VICAR

Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and healthy and that You enjoyed Easter celebrations last weekend.

The Sunday after Easter is unofficially called “empty pew Sunday”. Everybody and their brother comes to church on Easter Sunday and it is the highest attendance in the year other than Christmas Eve. The Sunday after Easter is almost a ghost town, comparatively. No wonder the Anglican church calls it “Low Sunday” because of the low attendance. Or, the word “low” may be a corruption of the Latin word laudes, the first word of a sequence used in the historical Sarum Rite.

Sometimes today has been called “Thomas Sunday”, because the gospel reading today is usually the story of Jesus’ appearances to the apostles but without Thomas, then Thomas hearing about the appearance and not believing, then a second appearance of Jesus to the apostles with Thomas.

John 20:24-31

Thomas (called Didymus) was one of the twelve, but he was not with the other followers when Jesus came. They told him, “We saw the Lord.” Thomas said, “That’s hard to believe. I will have to see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side.

In some churches, because of this reading, it is called Renewal Sunday for those who doubt to renew their faith. It is also called the Octave of Easter (eight days after Easter) and Divine Mercy Sunday in the Roman Catholic Church. The Orthodox Church calls it Antipascha, as “Pascha” is their term for Easter and “anti” in this case refers to “facing” another Sunday of Easter and the resurrection.

Whatever You call today, please question Your faith.

Do You seek confession and redemption?

Do You encourage Your children or grandchildren in the faith?

Please do read Alex Story’s article, The Cornerstone Matters, from yesterday. It is well worth reading and may assist You in Your thoughts or help assuage Thomas-like doubts.

Have a peaceful Sunday. God bless You All.

Almighty Father, who hast given thine only Son to die for our sins, and to rise again for our justification: Grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may always serve thee in pureness of living and truth; through the merits of the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.