St. Dismas
Born: ~18 bc
Died: ~33
FEast: March 25th
Patron of:
forgiveness, second chances, criminals, prisoners, capital punishment abolishment
Bio
Dismas is the name given to the thief crucified on Jesus’ right. Luke’s Gospel tells us that while on the cross, one thief made fun of Jesus and mocked him while the other defended him and said, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal. Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom." Jesus tells him in response that he will indeed be with him in Paradise. Interpretations of this passage have noted that this response from Jesus makes Dismas the only confirmed saint - the only person we can know for sure is in Heaven, because Jesus said so.
Neither history nor the Gospels give us any more information about him, though his name in Greek means “sunset” or “death” and Tradition holds that he was a thief that lived in the desert. In representations of the Crucifixion, Dismas and his thieving partner are usually shown as tied with rope to their crosses rather than nailed, and Jesus’ head and/or feet are turned to his right as a symbolic acceptance of Dismas.
St. Augustine wrote of Dismas with praise, and wondered if he was baptized at some
point in his life despite his criminal career. There is also a medieval story about Dismas and his partner holding up the Holy Family on their flight to Egypt. In this story, Dismas even then recognized something special about the family and paid off the other thieves to let them go safely.
wHAT wOULD they CARE ABOUT TODAY?
Abolish the death penalty - ACLU
Prayer
As the first saint, designated so by Jesus while still alive, we have a lot to learn about forgiveness and perception. Your blind faith, your small act of love toward what may have been a stranger, even while in immense pain yourself: this was enough to gain you Heaven. Remind us of this. Amen.
Art Reflection
Dismas looks up to the right, where Jesus would have been on the cross, as always depicted in crucifixion images. Because he was said to have been tied to the cross rather than nailed, his clothing is all made of ropes. The colors of the image and his tattoos are reminiscent of desert imagery, and the orange background represents his “sunset” namesake. He has a tattoo of the three crosses as well as ancient Hebrew pictograms.
