Daily TV Mass Friday July 3, 2026

Fr. Michael Coutts, S.J.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

From the St. Ignatius Chapel at the Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Center in Pickering, Ontario. The National Catholic Broadcasting Council presents the Daily TV Mass.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

unknown 0:28

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 0:29

The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, the friendship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. Welcome to the celebration of the Daily TV Mass. Today is the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle. I am Father Michael Coots. The televising of this Mass is made possible by a contribution from three donors. The first are John and Sam Perifor from Daytona Beach, Florida, for their parents, Victoria and Robert, and in gratitude for their love, support, and the blessing they bring to others. The second are Jose and Hortensia Ibanez from Brooklyn, Ontario, in memory of the deceased members of the Ibanez family, Alberto, Pilar, Maria, Jesus, and Nicholas. Also for an end to all wars, for everlasting peace in our world, and in thanksgiving for the daily TV Mass, which brings comfort to the elderly and the homebound who are unable to attend Mass in person. The third are anonymous donors from Crows Nest Apass, Alberta, for the well-being of mind, body, and soul of their families. Our thanks to the donors for the gift of this Mass. Now, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate this Eucharist, we ask God to forgive us. You were sent to heal the contrite, Lord, have mercy. Lord have mercy. You came to call sinners, Christ have mercy. You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us. Lord, have mercy. May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. Let us praise God as we say. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you. We give you thanks for your great glory. Lord God, Heavenly King, O God Almighty Father, Lord Jesus Christ, only begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. You take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. You are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. Let us pray. Grant Almighty God that we may glory in the feast of the Blessed Apostle Thomas, so that we may always be sustained by his intercession and believing may have life in the name of Jesus Christ, your son, whom Thomas acknowledged as the Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians. You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. In Christ, the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. The word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_03 4:55

Extol him are your pe pos and tell you for great is the steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. All hello you believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me. Happy those who have not seen me but still feel thee Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_02 6:46

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John. Thomas called the twin, who was one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. But Thomas said to them, Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe. A week later, the disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. Then Jesus said to Thomas, Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it on my side. Do not doubt, but believe. Thomas answered him, My Lord and my God. And Jesus said to Thomas, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. The gospel of the Lord. The first line in that reading of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, you are no longer strangers or aliens. After three years of being acting as parish priest in Mary Immaculate in the Grey Bruce Peninsula, Chepstow, I was posted as parish priest up in St. Andrews in Thunder Bay in 1989. I was then still a landed immigrant and I hadn't really planned to stay, but I wanted to go back to Guyana. But in February I was called to take the oath of allegiance and become a Canadian citizen. It was just half a block literally from St. Andrew's Church. And the Crown Attorney of Thunder Bay, Dan Mitchell, who happened to be also the chairperson of the parish council, told me, as soon as you've taken the oath, please come up to my chambers. We have to celebrate. And sure enough, with a single mall to Highland Park, he said, Welcome. You are no longer a foreigner or an alien, but you are one of us. And I said, Thank you. But what are my responsibilities? I couldn't help thinking about that when I heard these words of Paul to the Ephesians, you are no longer strangers but aliens. The church at Ephesus was basically a Gentile Christian community. Before they had acknowledged Christ as their redeemer and savior, before they were baptized, Paul said you were living in darkness and death. Now it doesn't mean to say they were bad people, but they did not have any sense of life after death. They said, We have to prosper by any means, lying, cheating, taking advantage, the devil takes the highmost. That was their attitude. But ever since they were baptized into Christ, Paul says they moved from darkness into light. And when you moved into light, you suddenly had people that were no longer people that you could exploit, but they were your neighbors. They were your brothers, they were your sisters. You had to take care of the needy and those who needed help, both for food, for clothing, for shelter, and make sure that they were not exploited in the social area. This was the background about the people who believed in Jesus Christ. Christ was the cornerstone. Christ held everybody together, whether it was in Ephesus or way up in Macedonia, in Philippi, in Berea, in Thessalonica, and Athens, Christ united them as one, including the church in Jerusalem. So who was this Christ? What did he mean to the people? We have that answer in our gospel today. And we know the story so well. On Easter Sunday, according to John, on Easter Sunday we had three of the big feasts we celebrate. We had Easter, we had Ascension, and we had Pentecost, because on Easter Sunday, Jesus breathed onto the apostles and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. And then he was taken up into heaven. But Thomas was not there. Where he was and why, we do not know. But he says, as we read today, as we heard today, unless I put my hands into the nails that uh, the holes that the nails had made, and put my hand in his side, I will not believe. And Thomas was very logical about this. In fact, Thomas was logical about many things. First of all, when Jesus said, I'm going and preparing a place for you, first thing Thomas said, We don't know where you're going. How can we know the way? And Jesus would say, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus knew that he was going to be killed in Jerusalem. And Jesus said, Let's go up to Bethany, which is close to Jerusalem, to see Lazarus. And Thomas said, Let's go with him, we will die with you. He was very logical in everything that he did. And so when they told him that Jesus rose from the dead, he had seen what Jesus had done in his life. He had seen how Jesus had raised the daughter of Jairus. He had seen how Jesus had met at the village of Naeen at the bottom of the Mount of Transfiguration, only son of a widow that was being taken to be buried and raised him to life. And more recently, he had seen how Lazarus had been raised to life. Now that was extraordinary. But Jesus was dead. How could a lifeless Jesus raise himself up? So he was very logical and it is very understandable that Thomas would say, unless I could put my hands in his side, unless I can put my fingers and actually touch and feel, I will not believe. Now you may say, that's all well and done, but there is an underlying meaning to all that Thomas did. I need to see, to touch, and to feel, to believe. Many of our churches today are the risen Christ. They are full of pomp and ceremony. I'm not saying these things are wrong, but we celebrate baptisms and marriages and funerals. But the ordinary day, very few people come to church. There was a very well-known church in which the rich and the famous came. There were three-piece suits and they wore Gucci purses and shoes and Dior garments. And a man came in, he was wearing a plaid shirt and chinos, well pressed and clean. And when he came in, the deacon came up to him and he says, You know, sir, there's a certain standard in this church. And he says, I'll talk to Jesus about it. And next week he came, he was dressed again in clean chinos and a plaid shirt. And the deacon said, Did he talk to Jesus? And he said, Yes. Jesus says, He's never been in this church before, and he doesn't intend to come here either. Somehow they need to see the wounds in his side and hands. When we are baptized, we need to take care of the poor, the homeless, the people that need our help. We need to notice the man or the woman in dirty clothes at the street corners begging. These are the wounds of Jesus Christ today. In many places, there is no churches where we cannot see and touch Jesus. But you and I can over here. We can not only see and touch, we can receive Jesus and let Him become a part of our being. We can see and touch Jesus and enter into the very life of Jesus where we can, with Thomas, say, My Lord and my God. God bless you all. Join me now as we pray together. We pray for all those in our daily TV Mass Prayer Intention book. We pray to the Lord. For our sponsors. That the Lord may bless them and grant them peace of mind and health and body. We pray to the Lord.

