St. Simon and St. Jude

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

“In these days he went out into the hills to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:

“Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor” (Luke 6:12-16).

Simon was called the Zealot, perhaps for belonging to the party of the Jewish enthusiasts of the Law. He was originally from Cana in Galilee.

Judas, who was also called Thaddeus, meaning the courageous one, is remembered in ecclesiastical tradition as the author of the Epistle that bears his name.

They reportedly preached the doctrine of Christ in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Persia, and were both martyred for the faith. Today is the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude.

Our Lord had no need for anyone to bear witness concerning Him, we're told in St. John (John 2:25). Nevertheless, He wanted to choose the apostles to be His companions during His life and to provide the continuity of His work following His death.

In Christian art we often find Christ surrounded by the Twelve who formed an inseparable company with Him. These disciples belonged neither to the influential class of Israel nor to the priestly caste of Jerusalem. They weren't philosophers but rather simple people.

One writer says, “It's a constant marvel to see how these men spread a message radically opposed in its essence to the common wisdom of their age. Currently, the practice of Christianity still runs contrary to popular thought, and we are confronted with the same challenge” (Otto Hophan, The Apostles).

The Gospels frequently allude to Our Lord's suffering because of the incomprehension of the disciples. He said to them, “Do you not perceive nor understand? Is your heart still blinded? Though you have eyes do you still not see, and though you have ears do you still not hear?” (Mark 8:17-18).

“Too dull of wit, too slow of heart” (Luke 24:25). And He addresses these words to those people in whom He confides the most.

We're told in Christ Is Passing By, “They weren't educated; they weren't even very bright, judging by all their reactions to the supernatural. When even the most elementary examples and comparisons are beyond their grasp they turn to [the Master] and say: ‘Explain the parable to us’ (Matt. 15:15).

“When Jesus uses the metaphor of the ‘leaven of the Pharisees’ they think he's reproaching them for not buying bread (Matt. 16:6-7). … So ordinary were the disciples Christ chose that they remain unchanged until the Holy Spirit fills them, and they grow into pillars of the Church.

“Nevertheless, they remain the everyday sort of men, complete with defects and shortcomings. Often, they are more eager to say than to do. Despite their undeniable weaknesses, Jesus calls them to be fishers of men and co-redeemers. These simple men are to be dispensers of the grace of God” (Josemaría [Escrivá]{.mark}, Christ Is Passing By, Point 2).

The apostles that Our Lord chooses are very different from one another. Yet they share the same faith and the same message.

It shouldn't be surprising, therefore, that little is known about them. They were all called in special ways. In some ways you could say that none of them were really ready or suitable.

One writer said, “Jesus called his apostles and they weren't ready. Jesus called Peter, but Peter was unfaithful. Peter was weak. Peter had a bad temper. Peter lacked courage. Peter wasn't ready.

“Jesus called James and John, but James and John were ambitious. James and John followed Jesus for the wrong reason. James and John followed Jesus for their own glory. James and John lacked purity of motivation. James and John weren't ready.

“Jesus called Philip, but Philip was blind. He couldn't see a spiritual reality if he tripped over it. Philip lacked intelligence and insight. Philip wasn't ready.

“Jesus called Judas, but Judas was untrustworthy. Judas was more interested in money than the kingdom. Judas was a loner who slunk off at night. Judas lacked integrity. Judas wasn't ready.

“Jesus called Matthew, but Matthew was a crook. Matthew was money-hungry. Matthew had hurt people. Matthew lacked an honest past. Matthew wasn't ready.

“Jesus called Thomas, but Thomas lacked faith. Thomas was a doubter. Thomas wasn't around enough. Thomas lacked trust in the invisible. Thomas wasn't ready.

“Jesus called Andrew, but Andrew was a cynic. Andrew could not take Jesus' word seriously. Andrew still had the eyes of the world. Andrew lacked maturity. Andrew wasn't ready.

“Jesus called Simon the zealot, but Simon was a militant. Simon had a belligerent streak. Simon was a social justice type. Simon lacked nuance. Simon wasn't ready.

“Jesus called Luke, but Luke wasn't tough enough. Luke was too gentle. Luke couldn't face the hard confrontation the Gospel asks. Luke lacked the courage for prophecy. Luke wasn't ready.

“Jesus called Mark, but Mark was a stoic. Mark was neurotic. He made an ideology out of suffering. Mark lacked joy and optimism. Mark wasn't ready.

“Jesus called Bartholomew and James the Lesser, but Bartholomew and James the Lesser lacked talent. Bartholomew and James had little to contribute. Bartholomew and James were shy introverts. Bartholomew and James the Lesser lacked charisma. Bartholomew and James weren't ready.

