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A parts-informed reflection on John 20:26-27, "Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!”"
Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle
Presenter: Justin Brown, therapist licensed in Illinois and Texas, and member of Souls & Hearts’ Formation for Formators Community. Listeners are invited to contact Justin through CatholicTherapist.com
Calling Catholic Formators! That means YOU: Catholic therapists, coaches, spiritual directors, seminarian formators, or anyone else who professionally accompanies another in a one-on-one relationship -- or is studying to do so. Increase your self-awareness, grow in your own human formation, and bond deeply with other like-minded Catholic formators in an Internal Family Systems-informed Foundations Experiential Group (FEG).
Questions or comments? Email scripturepodcast@soulsandhearts.com
Share your thoughts via this episode's YouTube comments at youtube.com/@ScriptureForYourInnerOutcasts
Creators and Guests
What is Scripture for Your Inner Outcasts?
In the Gospels, Jesus reaches out to the outcasts, the most marginalized and rejected members of His society. In this very brief podcast, we take His approach inside – to reach out to your inner outcasts, the parts of you who are walking in darkness and gloom. Listen in and invite the Good News in the daily Mass readings to shine on your inner lost sheep, your inner prodigals, your inner lepers, your lame, deaf, and blind parts, your inner tax collectors, and your inner prostitutes – all those parts of you deemed unworthy and unacceptable by your protector parts.
Why? So that you can integrate inside, heal, and grow to flourish in accepting being loved, loving yourself in an ordered way, and then being able to love God wholeheartedly, with all your parts, and your neighbor as yourself. All informed by Internal Family Systems and other parts work approaches, and all firmly grounded in a Catholic understanding of the human person. Join us in seeing Scripture through a new lens, coming alive for those parts of you that may have experienced spiritual neglect and need healing.
This podcast is produced by Souls & Hearts, an organization dedicated to human formation from a Catholic lens. Learn more at soulsandhearts.com.
Transcript
Speaker 1: Jesus came, although the doors were locked and stood in their midst and said, peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believe. Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to Scripture for your inner outcasts. Today is Friday, July 3rd, 2026, the Feast of Saint Thomas. Today's guest presenter is Justin Brown, a therapist licensed in Illinois and Texas, and a member of Souls and Hearts formation for Formators community. Listeners can contact Justin at Catholic therapist.com.
Speaker 1: Hello, happy July 3rd Friday and wishing everybody a blessed and safe 4th of July weekend. Today's reading comes from the Gospel of John, chapter 20, verses 26 to 27. Jesus came, although the doors were locked and stood in their midst and said, peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side. And do not be unbelieving, but believe. Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God, as I hear this gospel, a part of me resonates with and, dare I say, appreciates Thomas's doubt. There is a sense of security this vulnerable part feels in holding on to uncertainty. This part says, if the protector part of me can continue to doubt that Jesus truly rose from the dead, then it may not have to fully follow or trust him. My protector say I can remain in control. I can determine my own happiness, my own comfort, my own destiny. But if Jesus truly was resurrected, then everything changes. If he rose from the dead, then he is who he claimed to be, the Son of God. If he rose from the dead, then he died for my sins and invites me into a relationship of complete trust. And that is precisely what this young part fears. It fears what it would mean to surrender, control, and trust that someone other than myself can be the source of my joy, pleasure, comfort, safety, and peace. And then Jesus enters the room just as he met Thomas. He meets this part of me. The doors may be locked, but he comes anyway, which initially scares this young part of me.
Speaker 1: He stands in the midst of my fear, my uncertainty, and my attempts at self reliance. And he speaks the same words. He spoke to the apostles. Peace be with you. As soon as he says those words, this fearful part of me begins to soften. His apprehension gives way to openness, humility, and trust. This part finds himself echoing Thomas, my Lord and my God. His peaceful presence communicates that he is trustworthy. My young exile, so afraid to trust, sees love incarnate. Love that brought him into existence. Love that holds him in existence at every moment. And it is his love that desires all of me. Even this part that fears trusting him to be with him for all eternity. Jesus, who is fully human, understands my young parts, doubts, fears, and every movement of my heart. He doesn't shame Thomas for doubting, and he doesn't shame this part of me. Instead, he meets him exactly where he is and gives him exactly what he needs. His presence becomes the answer to his doubt. This part is reminded that the Christian life is not the loss of freedom, but the path to true freedom. It is not the surrender of joy, but the discovery of joy. It is the realization that my deepest safety has always been found in him. And so I find this part resting in the promise that he is invited to share in the glory of the resurrected Christ. Jesus's words peace be with you. Land squarely on this part's heart.
Speaker 2: Like Justin, if you are a Catholic formator, meaning a therapist, a spiritual director, a priest, a counselor, then the formation for Formators community might be a good fit for you. You can learn more in the description of today's show.
Speaker 1: Let's end with our invocations. Our Lady, our mother. Untier of knots. Pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us. Saint John the Baptist pray for us. Saint Thomas, pray for us.