~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

 Stone Cross of St. Thomas  at Chennai, Large Mount Altar
 
 
Martyrdom – Madras      
 
Eastward, deathward, still he goes
with Jesus  “till the end of the Age”  [i]
here earlier he had explored, now stays more years, 
this was his final Step and stop....    
 
Mylapore – the city where he knew the King
who welcomed him and preaching.  
He built a church and house of prayer and teaching,
in Syrian called “Madrasth… Madrasa…”  [ii]
 
Small Mount – held his solitary Cave of Prayer  
with miracle Spring to quench the thirsting crowds, 
in later years, when Brahmins of the King made threat 
he hid for safety in this wilderness of brush and stone 
 
Large Mount – still forced to flee, nearby he climbed, 
Nature’s crude, rough Calvary, where Steps now aid. 
Again he knelt before his teaching Cross of stone,
where thrust by spear, like Nature’s deer, he fell
 
A sharp lance pierced his side,
on his beloved Cross blood ran down.... 
His faithful, seeking, found his body 
and walked it home to his “Madras.”   
 
 

[i]  Matt. 28:20,  Jesus says,  –  “…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”  

[ii]  In the Steps of St. Thomas, main source for this poem (See Endnote 4 above),  p. 35.

[iii]  Of the Twelve Apostles to hold the title after Matthias' selection, Christian tradition has generally passed down that all except one were martyred, with only John surviving into old age. “Apostles in Christianity”. Wikipedia.org.  {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles_in_Christianity#Deaths}  (accessed December 1, 2021). 


His Cross has Arms for nearly equal Deaths  [iii]