The Feast of Saints Simon and Jude Thaddeus

(First Century)

Their story

+Simon, called “the Canaanite” and the “zealous” in the gospels, is traditionally thought to have been a fisherman.

+ It is generally accepted that he was a member of the Zealot party, a Jewish sect that was responsible for the revolt against the Romans that resulted in the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 72.

+ According to tradition, Simon preached the Gospel in Egypt.

+ The apostle Jude, now honored as the patron saint of impossible cases, is normally identified with the “Thaddeus” mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew (14:22) and Mark (3:18).

+ Traditionally honored as the author of the New Testament epistle that bears his name, he is remembered for having asked Jesus why he would not reveal himself to the whole world, to which Jesus replied that he and the Father would visit all those who remained with him (John 14:22-23).

+ Ancient tradition relates that Saint Jude proclaimed the Gospel in Egypt and Mauritania and that he was martyred with Saint Simon in Persia.

+ The supposed relics of Saints Simon and Jude are enshrined in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

+ Saint Jude Thaddeus is honored as the patron saint of impossible cases.

For prayer and reflection

“May both Simon the Cananaean and Jude Thaddeus help us to rediscover the beauty of the Christian faith ever anew and to live it without tiring, knowing how to bear a strong and at the same time peaceful witness to it.”—Pope Benedict XVI

Vocations

The Dominican Nuns of the Monastery of St. Jude (Marbury, Alabama): https://www.marburydominicannuns.org/

Spiritual bonus

On this day, we also remember the martyr Saint Ferrutius. A Roman soldier serving in Mainz, Germany, he refused to comply to an order to worship an idol and demanded a discharge from the army so that he could remain true to the practice of his Christian faith. Imprisoned for his “crime,” he died from abuse and starvation around the year 300.

Prayer

O God, who by the blessed Apostles
have brought us to acknowledge your name,
graciously grant,
through the intercession of Saints Simon and Jude,
that the Church may constantly grow
by increase of the peoples who believe in you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.