Saints Simon And Jude
Feast Day : October 28
We hear in the Gospel of Luke (6:12-16) how Jesus went up to the mountain to pray and upon coming down from the mountain he chose his 12 apostles who would follow him and be his representatives and evangelists to the world. Among these were Simon, the zealot, and (Jude) Thaddeus. We celebrate the feast day of these two saints, martyrs, and apostles on October 28.
St. Jude is known in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark as Thaddeus (Mt 10:3 and Mk 3:18) and as Judas, son of James in Luke (Lk 6:16; Acts 1:13). He was the brother of James the Less. St. Simon is named in the Gospels as “Simon, the zealot”.
In his audience in St. Peter’s Square in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI speaks about the significance of these two apostles and their service to The Church. He describes the characteristic of a “zealot” as being one who is like God in his zeal and devotion for the Gospel. And, as he stated likewise St. Simon can be described as one who was likely very zealous and passionate about his love and devotion to God, God’s people, and The Church.
Additionally, we can see the great zeal of St. Jude Thaddeus in the words of his epistle. Pope Benedict points to how St. Jude warned the people to beware of those who seem to teach in God’s name but, lead men astray and can destroy The Church by causing division. But, St. Jude gives this instruction to members of The Church as he says to them : “But you, beloved” –( he is speaking to all of us ), “build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And convince some, who doubt…” (vv. 20-22). Indeed, we see the great zeal of St. Jude Thaddeus for preaching the Gospel to the early Church.
The Gospel of John describes this discourse between Jude Thaddeus and Jesus following the Last Supper. Thaddeus says to Jesus : “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?”. And, Our Lord responds in very profound words and Jesus says to him : “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn 14: 22-23). We see in this passage addressed to St. Jude Thaddeus, Jesus telling us the importance of having God live in our hearts, but we must be open to the grace to receive Good in our hearts to abide in us. And, a prerequisite to this relationship is that we keep His Word – His commandments.
Early Church Fathers also point out that these 2 apostles, St. Jude and St. Simon, were witnesses to Jesus: on earth as members of his chosen 12 apostles, witnesses to Jesus crucified, and witnesses to Jesus risen. And, they continued to be witnesses for Jesus as they devoted their lives to go out and preach The Gospel to all of the world.
Let us follow the example of these 2 saints and apostles of Christ as we proclaim The Word of God. We can express our Christian devotion and love for Jesus, His Church, and St. Jude as we wear this St. Jude saint medal.
