed to have evangelize and preached the Gospel to the Parthians, Persians and Medes, until he reached India, carrying the faith to the Malabar coast, which still boast a large native population calling themselves “Christians of St. Thomas”. He capped his life by shedding his blood for his Master, speared to death at a place called Calamine, where he evangelised and was eventually martyred in 72 A.D. He converted many to Christ, worked miracles, and established the Church in the East. One tradition holds that on his way to India he met and baptized the Three Wise Men of the Nativity who first venerated Jesus at Bethlehem. St. Thomas is also remembered for being a skilled carpenter, and according to Indian tradition he built the first churches in India with his own hands. Due to his main work and martyrdom to India, he is also called the “Apostle of India.” In his general audience on September 27, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of St. Thomas, explaining that we can learn from his doubts, which show us “that Jesus can now be recognised by his wounds rather than by his face.” “The Apostle Thomas’ case is important to us for at least three reasons,” said the Pope. “First, because it comforts us in our insecurity; second, because it shows us that every doubt can lead to an outcome brighter than any uncertainty; and, lastly, because the words that Jesus addressed to him remind us of the true meaning of mature faith and encourage us to persevere, despite the difficulty, along our journey of adhesion to him.” He’s the Patron Saint of architects; against doubt; blind people; builders; construction workers; Malaysia; Indonesia; East Indies; geometricians; India; masons; Pakistan; people in doubt; Sri Lanka; stone masons; stonecutters; Singapore; surveyors; theologians. His feast day is July 3rd.
PRAYER: PRAYER: Grant, almighty God, that we may glory in the Feast of the blessed Apostle Thomas, so that we may always be sustained by his intercession and, believing, may have life in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, whom Thomas acknowledged as the Lord. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever… Amen🙏🏽
SAINT LEO II, POPE: Pope Saint Leo II (611-683) was the bishop of Rome from August 17, 682 to his death on June 28, 683. He was one of the last Popes of the early Middle Ages. The pontificate of this great Pope was very brief (682-683) but very fruitful, since in the ten months of his reign he accomplished good works which have caused his name to be blessed by all succeeding generations. His short pontificate marked by his translation of sections of the acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople from Greek to Latin so bishops and kings in Western churches could understand them. He also called out Pope Honorius for not opposing the long-running Monothelite heresy, the belief that Jesus Christ had two natures but only one will. St. Leo II also perfected the melodies of the Gregorian chant for the Psalms and composed some new hymns.
Born in the seventh century in Sicily, St. Leo II had been a Canon Regular, that is, an ecclesiastical dignitary who resided in his bishop’s palace, was charged with recitation of the Office in the cathedral, and was relied upon to serve as the auxiliary of the Ordinary. Saint Leo was a devout student of Holy Scripture, and was well versed in the Greek as well as the Latin language. In his day grave difficulties frequently arose between the Holy See and the emperors of Constantinople, whose representatives at Ravenna tried to control the bishops of that see; the latter had been striving to become autonomous. Saint Leo published a decree ordering that in the future no bishop of Ravenna could enter into function before being consecrated for that office at Rome, by the Roman Pontiff.
He built three churches in Rome, to honor Saint Paul the Apostle, Saint Sebastian, and Saint George. Saint Leo was highly gifted in the domain of music, and he renovated the Gregorian literature or library, then in a state of confusion; he also composed new hymns, still conserved by the Church. He took special care of widows and orphans and the poor in general, relieving their sufferings with a truly apostolic charity. Saint Leo confirmed the Acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Council which his predecessor had convoked at Constantinople against the Monothelite heresy, and translated its acts into Latin for the benefit of the Occidentals. When he died in June of 683, his death was deeply regretted by all the faithful. He was interred according to established custom in the church of Saint Peter. He is ordinarily pictured embracing a beggar or holding a book of music.
Saint Leo II, Pope ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
SAINT HELIODORUS OF ALTINUM, BISHOP: St. Heliodorus (332-390), also known as Heliodorus of Altino and Eliodoro. A soldier in his youth. Close friend and financial supporter of Saint Jerome, and helped with the logistics of the translation of the Vulgate Bible. Followed Jerome to the east, but declined the life of a desert hermit. Bishop of Altinum, a small town near Venice, Italy which has since disappeared. Fierce opponent of Arianism.
Saint Heliodorus was born in 332 AD in Croatia, Dalmatia, a Roman Province northeast of the Adriatic Sea, which was also the native land of Saint Jerome. He ended up working in Altinum, Italy. He soon Stoughton out that great Doctor, not only to follow his advice in matters relating to Christian perfection, but also to profit by his deep learning. The life of a recluse held great attractions for him, but to enter a monastery it would have been necessary to leave his spiritual master and director, a sacrifice he was not prepared to make. He therefore remained in the world, though not part of it, and following the example of the holy anchorites, passed his time in prayer and devout reading. He accompanied Saint Jerome on his voyage to the Holy Land, visiting the various churches of the Orient, and remained with him for a time, but a desire to revisit his native land and to see his parents once more drew him back to Dalmatia. Saint Jerome tried to persuade him to remain with him, and Heliodorus was intending to return, as soon as he had fulfilled the duties he owed his parents.
Finding his absence had grown prolonged, and fearing that love for his family and attachment to worldly things might lure him from his vocation, Saint Jerome wrote him an earnest letter. He exhorted his good disciple to break entirely with the world and to consecrate himself to the service of God. But the Lord, who disposes all things, had a mission of activity reserved for His servant. After the death of his mother, Heliodorus went to Italy and soon was remarked for his eminent piety. He was made Bishop of Altino, and became one of the most distinguished prelates of an age fruitful in great men. He sustained the Catholic faith against the Arian heresy, assisting at the Council of Aquilea in northeastern Italy, called for that purpose in 381. Saint Jerome never forgot his former student, and in one of his letters testifies that he was a bishop who lived in his episcopal dignity with as much fervor and regularity as in a monastery. Saint Heliodorus died about the year 390 A.D. of natural causes.
St. Heliodorus, Bishop of Altinum ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