+ We celebrate the feast of two apostles today: Simon and Jude. Simon
was called the Cananean, and the Zealot because of his zeal for the
Jewish law, but was neither from Cana nor a member of the Zealot Party. Like
all the apostles he was a convert, being trained by St. Peter, the Apostle. He
evangelized at least in Egypt and Mesopotamia, if not other places. He was a
martyr for the faith but there are differences of opinion as to where that
actually took place.
Jude
was son of Cleophas, a cousin of Mary who stood with her at the foot
of the Cross of Christ, and who anointed Christ’s body after his death. He is
the brother of St. James the Lesser. Being
a cousin of Jesus, Jude was reported to have looked a lot like him. He may have
been a fisherman before he was called to be an apostle. Jude wrote the
canonical Epistle named for him. He preached in Syria, Mesopotamia and Persia
with St Simon. He was a healer and an exorcist. He could exorcise pagan idols,
which caused the demons to flee and the statues to crumble. His patronage of
lost or impossible causes traditionally derives from confusion by many early
Christians between Jude and the traitor Judas Iscariot; not understanding the
difference between the names, they never prayed for Jude’s help, and devotion
to him became something of a “lost cause.”
It is important for us to
remember that the very existence of our faith and our religion today stands
firmly on the faith and faithfulness of the twelve chosen by Jesus and their
unfailing commitment to remain close friends of his, doing what he asked them
to do, evangelically, especially in the face of certain death.
We too are called to live our
lives and give our lives as intimate friends of Christ – for the spiritual and
even physical welfare of others. Strengthened by this Eucharistic meal – as
were Simon and Jude – may we be willing to bring the gospel message to everyone
we meet today, one way or another!
We praise you, O God,
we acknowledge you to be the
Lord.
The glorious company of the
apostles praise you, O Lord.
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