St. Dismas, the Good Thief

Today we remember St. Dismas. Dismas is the traditional name given to the thief who was crucified next to Jesus who Jesus promised would be in paradise with Him that very day. Dismas did not come offering his good works to Jesus. Dismas recognized his own utter sinfulness and Jesus' complete righteousness. He pleaded with Jesus for mercy and was granted Paradise. We do not act like Dismas. We act like the other thief. We think that if there really is a God then He has some obligation to take away every annoyance and inconvenience from our lives. We think we do not deserve to be treated this way. But in fact we deserve much, much worse. And yet, Christ still has mercy on us, Christ gives us Paradise.