ST THOMAS; FEAST DAY 22nd DECEMBER

 ST THOMAS; FEAST DAY 22nd DECEMBER


Carravaggio, St Thomas touching Christ's wounds.

Doubting Thomas is famed for his refusal to believe in the Resurrection of Our Lord until he had seen His wounds. His refusal to believe in the absence of concrete evidence is something we all can relate to: We are called to have faith in the Risen Christ, the Son of Man, who is God and whom we cannot see.
The Gospel tells us, John 20:19-31:
At that time, when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews, Jesus came, and stood in the midst of them and said to them: Peace be to you. And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord. He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them: Receive Ye the Holy Ghost: whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain they are retained. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples, therefore, said to him: We have seen the Lord. But he said to them: Except I shall see in His hand the print of His nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe. And after eight days, again His disciples were within and Thomas was with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in their midst, and said: Peace be to you. Then He saith to Thomas: Put in thy finger hither and see My hands and bring hither thy hand and put it into My side; and he not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered and said to Him: My Lord and my God. Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed.
The Communion passage from the Mass of today is from John 20:27:
Put thy hand and know the place of the nails, and be not incredulous, but believing.
The Offertory provides:
Their sound went forth into all the earth; and their words to the ends of the world.
St Thomas doubted the Lord’s Resurrection , but, once he placed his hands in the Holy Wounds, he passed suddenly from incredulity to ardent faith; so much so, that he became one of the greatest Apostolic missionaries - martyred for the faith in India in the first century. That is, he went from scepticism to a faith so strong that he would devote his life to, and would willingly die for, the Risen Christ.
Maria Von Trapp provides for the festivities of this feast day as the day on which Kletzenbrot has to be baked. Klezenbrot is a bread made of dried fruits, made for the family breakfast on Christmas morning and a small loaf for each member of the household. In her tradition, St Thomas’ day is the day to start Christmas baking, delicious treats to hang on the tree, including cookies such as Lebkuchen (or Lebzelten). She does note however, that no-one eats the cookies prior to Christmas, since in her household they abstained from cookies during Advent. (1)
Kletzenbrot
(A bread containing a mixture of dried fruits)
Ingredients
2 cups whole flour
1 cup white flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup chopped figs
1 cup chopped prunes
1 cup chopped dates
½ cup chopped raisins
½ cup chopped currants
DIRECTIONS
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add buttermilk, slowly and stir to a smooth dough. Mix in the nuts and raisins and the rest. Bake in a hot oven for about an hour.
Lebkuchen
A cookie whose name means ‘Bread of Life’
Ingredients
4 eggs, beaten
1 lb brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 oz citron, cut fine
1/4lb almonds
Beat eggs until fluffy. Mix flour and cinnamon with finely chopped nuts and citron; combine the two mixtures. Bake in two greased trays 10x15 inch at 180 degrees for 25 minutes. Frost with plain icing.
Maria Von Trapp, Around the Year with the Von Trapp Family” Sophia, 2018, at pp. 33 et seq.

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