Homily: July 3, 2023, Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle.

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Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

I have been asked numerous times, "Are your parents Christians?" or "How long has your family been Catholic?" 

Because I come from a Hindu-majority, Christian-minority country, many people wonder if my family and I are recent converts to the faith.

Do you also wonder the same?

Well, we - my family line, have been Catholics for around 19 centuries, without a break. Effectively, we have always been Catholic. Long before the evangelization of some European countries, St. Thomas the Apostle had already brought the Gospel to India.

Tradition says that St. Thomas went to India in 52 A.D. after proclaiming the Gospel in Persia. He spent 20 years in India, forming seven church communities in South India, and was eventually martyred in Chennai in 72 A.D.

It's important to note that St. Thomas did not go to India to preach the Gospel to Hindus. In fact, he went there in search of the Jews. 

pIn ancient times, there was a significant Jewish settlement in South India, and his mission was to reach out to the scattered Jewish communities in the Indian subcontinent.

Thanks to the evangelization of St. Thomas, thousands of priests and religious from India, including myself, are now serving different parts of the world today. The evangelization route seems to be coming back full circle.

St. Thomas was the only apostle among the twelve who ventured outside the Roman Empire to preach the Good News.

Doubting Thomas became fearless Thomas.

He went out to all the world and told the Good News.

Do we have the same courage as St. Thomas, to live and die for what we believe?

Or do we compromise our faith to conform to the world?

May we too, go out to all the world and proclaim the Good News fearlessly, in the way we live, speak and act. Amen.


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