Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00 <inaudible>
Speaker 1 00:05 now before we get going this morning, I'll just to save time by telling you the principal sources I drew on and putting this together. Great scripture scholar, the Belgian Jesuit five according to the lab the day who wrote in years by around 1600 several articles from the American increase, he asked of view, which were published in the 18 hundreds and Dr. Warren Carol is a great living Catholic historian in front of Christian cause there were other things too, but that's the main ones. I don't have to do a bunch of quote unquote. When the first Spanish missionaries arrived in America, they were regularly amazed at the strange things they encountered everywhere they went. Next Co, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay. They encountered stories of a bearded and closed stranger who many centuries before he preached of God to the Indians and what sort of things at this change we preached to them instead of Mexican shoppers, they worship this God who is the son of a virgin who is now in heaven with him. This God was scourged. Chromosomes went to death by crucifixion and all this had taken place on a Friday. He puts you up. I said, I also learned in ancient times to confess their sins and to fast every Friday and honor of the death of their God. They also knew that this crucified God remain dead for three days and the third day came back to life again.
Speaker 0 01:39 Okay.
Speaker 1 01:39 By that Bernardino is to how goon a saintly Franciscan was one of the first missionaries sent to Mexico in 1529 he's perfectly fluent in Aztec and at the command of his superiors. He wrote great work history of new Spain and he states that in ancient times quote a venerable white man with long hair and a beard and walking with the staff, preached the holy law and the fast for 40 days all over America and elected crosses revered by the Indians to whom he announced, but other men of his creed would come from the east to instruct and rule over them. Close quote. He also states that this in fact was established by the hieroglyphics of New Mexico, by the ancient songs and also the Quepos approved. That's their little knotted string kind of records books and all the histories that had been written as far by the Spaniards.
Speaker 1 02:34 That probably strikes most of us. It's completely fantastic. The Gospel preached to the new world before the Spanish arrived. We really shouldn't be that surprising if we take the words of our Lord seriously. Matthew Mark Looks Gospels and in the acts scriptures clearly record that crushed the lawyer commanded the you've got the gospel. He preached by the apostles to all the nations. For example, Mark Chapter 16 he said to them, go ye into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature. Acts Chapter one, but he said to them, you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you and you should be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and scenario and even to the uttermost part of the earth. And later in the act and in Saint Paul's letter to the Romans and clashes, scripture states the faith has been spoken of in the whole world.
Speaker 1 03:34 Now many of the fathers explain these passages absolutely, literally, that the faith was preached literally throughout the world. For example, Tertullian and early rider commenting on Romans 10 states clearly that the gospel has been preached to the entire world, not simply all the known nations, both civilized and barbaric, but to all the nations and islands remote. And I know pope sang regular grade stage. Clearly that meant mystery of every damn. She hasn't been announced in every part of the universe. To make the list short, I'll simply limited to siting the doctors and the universal church who teach this same fac, Saint Hilary, St John, Chris System, Saint Jerome, Saint Ambrose, Saint Gregory, the grey, the venerable Bede, Saint Thomas Aquinas. Now these great saints is fathers and doctors and the universal church all teach them. The Gospel was literally preached all over the world, but the explicit command of our Lord to preach even to the uttermost parts of the earth was literally fulfilled.
Speaker 1 04:44 Well, he's still out today commenting on these, on these very notes. No on these very ideas notes, quote just has God formally had divided up the Holy Land for the 12 tribes. So also God divided up the whole world could be converted by the 12 apostles and each one went to and converted whatever territory is the nations to which he had been assigned. Okay, so we have the fathers and doctors stating faith is preached everywhere. They had this idea that the pasta, they actually had it divided up the world divided up and had a signed territories. We have a specific evidence of this preaching here in this having superior witness to by Stanley Franciscan writing in the early 15 hundreds who says that it was a simple fact attested to by all the code of Cs Mexico, but ancient songs and Quepos of Peru and all the history is written by the Spaniards than a venerable white man with long hair and appeared and walking with the staff preached the Gospel all over America.
Speaker 1 05:43 Who was this better bearded evangelist? Do we know? Yes, he's the Indians. Told the Spanish missionaries his name before we look more closely at his work in this cameras here. Let's look briefly at his work in the blessed in the other hemisphere. His feast day is this coming Wednesday, his named St Thomas The apostle course. We're familiar with the story of doubting Thomas that we see in the gospel of Saint John After the resurrection. When our Lord tells Thomas who didn't believe he'd resurrected to come put the finger in and see my hands and bring him into the hand and places in my side and be not faithless, but believe and Thomas Answers and said to him, my Lord, my God, we all know that today. Let's look a little bit more of the rest of his story. Our Lord commanded the apostles to teach all nations just before he ascended to heaven on ascension Thursday.
