Daily Devotional

In his joy, Jesus presents a special invitation to everyone who may be troubled, disturbed, harassed and dejected like sheep without a shepherd (Cf. Matthew 10:36). What is this invitation? “Come to me, all who labour and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. (Matthew 11:28-29) Coming to Jesus implies learning from Him. We cannot say we have come to Jesus if we fail to learn from Him.

New wine is good. Old wine is also good. The problem is using old wineskins to store new wine or vice versa. This parable points to the importance of timing. Your plans may be perfect, but if it isn’t the right time, you will pour new wine into an old wineskin. For instance, Amos’ prophecy of a time of restoration for Israel came hundreds of years later in Jesus Christ. That was the right time, neither earlier nor later.

The life of St. Thomas, whom we celebrate today, is a typical example of a saint who was just like you and me. He had every reason to doubt the resurrection of Christ because nothing like that had ever happened before. However, when Jesus showed Himself to Thomas, he fell to his knees and worshipped Jesus, saying, “My Lord and My God!”