March 25 | Saint Dismas

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, we are going back to the single most dramatic day in history.

It is the year 33 A.D. You are standing on a dusty hill just outside the walls of Jerusalem. The air is thick with heat and the sounds of a chaotic crowd. It's a day of execution. But this isn't just any execution. The person we are talking about today wasn't a preacher. He wasn't a bishop. In fact, for most of his life, he was the bad guy. Honestly, we don't know much about his background at all. What we do know comes from a mixture of scripture and tradition.

We know him today as Saint Dismas, but for centuries, he has been widely known by a different title, the Good Thief. Usually, thieves aren't the heroes of the story. But Dismas' story is unique, because his sainthood didn't happen over a lifetime of good deeds. It happened in the final, agonizing hours of his life. The Gospels tell us that on the day of the Passion, the day Jesus suffered and died for us, Christ wasn't alone. There were three crosses on that hill.

Jesus was in the center, and flanking him on either side were Two criminals. One of those men was Dismas. Dismas is hanging there. He is an Israeli man, facing the end of his life in the most brutal way possible, crucifixion. He is in pain. He is watching the crowd below, and right next to him is Jesus of Nazareth. The other thief, hanging on the other side of Jesus, starts lashing out. He uses his last breaths to curse and mock Christ, adding to the suffering of the innocent man in the middle.

It would have been easy to be angry at the world, angry at the law, and angry at God, but something incredible happens in Dismas' heart. Amidst the blood and the noise, he sees something in Jesus. Dismas speaks up. He uses his limited energy to rebuke the other criminal. Listen to the powerful words he says, recorded in the Gospel of Luke.

Have you no fear of God? For you are subject to the same condemnation. This is the turning point. This is the moment a criminal becomes a saint. Dismas continues, and he admits the hard truth about himself. He says, And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes. But this man has done nothing criminal.

Don't miss the bravery in that statement. Dismas admits that he is guilty. He says, the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes. He owns his mistakes. He doesn't make excuses. He doesn't blame anyone but himself. He accepts that he did wrong. While the crowd mocked and the soldiers gambled, a dying thief declared Jesus innocent. He recognized that Jesus had done nothing wrong. He was just a man. He was just a man. He was just a man. He was just a man.

Nothing criminal. Then, Dismas looks at the suffering Savior and makes a plea that has echoed through history for 2,000 years. He says, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. That's it. That is his prayer. Remember me. And what does Jesus do? Does he say, sorry, Dismas, you stole too many things? Does he say, it's too late, you should have gone to the temple more often? No. Jesus assures him, right there on the cross, that he would soon join his Lord in paradise.

Because of this exchange, Dismas is honored as a saint, and more specifically, the patron saint of repentant criminals, prisoners, and those on death row. He represents hope for people who feel like they are too far gone, or that their mistakes are too big to be forgiven. Dismas shows us that it is never, ever too late to do the right thing.

He shows us that holiness doesn't always look like a perfect life from start to finish. Sometimes, it looks like a messy life that ends with a sincere apology and recognition that we need Jesus. Today, think about a situation where you know you were in the wrong. Maybe you were rude to a parent, maybe you cheated on a quiz, or maybe you were mean to a sibling. It's easy to make excuses, just like the other thief might have wanted to. Instead, own it.

Say, I was wrong. I did that. And then say a simple prayer. Jesus, remember me. Help me to be better. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.