Speaker 1 06:49 What did that mean? That case of Saint Thomas, what nations was he snipped to his commentary on the story of doubting Thomas coded so that they answered this question. We'll use the modern names for these countries, quote, if each saint comms his faith was weaker than the other apostles, but apparently Christ then made him stronger and more faithful than all the apostles since he traveled alone through almost all the lands and the whole world preaching the Gospel. Say Thomas Preach from the extremes of southern Libya and Ethiopia all the way to Indian, including Iraq, Iran, the area around the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan was Becky, Stan, ted, Jackie, Stan, southern Russia, the regions around the Caspian Sea and even evangelized China. Indeed, he penetrated into the new world to go America close quote, we all from tradition that when St Thomas got to Arad, he baptized Casper, milker and vaults. So three wise men that shy and ordained and bishops and they spent the rest of their lives a preach in the face.
Speaker 1 07:55 Later the rocks were brought from Persia to Jerusalem and that St Helena mother of Constantine brought them back to Constantinople and eventually they found their way to Cologne, Germany, where the cathedral is built. The largest reliquary in the world is near Cathedral of Cologne. Germany has the relics of the Macha, another at least not except one of them here and the guy sees his father. Cooper has a relic of one of them that you get from Cologne, but that's at the Cathedral and Columbia St Thomas traveled through the lands of Central Age at preaching the Gospel and wound up in the northwest part of India and the kingdom that includes what's now Pakistan, a kingdom in which the team and Chivas worshiped. He established the church. They're left in the care of a native Indian and after being gone for some years in the year 52 80 according to both Christian and Hindu records, he showed up again in India.
Speaker 1 08:45 This time landing on the southwest coast. That's the Malabar coast, the writings, the problems tele, how quote Tom and opponent of all Hindu because cold came to the Malabar coast and then quote converted many prominent people in the Lan Kelly year 31 53 that's 52 80 for us, the coroner, Thomas Sanyasi came to our village and preached there causing pollution. That means causing Catholicism. We therefore came away from that village. Close quote. The Pagans Christian tradition tells the cure of hundreds in the baptism of thousands by St Thomas One year in the year 72 or one day in the year 70 to 80 saint Thomas was praying in a cave and a hill and their modern day Modrus. This cave is near tempo of Cali. Kelly's had goddess the death. She's depicted typically with a necklace of skulls riding a horse in the shadows and made out of the skin by his skin.
Speaker 1 09:42 Dark skin of a man with a skull flapping on it. His heads left in it and she drinks human blood from the cellist. It's made out of to what parts of the crowns of the skull glued together upside down. Her worshipers are called thuggies. That's where we get the word and then they typically offer sacrifice to Cali. It's worship, the sacrifice that Huggies offered, a Kelly's human sacrifice. Anyway, Saint Thomas is praying and some dramas from the temple of Cali attack him. One pierced his heart with the lamps. He died there on a stone, your Millipore, India. The stone now has a cross engraved grave Ghana on numerous occasions over the years. His stone has been seen whose blood on the 18th of December. Diocesan authorities have certified that at the end of at least one bleeding, the stone turned to glistening y before reverted back to its original black Saint Thomas Christians.
Speaker 1 10:36 If the India, those are Shiro Malabar Catholics. They belonged in the Serum Malabar right Christ the founding of their church directly back to the Holy Apostle Thomas. They also hold that Saint Thomas preached the Chinese perhaps during the years between leaving northwest India, Pakistan and coming to southern India. In fact, his father Lapierre PDA points out the customary title or the Patriarch of the Shill Malabar church is the metropolitan of India and China, St Francis Xavier Fan, trace and St Thomas Preaching among the islanders off the coast of China and they said that Saint Thomas preached to the man beyond the grade island. Beyond what grade island, no one's really sure might be Sri long kit might be snatcher. Anyway, where beyond the grade island of St Thomas Preach in the new world. We'll say a few examples. Brazil fuss. So Gooden said, stated quote, anyone who reads the chronicles of Brazil must be impressed with the fact that since ancient times, the names of Jesus, Mary and Saint Thomas have been preserved.
Speaker 1 11:41 The per se native showed the missionaries the past. St Thomas used to travel. The Peru is pretty, she was still remembered by the tribes there. When he departed, he left his footprints on rocks and these were still to be found. Eastern Brazil with father manual, no Brega. The society cheeses saw them as he noted in the letter of 1552 Peru. Most ancient traditions of provings tell the white bearded man who arrived in Peru from the suddenly direction clothed in a long violent Carmen red natl. He talked to people to worship the true God and creator rather than the sun and the moon. He healed the sick. As I took the blind cast out demons, you have to notch stick with a great chief in order to remind everyone of the commandments of God. His name, monopoly or Nava seems to be a corruption of Tama. Tell him a papa and know.