“Jesus calls us, and we aren't ready. But the thing is, Our Lord doesn't call those who are ready. He does call the willing” (Joan Chittister, “The Thirteenth Apostle” from Winds of Change).

And these apostles were willing. Each of them gave testimony to Our Lord and passed on the doctrine they received from Him, and that was the most important thing for them, not receiving personal acclaim.

In a manner of speaking, they would consider themselves the envelope of a letter from God, since their sole mission was to transmit the inheritance they had received.

St. Josemaría occasionally used this metaphor to highlight the Christian virtue of humility. Christ's followers had only one desire, and that was to be faithful instruments of the Lord. The letter containing the divine message was important to them, not the envelope it came in.

Today, as a result, we have precious little information about these two great apostles Simon and Jude.

We know that Simon was expressly chosen by the Lord to be one of the Twelve. We also know that Jude was the relative of Christ who asked Him a question at the Last Supper, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?” (John 14:22).

We have no idea where their bodies are buried, and we don't know with any great precision the lands that they evangelized.

They had no concern to have their personal talents stand out, particularly their apostolic victories and the sufferings they had endured for the sake of the Master's kingdom. On the contrary, they tried to pass unnoticed and simply be useful in spreading the message of Christ. In that way, they found the deepest meaning of their lives.

Despite modest human abilities for the mission Christ entrusted to them, the apostles became the glory of God in the world.

We too can rejoice in carrying out God's will, by quietly fulfilling the work and the mission the Lord has entrusted to us in our life, no matter how modest our tasks may seem.

St. Josemaría says in The Forge, “I advise you not to look for praise, even when you deserve it. It is better to pass unnoticed, and to let the most beautiful and noble aspects of our actions, of our lives, remain hidden. What a great thing it is to become little! Deo omnis gloria!–All the glory to God!” (J. [Escrivá]{.mark}, The Forge, Point 1051).

In the Furrow, he says, “Then we will be efficacious, since when one works wholly and exclusively for the glory of God, one does everything with naturalness, like someone who is in a hurry and will not be delayed by ‘making a great show of things.’ In this way, one does not lose the unique and incomparable company of the Lord” (J. [Escrivá]{.mark}, Furrow, Point 555).

There was a lady called Margaret Middleton, who was born in York in England around the year 1556. Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558. At that time, the vast majority of English people were Catholic, and they wished to remain Catholic.

When the new queen threatened to destroy the Catholic Church, they shrugged their shoulders and waited for it all to blow over. It took several years for them to realize, when it was too late, that if they wanted to retain their faith, they must be ready to suffer for it.

The story has certain similarities with the present time.

The law clearly stated that the Mass was outlawed and the whole population was ordered to attend the new Protestant services. The Middleton family accepted the new religion and the Queen as the head of the church.

Margaret married a Protestant, John Clitherow, at the age of 18, and at the age of 21, Margaret once again became Catholic and professed her faith and allegiance to the Pope.

Throughout their marriage, John paid her fines for not attending Protestant church services and he allowed Margaret to bring up their children as Catholics and was very careful not to know if the forbidden Catholic Mass was being celebrated in his house.

John made things as easy as he could for his wife. He was careful to ignore that Father Mush was a frequent visitor and obviously celebrating mass for Margaret and her friends.

Margaret was a loving wife and mother. She was disturbed by John's protestations of faith in the Queen's religion, but she still loved him dearly.

John said that he could wish for no better wife, and she had only two faults: ‘she fasted too much and would not go with him to church.’

Her home became one of the most important hiding places for Catholic priests in all of England. The house had a secret cupboard where the vestments, wine, and altar breads were kept. It also had a ‘priest's hole’ where priests could be hidden.

On March 10, 1586, the Clitherow’s home was raided. The searchers found everything: where the Mass was celebrated, the vestments, the altar breads. They carried off this incriminating evidence.

By now, the Clitherows had three children. The oldest was studying in France to be a priest, and when Margaret was taken away from her home that day and thrown into prison, her two younger children never saw her again. Subsequently, the young boy went on to become a priest and the young girl a nun.

On her third day in prison, her husband was allowed to visit her, their last meeting. On the 14th of March, Margaret was brought before the judges in Common Hall in York. Her indictment was read, and she was asked how she pleaded.

In answer, she said, ‘I know of no offense whereof I should confess myself guilty. Having made no offense, I need no trial.’

The next morning, she was taken back to the Common Hall. The judge reminded her that under the law of Queen Elizabeth, when an accused person refused to make a plea and stand trial before a jury, the accused would be sentenced to what was called peine forte et dure–‘a strong and tough penalty.’

