Saints Day
Apropos nothing much, I decided to find out what my Saint's Day is.
I don't actually have one (no Saint Neil, Neal, Niall, or even Nigel - should I be concerned or proud?), so we cycle through to my middle name, the nice and biblical Thomas.
So the original Thomas, is, as we all know an apostle (Feast Day - July 3). Being an Apostle he also gets another feast[1], St Thomas Sunday, better known as the Octave of Easter. This is the first Sunday after Easter Sunday (and thus the eighth day hence octave) and is also known as White Sunday, Whitsunday and Quasimodo Sunday.
Spooky. Weren't we talking about Whitsunday, albeit a different one, just the other day?
Anyway, this Thomas is the Doubting Thomas of biblical fame, the man who refuses to believe in the resurrection without proof. I have much sympathy for his position on this[2], as he's trying to use the scientific method. He then goes on to found churches in Syria, Parthia (Persia) and India[3]; as a result of this, India had a Christian community before Europe. All impressive achievements.
Well, he's okay as a patron saint. I'm hardly going to find any other saints of that name with any links or interests to me, am I?
[1] Why? I don't know. Maybe the Pope could explain it for us.
[2] Unlike John:
[3] Also China, Japan, and Mesoamerica if all the stories about him are to be believed.
I don't actually have one (no Saint Neil, Neal, Niall, or even Nigel - should I be concerned or proud?), so we cycle through to my middle name, the nice and biblical Thomas.
So the original Thomas, is, as we all know an apostle (Feast Day - July 3). Being an Apostle he also gets another feast[1], St Thomas Sunday, better known as the Octave of Easter. This is the first Sunday after Easter Sunday (and thus the eighth day hence octave) and is also known as White Sunday, Whitsunday and Quasimodo Sunday.
Spooky. Weren't we talking about Whitsunday, albeit a different one, just the other day?
Anyway, this Thomas is the Doubting Thomas of biblical fame, the man who refuses to believe in the resurrection without proof. I have much sympathy for his position on this[2], as he's trying to use the scientific method. He then goes on to found churches in Syria, Parthia (Persia) and India[3]; as a result of this, India had a Christian community before Europe. All impressive achievements.
Well, he's okay as a patron saint. I'm hardly going to find any other saints of that name with any links or interests to me, am I?
[1] Why? I don't know. Maybe the Pope could explain it for us.
[2] Unlike John:
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you haveJohn 20:29
believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have
believed."
[3] Also China, Japan, and Mesoamerica if all the stories about him are to be believed.