SPEAKER_05 16:07

Lord Hear Pair.

SPEAKER_02 16:08

As a community of prayer, let us give thanks for our grandparents and elders like St. Joachim and Saint Anne, who nurture faith and family across generations with quiet strength. We pray to the Lord. For Pope Leo's intention for the month of July, let us pray that we may learn to discern, to know how to choose paths of life, and reject everything that leads away from Christ and the gospel. We pray to the Lord. Lord, grant food and shelter to those who lack that today, and peace and charity to those who are fortunate enough to enjoy these gifts. Amen.

SPEAKER_05 18:23

For our good and the good of all of his holy church.

SPEAKER_02 18:26

We render you, O Lord, the service that is your due, humbly imploring you to keep safe your gifts in us as we honor the confession of the Apostle Saint Thomas and offer you a sacrifice of praise through Christ our Lord.

unknown 18:41

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

The Lord be with you in your spirit. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is truly right and just our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere, to give you thanks. Lord, Holy Father, Almighty and Eternal God, for you, the eternal shepherd, do not desert your flock, but through the blessed apostles, watch over it and protect it always, so that it may be governed by those you have appointed shepherds to lead it in the name of your Son. And so with the angels and archangels with thrones and dominions, and with the hosts and powers of heaven, we sing the hymn of your glory as without end we acclaim.

SPEAKER_03 19:36

Holy Holly Holy Glory Oh son to se comes in him. Oh son.

SPEAKER_02 20:28

You are indeed holy, O Lord, the fount of all holiness. Make holy, therefore, these gifts we pray, by sending down his Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his passion, he took bread and giving thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body which will be given up for you. In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice, once more giving thanks. He gave the chalice to his disciples, saying, Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me. Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his death and resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the bread of life and the chalice of salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you. Humbly we pray that partaking of the body and blood of Christ, we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit. Remember, Lord, your church spread throughout the world and bring her to the fullness of charity, together with Francis, Leo, our Pope, Francis, our bishop, all the clergy, and this entire people of God. Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and all who have died in your mercy. Welcome them into the light of your face. Have mercy on us all that with the blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with Blessed Joseph Espouse, with the Blessed Apostle, with Saint Thomas, and with all the saints who have pleased you throughout the ages, we may merit to be co-heirs to eternal life and praise and glorify you through your Son, Jesus Christ. Through him with him and in him, O God Almighty, Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours forever and ever. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Deliver us, Lord, from every evil. Graciously grant peace in our day, that by the help of your mercy we may be always free from sin, safe from all distresses. We await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles, peace I leave you, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your church, and graciously grant a peace and unity in accordance with this will, with your will, who live and reign forever and ever. Amen. The peace of the Lord be with you always. Let us share with one another a sign of this peace and friendship.

SPEAKER_03 25:10

You take off with our sins of work. You take away things hot of work. Have mercy on us laughing. You take off with us of work.

SPEAKER_02 26:01

Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb. Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.

SPEAKER_01 26:39

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in this holy sacrament of the altar. I love you above all things, and I passionately desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come spiritually into my soul, so that I may unite myself wholly to you now and forever. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 27:39

O God, we truly receive in the sacrament the body of your only begotten Son. Grant that we may recognize him with Thomas the Apostle as our Lord and God and proclaim him by our deeds and by our life, who live and reign forever and ever. Amen. The Lord be with you and in your spirit. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Mass has been celebrated. Go in peace.

SPEAKER_05 28:11

Thanks, be to God.

SPEAKER_01 28:15

Our thanks to our donors for the gift of this Mass.