St. Thomas and the Marine Corps

Ask any Marine what the two most important Latin words to remember are, and they will tell you, "Semper Fidelis," translated, "Always Faithful."

I'll be the first to admit it, I don't always pay 100% attention 100% of the time in Church, however, every now and again I have moments of concentration, and I do pick up a thing or two. Having said that, last night at Mass, the Homily stuck out to me. The Gospel reading was from John, about the Apostles locked in the room after Jesus's resurrection, frightened for their lives. Jesus appeared to them, "Though the door was locked" and showed them his wounds and said "Let the Spirit be upon you, yadda, yadda, yadda" (If you question the legitimacy of the quote, let me remind you, He was Jewish). Later, Thomas, the only Apostle absent from the miracle, was told of the happenings. He replied, "Yeah, right, and let me guess, Pontius came and said, 'It wasn't my fault,' right?" However, Jesus then appeared to Thomas so that he could believe, and that concluded the story.

Now, I always thought that the term "Doubting Thomas" meant that Thomas, when informed of Jesus' return, said, "B.S. No way he came back to life. He's dead, deader than dead, you were there John, you saw him die, He's breathed his last, quit, kaput," and it wasn't until he actually saw Jesus with his own eyes that he believed.

However, if one reads between the lines, this is not in fact, the case. Lets ask ourselves, "Where was Thomas when Jesus made his appearance? Was he out picking up the Chinese food to bring back to the other Apostles? Was he out for a stroll waiting for the Romans to come and kill him? Was he singin' gangsta and rollin' fatties down at Club Golgotha?" I think not. Before he died, Jesus told his Apostles to spread his word and bring the good news to the masses. Thomas was the only one following directions! He was the only one out in the streets preaching and telling all who would listen of the man he had come to know as the Messiah! He was spreading the Gospel!

When he heard from the other Apostles that Jesus came to them and said, "Hey, it's me! I'm here, in the flesh! Go spread my word," Of course Thomas said, "Yeah, suuure He did." What Thomas doubted and couldn't believe was that even having seen Jesus post-resurrection, the Apostles were still locked in the room! I'm sure he must have gone Ape-poop on them saying, "What are you still doing here?!?" What Thomas meant when he said, "Until I put my fingers into the holes of this hands, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe," what he was actually saying was, "Until I see for myself what you saw, I will not believe that you saw him too, because if you had, you'd be out there with me, spreading the good news."

Thomas never for a moment doubted Jesus' return. He never once thought that his Lord had abandoned him. That, my friends, is the true meaning of Semper Fidelis.

For a brief explanation of the phrase, "Semper Fi" and the United States Marine Corps, go here.