The EquipCast

Coach's Corner 4: St. Thomas & The Power of Belonging

Episode  |  March 28th, 2023  |  11 mins 30 secs

belonging in faith, catholic church teachings, christian community engagement, christianity, discipleship, evangelization, faith transformation, religious inclusivity, spiritual encounter, st. thomas the apostle, welcome

Why wasn’t St. Thomas with the other apostles when Jesus appeared? I used to imagine that he was doing some mundane task like buying groceries. But, if we read the passage carefully, it’s likely he was absent because he didn’t want to be with the other apostles. Jesus could have appeared at any time; if Thomas was only “gone to the store”, he could have waited. Additionally, Thomas’s response to the news of the resurrection is stubborn (and maybe a tad obnoxious) disbelief. In today’s Coach’s Corner, I ask the question: How do we help those in the same place as St. Thomas, the stubbornly disbelieving? Tune in to hear how helping a person belong can also help them to believe. The goal is to make non-believers feel accepted and engaged in the community, creating a path toward embracing faith and living a life of discipleship.