By Joe Pisani
In Jesus’ darkest hour, as he hung on the cross between two criminals — betrayed, abandoned and reviled — a thief came to his defense with words that will be remembered for all eternity.
The “Good Thief” rebuked the other man, who cursed Jesus and said, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the Good Thief told him: “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? We have been condemned justly … but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then, he said: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
And Jesus replied: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
While there are no historical facts about this man, known as “St. Dismas” whose feast is observed on March 25, Venerable Fulton Sheen offered this epitaph: “He was a thief to the end, and he even stole Heaven.”
Writer Barry Connolly of St. Mary Parish in Bethel was so inspired by the account in Luke’s Gospel that he wrote a historical novel about Dismas, which eventually became a trilogy about the early Christians that is under contract to a Christian film production company.
Shortly after retiring from a 25-year career in IBM as media relations manager, Connolly began taking Bible study classes at his parish and became enthralled with the story of the thief who secured paradise as he hung on the cross.
“After I had finished the class, I kept thinking about the Good Thief,” he recalled. “I couldn’t get him out of my mind. Jesus is in his final, agonizing moments, sacrificing his life for the sins of all mankind, and while he’s in this great distress, he can only speak a few words. In his love and compassion during those final moments, he finds the strength to comfort, forgive and promise salvation to a common thief beside him — a man who has acknowledged his sins and has the faith only to ask to be remembered by Jesus.”
It kept occurring to him that someone should write the story … but not necessarily him. Despite his writing career, he said, “I had never written a novel, but I could not get that out of my head that someone should write about it. I felt the Holy Spirit was pushing me and guiding me to do that … and if I didn’t do it, someone else would be given the assignment.” So he accepted it.
To be sure, the story of St. Dismas has fascinated and inspired Christians since the earliest times, so much so that an “Arabic Gospel of the Infancy” became popular during the Middle Ages. According to the myth, the two thieves named Dismas and Gestas were crucified on either side of Jesus, and their first encounter with the Son of God occurred when he was an infant and they held up the Holy Family during the flight into Egypt.
As the story goes, Dismas paid Gestas 40 drachmas to leave them unharmed, and the infant is said to have prophesied that the thieves would be crucified with him someday.
Despite the legends, Connolly conceived his own story.
“Somehow I felt this was a different character, not a died-in-the-wool thief when he was young,” he said. “I think he was more complex. If this was the man forgiven by Jesus, there had to be more. I kept feeling this was a good man, but through tragedy and circumstances in life, he turned away from God and made terrible decisions. But he had the good sense and grace to ask Jesus for forgiveness before he died. There was a great story here.”
Connolly spent six months doing historical research and drafting an outline for the novel. He researched the smallest details — everything from scorpions and food seasoning to pottery making and Roman ships. From 8 p.m. to midnight, he would write a chapter and then hand it to his wife Muriel to edit.
“I always felt the Holy Spirit was influencing me,” he said. “When I was writing, I felt I was in those chapters, documenting what was going on. Sometimes I was surprised by what I was writing, even though I didn’t know where the story would go or if I would even get it published.”
The first novel, “The Good Thief,” was completed in 2010; the second “On the Road to Damascus,” was published three years later, followed by “Serah: The Daughter of Rebekah and Lucius” in 2018. Shortly after the novel was released, Connolly was approached by a production company owned by a film executive who converted to Christianity. Various writers were assigned to develop a screenplay, and in recent months he has been considering approaching the project as a television series with one of the cable streaming services.
“‘The Good Thief’ is a tale of a young Jewish man’s struggle with his faith and his determination to avenge the unjust deaths of his brother and sister,” Connolly said. “His quest drives him apart from Rebekah, a Jewish artisan he loves, and propels him on a desperate and fateful journey.”
The second novel, “On the Road to Damascus: The Story of Rebekah and Lucius” continues the story. “Rebekah and other early followers of Christ are forced to flee Jerusalem, steps ahead of a relentless persecution by the Sanhedrin led by Saul of Tarsus,” Connolly said. “Lucius, a Roman centurion who has come to love Rebekah, races to save her.”
“Serah: The Daughter of Rebekah and Lucius” is the story of a Christian girl in Rome during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. She finds herself struggling with a faith she knows only through stories that her parents told her.
“When she is compelled to flee for safety to her mother’s homeland in Judea, she begins a journey that will test her faith, challenge her courage, open her heart and change her life,” Connolly said. “In Jerusalem, she will experience for the first time the prejudice and danger facing the followers of Jesus Christ.”
Connolly gave the final draft to his pastor Fr. Corey Piccinino to review the religious elements.
“I tried to make the scenes with Jesus as if you were there,” he said. “He wasn’t pretentious. He was a man of the people, who loved to talk with them.”
Connolly also says, “I felt I wasn’t writing the book alone, and several times when I was praying, I would say, ‘Dismas, I hope I did you justice with this book.’”
The novels can be purchased on Amazon or at Connolly’s website, (thegoodthief.net). In addition to the United States, the book has sold in Africa, Britain and Ireland, among other places worldwide.
Connolly, who began writing the book when he was 69, said, “It was nothing I had ever planned to do, but I felt it was something I was uniquely qualified to do. And for whatever purpose, I’ve finished the task I was asked to do.”
He said its success is up to God, adding, “When I pray about it, I always say, ‘God’s will be done.’”
When his wife Muriel asked if he thought there was a market for the novel, he responded:“I don’t know. If this is a book that God wants one person to read, if it will make a difference in that person’s life or salvation, it’s worth it to me. Why would I say no to that? That has always been my philosophy. If it would change how they felt about their faith or dispelled some fear, I am proud to be part of that.”
