Thomas

Thomas   "'Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.'
   "Thomas said to him, 'Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?'
   "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way and the truth 5 and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.'" (John 14:1-7)

Thomas. He was also called Didymus which is the Greek version of his name. Not easily convinced, he has the nickname “Doubting Thomas” because he wanted to actually see and touch Jesus after His Resurrection. “The eighth of the apostles in Mark’s lists, as well as in Matthew’s and Luke’s, though the sixth in the Acts, is Thomas. Nothing more is said of him in the New Testament except in the Gospel of John, where he appears in chapters 11; 14; 20; 21. He is on the whole a shadowy figure; we hardly know even his name, which is the Hebrew for “Twin,” as Didymus, given in John, chapters 11; 20; 21, is the Greek. Neither Thomas (in Hebrew) nor Didymus (the Greek equivalent of it) have been found among proper names of that period” (Edgar J. Goodspeed. The Twelve, The Story of Christ’s Apostles. New York: Collier Books, 1962. p. 52).

    Saint Thomas, whose feast is celebrated on July 3, is remembered for giving us one of the clearest declarations of the divinity of Jesus.  Thomas was absent from the upper room when Jesus appeared to the apostles following His Resurrection.  Because he refused to believe the apostles when they told him of the appearance of Jesus, he is often called “ Doubting Thomas.” However,  his doubt changed to deep seated faith when Jesus appeared to him and told him to put his hands in the marks of the nails and his hand into His side.  It was then that Thomas proclaimed, “My Lord and My God!”
    Thomas is pictured in this window holding a spear in his right hand symbolizing the manner of his death.  In his left hand he holds a carpenter’s square symbolizing his building achievements throughout India where he built churches with his own hands.  In the lower picture is another carpenter’s square along with arrows which were used in the unsuccessful attempt on his life.  The top picture symbolizing Poverty shows an empty bag, a symbol of total self-giving.  (Compiled by Phyllis Evans)

Thomas the twin, General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI, 09/27/06