Book of the good thief: San Dimas taught us that every story needs salvation

While the last moments of the “good thief” are known, who crucified to the right of Jesus in Calvary recognized the Son of God and regretted his sins, few associate him with the name of St. Dimas or know the details of his life.

However, he is the only person to whom Jesus of Nazareth explicitly assured that he would be in heaven – “I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk 23,43) – and his brief, but decisive appearance in the Scriptures, found that “every story needs salvation.”

The Spanish writer and journalist Tony Gratacós rescues the figure of this saint, whose feast is celebrated every March 25, in his historical novel Dimas’s songa work that highlights its relevance and how “its jump of faith” is the same to which we are called to perform all Catholics.

In an interview with ACI Press, Gratacós points out that there are several novel details of life Dimas, and in a joke tone confesses that perhaps the history of Jesus and this criminal should have remained in intimacy: “I do not know if, when I get to heaven, Dimas will give me a hug or a punch,” he jokes.

With an outstanding race in the Spanish chain Antena 3 and in The Walt Disney CompanyGratacós reveals that his life of faith gave a decisive turn after watching the movie The Passion of Christ of Mel Gibson. “The Lord always takes care of you with so much love that it touched me through the cinema, because he knows how much I like,” he says.

Dimas’ Faith

In his novel, the author highlights how Dimas, despite having been a criminal, knew how to recognize “the divinity of Jesus in his humanity.” This, for the writer, was a jump of faith that Catholics must also imitate today “to recognize in a piece of bread the Son of God.”

“It is not that we all have the right to an opportunity, but it is true that throughout his life, man can change. Every life needs to be illuminated, we need to be saved. We cannot judge a man for a photograph, until the film ends,” reflects the author, inviting readers to discover the transforming power of faith.

For Gratacós, his novel not only allows the reader to immerse himself in the Galilee of the 1st century, but also offers a new way of living Lent and Holy Week “with a new look.”

“This book can help us shake the routine in which we often locate our faith. It is not about locking, but about putting fire, heart and blood into a story of redemption that we have lived many times,” he emphasizes.

“The money at the bank or the beautiful house will not save us, no matter how much we are tried to sell. Man cannot save himself. Dimas could have been each and every one of us,” he says.

For gratacós, Dimas’s songwhich can be acquired in Amazon Both in English and Spanish, it is a novel that can appreciate any reader, Catholic or not, although, as it emphasizes, those who know the Gospel can enjoy even more in history.