Homily on the Second Sunday of Pascha: Thomas Sunday
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Jn 20:19-31
Christ is Risen from the dead – Trampling down death by death and upon those in the tombs He is bestowing life!
The Sunday of the Apostle Thomas is a wonderful commemoration because it reminds many of us that it is not the end of the world if we harbor doubt within ourselves from time to time; one of the twelve Great Apostles doubted (had to learn to place human logic aside when the spiritual was in question) even up until the end of his earthly life.
Thus, after Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden of Eden, they were subject to many things such as hunger, sickness, poor mental health, the feeling of the absence of God and descending into the nether most regions! (hades)
Furthermore, to doubt in holy and heavenly things is the very mark of the fall of our first parents (Adam and Eve). Moreover, it is a slight defect in order to keep us grounded so as to not allow the air of holiness to get to our heads; the same reason many of the great Saints struggled with their own issues during their earthly lives – the problem with certain monastic writings that do not understand earthly problems nor how to deal with them!
Therefore, for such a long time I had a burning desire to serve God as a priest, however I also wanted to start my own family as a husband and father. As a young teenager - to figure out which of the two lifestyles to choose from nearly sent me to the mad house; I wanted clarity in my life: as we say in our Italian native tongue ero desperado! I was desperate
Alas, God in his loving kindness presented me with His one and only Orthodox Church where He answered my prayers from my teenage years and granted me the grace to marry my loving wife Lianna, becoming a dad to two beautiful but cheeky girls and in 3 upcoming weeks: consecrate me to His royal priesthood!
Thus, something that I had completely given up on and thought “never in a billion years”: being a priest and a married man, has been made possible through Christ and His promise to us - "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Mt 7:7 Therefore, prayers and requests that stem from the heart are granted abundantly and what is impossible for us is made possible in God within His Orthodox (rendering God true worship in the glory of His communion of Saints) Church.
Moreover, as many know we are in full communion with our sister Orthodox Church in Italy which is under the omophorion of Metropolitan Basillio alongside other Churches and bishops of the orthodox Church in Ukraine, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria and we here in Australia have wonderful ties with the Macedonian Church!
Having stated thus, to have routes steaming from Italy is a wonderful feeling because we Italians were robbed of Holy Orthodoxy as the great schism in 1054AD swept through most of Europ and beyond!
Therefore, to see Orthodoxy being restored in the lands of Italy is truly heartwarming and joyous to behold. That is why in this exarchate we have made it our mission to firstly minister to All people but we are re-educating the Australian Italian community and re-evangelizing via restoring their one true Apostolic faith! Let us remember that most of Italy was under the protection of the Patriarchate of Constantinople before the violent oppression occurred!
This Saturday the Church celebrates the feast day of the Apostle Mark.
Whilst we are still talking about Orthodoxy being the rightful faith of the Italians, it is interesting to note that in Italy many Churches are dedicated to him.
In early Christianity when it was still Orthodox, many monks of the Alexandrian desert and Syria ministered in Italy. Of course, we know that the Apostle Mark brought the faith to Alaxandria and its regions. Let us also remember that many of these monks brought the orthodox faith to the lands of Britain forming the Celtic Church belonging to the one and only orthodox faith!
Having stated thus, that is the very reason why we see in many caves and Churches throughout Italy the depiction of iconography that is in the Syro-coptic style; a testament to their presence and our heritage!
Moreover, many monasteries were founded be these very monks, for example: St. Isaac the Syrian who was a renowned Theologian and mystic who was Abbott at a monetary in Spoleto in the region of Umbria and providence of Perugia.
Hence, remnants of Orthodoxy are present all over Italy, for example the island of Sicily where my family is from was referred to as - “Manga Grecia” meaning greater Greece where that the Greeks Christians converted the Sicilian pagans to Christ! In addition, various Churches throughout Sicily (Cefalu’), as the par excellence of an example renders testimony to the Byzantine Church under Constantinople.
Therefore, let our prayers be with the Italians of the world who have lost all hope and are in despair due to spiritual starvation.... The tragedy with migrant children and their children's children in the diaspora is that they not only do not practice their faith but don’t have an idea of what it is let alone knowing jhow to make the sign of the cross properly! May the Lord show them the way to His Church so that they may be refreshed in Him the life-giving Spring!
Moreover, the world celebrates and recognize the mums of society today although it is not a Church affair, I would like to extend a happy Mother's Day to all mothers and mothers that have lost their child/children via miscarriage, health complications or accidents. May the Mother of all mothers our Blessed Mother Mariam Theotokos who Jesus gave us at the foot of the cross intercede for you all - shelter and protect you all the days of your lives!
Through the intercessions of the Theotokos and Her Spouse Joseph: Lord Jesus Christ our God have mercy on us and save us!
Christ is Risen – Truly He is Risen!
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