Speaker 1 12:29 Novice signifies to pour water, perhaps referring to baptism. So notes that the Peruvians gave the name of Pi Khamees or Father Thomas' to the missionaries after the Spanish conquest. Although quote, overzealous missionaries pointed out ancient inscriptions on rocks which would have been written by Indians as precious relics of the venerable man who preached to them a holy law say to Rubiez the Archbishop of Lima during the time of the saint rose of Lena gave orders to cover all central places with chapels because he was convinced that the old traditions were deserving of religious respect. Close quote parkway May 1st, 1533 the leader of five Franciscans and the parkway wrote a letter in which he states he had been received like angels by the natives from whom he learned that four years before a prophet arrived amongst them and announced that soon brothers of St Thomas would come to baptize man and that the newcomers would not only not harm them but to them.
Speaker 1 13:26 Great. Good. He taught them songs and how to keep the commandments and any other Christian teachings and you're 1609 when fathers Catalino Machida, Mexico are nice. The chiefs assured them that according to their ancestral traditions alerted man named Pie Tuma or Pis Hilma Father Thomas had preached in their country the faith of heaven and they'd many conversions among them. When he asked, he prophesied that the inner descendants would abandoned the worship of the true God but in a distant future. Other than that, six years or the same God would come with a cross like he carried and restored among the faith. You preach to them some years later in another district comparatively to other priests who greeted with great joy by the Indians when they stopped an approach with the crosses in their hands and they're told the same story, although they referred to Pie Tuma. It's a pie, a Barra, which means the sell of it, the father and all these regions.
Speaker 1 14:18 The first missionaries were called the pies. Him as their father Thomas is by the natives Uruguay. The natives can still point to a place where he'd sat down to rest the traditions where at St Thomas Lacrosse said the later coming of men who would teach their descendants the faith of the true God go to season next to the Quepos approved the testimonies of various tribes throughout central and South America and their ports and the Spanish and Portuguese missionaries all witness to the preaching of St Consciousness Hemisphere. Okay, but how is St Thomas possibly cover so much Niccolo in such a short time? On the Old Testament, we have the example of profit habit cook who traveled from the Holy Land to Babylon and backed me trying to clean the island. Angel took him to feet. Daniel on the Prophet Daniel is in the lions cave. Did you test him in the acts? The apostles, we have the deacon fill it, but after he baptized the Ethiopian unit and the desert was snatched up by the Holy Ghost and taken to the coast, to the Gaza Strip in the twinkling of an eye.
Speaker 1 15:20 Recent times we have scores. If I witness accounts of the great 19th century que and bishops and asking Mary Clara their scores of the concert, him who traveling almost instantaneously from one place to another, leaving the village, walking out of the church and being in the next village at the same time. I won't since he left and they like people would try to catch up to him. They couldn't. You take off walking, just go right over the hill. They'd watch this. They couldn't keep up to him. Okay. Who knows? St Thomas May have been very Weldon, given the same kind of graces dated after all he working for exactly the same boss. It's have a cook. The prophet took the Geek and it's after Mary Claire. Anyway, let's close. In one sense, of course it's made, seemed very surprising if we haven't heard it before. Some folks might find it harder to believe, but let's keep it in perspective.
Speaker 1 16:12 The idea that St Thomas preached around the world, it's nowhere near surprising where it's hard to believe as a fat. It's all mighty God stooped down and became man in her womb or that there are men that actually whispered words, quiet words of a little pieces of bread that Baird becomes a man and that man is God. So the preaching journeys at St Thomas are nothing compared to what's going to happen right up there on the alter and just a few minutes besides, even though on the one hand it might be a little surprised now their hand, it shouldn't be surprising at all if we know that God so loved the world, He gave his only begotten son, that anyone who believe in him might not perish but have eternal life. He said, any surprise and having centers centers on the Jews who received him? Not. Is it really any surprise that he sent his messengers out to the four corners there, the highways and the byways to invite crumbs in the marriage fees he prepared because after all, God desires the salvation of all men.
Speaker 1 17:23 Perhaps somebody checked KFC comments about the Gospel, the Americans, whatever. The Indians such utter heathens when the Spaniards arrived, 15th centuries later. Answer. That is part of what we're going to be if we gave, because Lord, let's just keep going down this cultural trajectory we're on for another 10 1215 centuries. Where are we going to be? Let's make this Christmas season season of thanks. Let's turn to our little Lord Jesus and thank you for the wonderful gift of faith that we've been given and begging for the grey to live and to die in that faith which has been announced to the whole world, the faith without which it is impossible to please God. Let's take St Thomas to obtain for us the grace to be not faithless, but typically.
