Yesus, Maria, Yusuf Pelayanan Kasih (Blessed and Saints and The Nine Choirs of Angels): 3 July 2026 (Friday)

Thursday, July 2, 2026

3 July 2026 (Friday) | Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle

3 July 2026 (Friday)

Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle

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First Reading: Ephesians 2:19–22
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 117:1bc, 2; ℟. Mark 16:15
Gospel acclamation: Alleluia: John 20: 29
Gospel: John 20:24–29
Liturgical year 2026 (Cycle A/II)
Liturgical color: Red

Hymn

O fathers of our ancient faith,

With all the heav’ns we sing your fame

Whose sound went forth in all the earth

To tell of Christ and bless His name.

You took the gospel to the poor,

The word of God alight in you,

Which in our day is told again:

That timeless word, forever new.

You told of God who died for us

And out of death triumphant rose,

Who gave the truth that made us free,

And changeless through the ages goes.

Like sparks among the straw, you ran

To set the universe ablaze,

To kindle love of Christ the Lord

And take his peace on all your ways.

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost

Whose gift is faith that never dies:

A light in darkness now, until

The day-star in our hearts arise.

First Reading: Ephesians 2:19–22
Built upon the foundation of the Apostles.

(Reader) A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians.

Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
   but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
   and members of the household of God,
   built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
   with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
   and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
   in him you also are being built together
   into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

(Reader) The Word of the Lord.

(All) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 117:1bc, 2 ℟. (Mark 16:15)
℟. (Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

Praise the Lord, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!

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

For steadfast is his kindness for us,
and the fidelity of the Lord endures forever.

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

Gospel acclamation: Alleluia: John 20: 29

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: John 20:24–29

My Lord and my God.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to John.

(All) Glory to you, O Lord.

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
   was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him,“We have seen the Lord.”
But Thomas said to them,
   “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
   and put my finger into the nailmarks
   and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
   and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
   and stood in their midst and said,“Peace be with you.”
Then he 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.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

(Reader) The Gospel of the Lord.

(All) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

For our reflection today:

This devotional material is suitable for all levels of society, especially for personal, family and community use. Every group and community as well as the Congregation in the Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels) are encouraged to use it freely.

The words of the Popes.

"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). Basically, from these words emerges the conviction that Jesus can now be recognized by his wounds rather than by his face. Thomas holds that the signs that confirm Jesus' identity are now above all his wounds, in which he reveals to us how much he loved us. In this the Apostle is not mistaken. Jesus reappeared among his disciples eight days later and this time Thomas was present. Jesus summons him: "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing" (Jn 20: 27).

Thomas reacts with the most splendid profession of faith in the whole of the New Testament: "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20: 28). St Augustine comments on this: Thomas "saw and touched the man, and acknowledged the God whom he neither saw nor touched; but by the means of what he saw and touched, he now put far away from him every doubt, and believed the other" (In ev. Jo. 121, 5). The Evangelist continues with Jesus' last words to Thomas: "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" (Jn 20: 29). This sentence can also be put into the present: "Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe". In any case, here Jesus spells out a fundamental principle for Christians who will come after Thomas, hence, for all of us. (Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 27 September 2006)

INTERCESSIONS (Morning Prayer)

Since we have received from the apostles our heavenly inheritance, let us thank our Father for all his blessings.
– Lord, the apostles sing your praises.
Praise to you Lord God, for the gift of Christ’s body and blood, handed on by the apostles, to give us strength and life;
– Lord, the apostles sing your praises.
For the table of your word, served by the apostles, to bring us light and joy;
– Lord, the apostles sing your praises.
For your holy Church, built on the apostles, to make us all one body;
– Lord, the apostles sing your praises.
For the washing of baptism and penance, entrusted to the apostles, to cleanse our hearts from sin;

– Lord, the apostles sing your praises.

Additional prayers: After these prayers have been prayed, all of you may use prayers in your own words spontaneously and according to your individual circumstances and situations.

Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Concluding Prayer

Father, let our celebration of the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle

be the source of his unfailing help and protection.

Fill us with your life-giving grace

through faith in your Son, Jesus,

whom Thomas acknowledged to be his Lord and God.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

DISMISSAL

When a priest or deacon presides over the Office and no other Hour follows:

Priest: The Lord be with you.

All: And with your spirit.

May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

℟. Amen.

When no priest or deacon is present, or in recitation on one’s own, the conclusion is as follows:

The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.

℟. Amen.

Hymn

Now let the heavens with joy resound,

And earth the chant re-echo round;

Nor heaven nor earth too high can raise

The great Apostles’ glorious praise.

Theirs was the steadfast faith of saints,

The unconquered hope that never faints,

The perfect love of Christ to know,

That lays the praise of this world low.

In them the Father’s glory shone,

In them the Spirit’s will was done;

The Son’s glad praise to them is given,

With joy resound the courts of heaven.

To thee, Redeemer, now we cry,

That with this glorious band on high,

Through endless ages, by thy grace,

Thy servants also may have place.

INTERCESSIONS (Evening Prayer)

Since we are part of a building that has the apostles for its foundation, let us pray to the Father for his holy people.