Saint Dismas (sometimes spelled Dysmas, Dimas, or even Dumas), also known as the Good Thief, is the name given to one of the thieves who was crucified alongside Christ according to the Gospel of Luke 23:39-43:
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.”
But the other answering rebuked him, saying, “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.”
And he said unto Jesus, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”
And Jesus said unto him, “Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
This Saint is the patron Saint of Thieves, Criminals, Prisoners, and Undertakers; which has me feeling a bit sorry for some prisoners and all undertakers. Some prisoners are there due to beliefs and not for crimes as we in the western world see it. As for undertakers, do they chuckle at having the same patron saint as thieves? Or does it bother them? Due to their occupation they are lumped into the same patron saint category as thieves. Not so cool I would think.
Prayers St Dismas by thieves is not so that this or that robbery will go well, but it is supposed to help them go straight. (Straight to jail, some would have) However this, in my mind, begs another fairly obvious question. When undertakers pray to St Dismas is it to help them to stop burying people? Yes, it is a stupid question. So why is he also the patron saint of undertakers?
I have read a tiny bit about saints of the Christian religion, usually they are people that have overcome something, overcome it by, they say, the help of prayer to someone or something. The best that can be said of Dimas is that he saw something in Jesus that made him believe in Jesus; that Jesus was more than a simple man. (though he died as one)
As with all good stories there is more to this one. More background material that justifies Dismas becoming a saint. His gang, a band of robbers did not rob Mary and Joseph when they had the opportunity, he saw that there was something different about this family. This occurred thirty years before he was crucified, while Mary and Joseph were running off to Egypt.
One last point on Saint Dismas; the meaning of the name is adapted from a Greek word meaning sunset or death. (Amazing how the Greeks saw the similarities in these two words and meanings) So Saint Dismas could be called Saint Sunset or Saint Death, I prefer the first but that is just my not being ready for the second.
Prague, Czech Republic – West Highland Way – Dublin Ireland Dublin
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