by Father Ed Dougherty, MM
Oct. 28 marks the Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles. Tradition holds they were martyred together in the first century while preaching the Gospel in Persia, and their remains were later moved to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, where a single tomb commemorates them to this day.
St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Bernard of Clairvaux both had visions in which God identified St. Jude as the Patron Saint of the Impossible. For centuries, pilgrims to his grave have reported powerful intercessions. Today, Catholics throughout the world invoke the intercession of St. Jude in the most desperate circumstances, and the Prayer to Saint Jude is credited with bringing much relief in times of trial.
As for St. Simon, history tells us little about him other than the story of his mission of evangelization with St. Jude, which led to martyrdom for them both. He is also named as one of the Twelve Apostles in all three synoptic Gospels and the Book of Acts.
St. Simon is referred to as “Simon called Zelotes” in the Synoptic Gospels to distinguish him from Simon Peter, which led to his being called “Simon the Zealot.” It is believed he was a former member of the Zealots, a revolutionary political party of the time. However, these fragments of information bring into focus the life of a man who underwent a profound conversion. The Zealots were committed to overthrowing the Roman occupation through violent revolution. So, if Simon were a member of the Zealots, then following Christ would have affected a radical change of heart within him.
Being one of the Twelve Apostles and later an evangelist, traveling from town to town and through the nations of the region, speaks to this conversion. His path, in many ways, represents the universal Christian conversion to turn from worldly power to the power found only in the love of Christ.
As for the life of St. Jude, we hear only a bit more about him in the New Testament than we hear about St. Simon. He was the disciple who asked Christ at the Last Supper, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?”
Christ’s answer was, “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.”
It’s an interesting exchange considering St. Jude’s role as patron of the impossible because our prayers for help must contain the same kind of faith Christ speaks of here.
So, we might see in these two key parts of the Bible why St. Jude is such a powerful intercessor and also why it is so fitting that he is paired with St. Simon for a single feast day — because they both point us towards renunciation as the ultimate way to follow Christ.
Father Ed Dougherty, MM, is on the board of directors of The Christophers.