Saints Simon and Jude

October 28, Thursday

Thirtieth Week In Ordinary Time

 

 

Little is known about these apostles. The nickname “Zealot” probably indicates the Simon had been among the anti-Roman activists before he became an apostle. Jude, brother of James and also called Thaddeus, asked Jesus after the Last Supper how Jesus could show himself to the world as Messiah without using force. Jesus answered him that the believers would accept him because of his love.

Jesus entrusts his own mission to weak and fallible human hand. “Entrusts,” for he trusts them enough. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can do God’s work.

 

First Reading: Ephesians 2:19-22

You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.

 

Gospel: Luke 6:12-19

At about that same time he climbed a mountain to pray. He was there all night in prayer before God. The next day he summoned his disciples; from them he selected twelve he designated as apostles:

Simon, whom he named Peter,
Andrew, his brother,
James,
John,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
Thomas,
James, son of Alphaeus,
Simon, called the Zealot,
Judas, son of James,
Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Coming down off the mountain with them, he stood on a plain surrounded by disciples, and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem, even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon. They had come both to hear him and to be cured of their ailments.

 

Prayer

Lord our God,
as we celebrate your apostles Simon and Jude,
we remember how your Son could build his Church
on weak and fallible people
and make these its firm foundations.
We pray with your Son
that our faith may remain unshaken
in your Church and in those who lead it.
As they struggle and grope,
let your Spirit fill them
with his wisdom and his fire.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Apostles Simon and Jude

Today’s feast honours saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. While the New Testament reveals almost no other information about either of them, tradition holds that these Apostles travelled together, possibly to Egypt and then to Persia where they preached the Gospel.

St. Jude is venerated as the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes, making him a popular saint for the troubled times of our lives particularly when we feel lost and alone.

On the feast of the apostles, the gospel highlights three important details from Jesus: Prayer, Call and Mission. Jesus goes up to the mountain to pray, after the prayer, chooses the twelve apostles from among his disciples to join his mission.

Jesus, we are told, went up into the mountains to pray and spent the whole night there in prayer to God. Some might wonder what Jesus would have to pray about. Such a question may reveal a limited concept of what prayer is. It is not just a question of asking for things. It is even less a question of fulfilling a religious duty, “saying our prayers”.

Jesus’ main concerns was that he does the will of his Father. It makes a lot of sense that Jesus would have wanted to be in intimate contact with his Father and to have spent long periods with him, making sure that there was complete harmony with that will.

The election of the apostles is one of the central moments in the life of Jesus. Hardly anyone knew, but that handful of normal men was the spark that later turned into fire that set the world on fire. We sometimes use the terms ‘disciples’ and ‘apostles’ interchangeably. But they have very distinct meanings. The word ‘disciple’ is applied to any person who commits himself to be a follower. ‘Apostle’ refers to a person who goes out as an emissary, delegated to pass on information or instructions to others on behalf of some authority.

In the Gospel we find the Lord telling his apostles, “I have chosen you, and not you chose me.” He has chosen them after hours of prayer. Can that be true of us too? If we have become his disciples, it was not our choice, rather it was his choice! He has prayed for us before choosing us and that choice is certainly for a purpose. To discern that purpose of Jesus, there is no other way than to spend time with him. Perhaps forget about all the prayers that we already know, and simply stay with him to listen and to talk to him.

 

Video available on Youtube: Apostles Simon and Jude