This involved the accused lying naked on the stone floor of an underground cell with a door laid over them and piling heavy stones on the door. Further weights were piled on the door until the accused was crushed to death.

Margaret refused to make a plea or to stand trial and the judge sentenced that she should be crushed to death for having ‘harbored and maintained Jesuits and seminary priests, traitors to the Queen's Majesty and her laws.’

Ten days later on the 25th of March 1586, she was executed by crushing. Before her execution she was asked to pray for the Queen, and she did pray for the Queen. She prayed that the Queen would become a Catholic!

The executioners placed the board upon her and huge stones on top. Within a quarter of an hour, she was dead. They left the body under the door from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon, and they buried her body in some waste ground where they hoped it would never be found.

It was Good Friday. She was left beneath the board from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon, and they buried her body in waste ground hoping it would never be found.

Pope Paul VI canonized her in 1970, and he gave her the title ‘Pearl of York.’

Her home, Number 26 The Shambles, York, has become a place of pilgrimage visited by thousands each year. She's called a martyr of the Eucharist because she was executed for protecting priests and making it possible for them to celebrate Mass.

It’s said, “It is through the faith and courage of people like Margaret that in the United Kingdom, they're able to celebrate the Holy Eucharist today” (Fr. Tommy Lane, Homily, 2004).

We can be inspired by such heroic witness. The apostles have passed on the faith to us. They were the witnesses of the life and teachings of Our Lord. They transmitted what they heard and the deeds they saw with diligent fidelity. They weren't bent on spreading their personal theories, nor did they merely propagate human solutions gleaned from their own experience.

St. Peter writes, “For we were not following fictitious myths when we made known to you the power and the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his grandeur” (2 Pet. 1:16).

St. John says, “I write of what was from the beginning, what we have heard with our ears and seen with our eyes. We have looked upon the Word of Life and touched it with our hands. Thus we announce it to you” (1 John 1:1).

The doctrine of the Twelve is the foundation of the Christian faith. It's not the free interpretation of each one, nor does it derive from the authority of wise men.

St. Luke also confirms that all the events he relates are “from the ones who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word” (Luke 1:2). We also know that the first Christian community “all persevered in the teaching of the apostles” (Acts 2:42).

The voice of the apostles is the clear light of Our Lord's teachings. It will resound throughout time until the end of the world. Their heart and lips overflow with veneration and respect for the words of Jesus and His person.

Their love leads Peter and John to exclaim in the face of the Sanhedrin's threats: “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

St. Athanasius says the faith has come down to us over the generations by means of the Magisterium of the Church through the continual assistance of the Holy Spirit.

Growth in our understanding of these truths continues even today. In a sense, we can compare our ever-deepening penetration of these truths with the development of a seed into a great tree. The Church, however, is always the channel through which we receive the teaching of Christ and a participation in his grace (cf. St. Athanasius, Letter to Serapion).

We need to make this doctrine known through catechism and also through personal apostolate.

Many centuries separate us from the two apostles that we celebrate today in a special way, but at the same time, we see the great relevance. The Light and the Life of Christ they preached in the world continues to reach us.

One writer says, “The Lord's light has not lessened. The first Twelve passed the light on to their disciples, as these did to theirs, and so on for centuries until the deposit of faith reached our own day. This light of faith has passed through many generations.

“For us, for the flock that draws near for nourishing sustenance now, God has provided teachers, pastors, and priests. Through them, He works the marvel of our salvation and takes care of us with divine affection. From him, all the stars of the sky derive their splendor just as all the seas sing to him and all the heavens praise him” (Otto Hophan, op. cit.)

Like the other apostles, Simon and Jude have the good fortune to learn from the lips of the Master the doctrine that they would later teach. They shared their joys and sorrows with Him.

The two learned many things in the intimacy of their conversation with the Lord. He said, “What you hear whispered, preach it on the housetops” (Matt. 10:27).

Surely, they must have absorbed every detail of each miracle. Every tear and smile of the Lord would be important since they would later on be witnesses to Him in the world. The Twelve considered intimate union with the Master essential for being an apostle.

We have to try and have a great love for Jesus—for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. If our thoughts, hearts, and minds revolve around the Blessed Sacrament, all of our apostolic efforts will be fruitful.

When they're preparing to complete their number after Judas disappears, they have one indispensable condition. We're told in the Acts of the Apostles, “Out of the men who have been in our company since the Lord Jesus moved among us, one must become a witness with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1:21-22).

All these men had accompanied Our Lord from the beginning, even during the trials of the apostolate. Through tiring journeys under the sun and while they were at rest, the Lord calmly teaches them the mysteries of the kingdom.

They share in Christ's joy when people respond well to His preaching. They participate in His suffering too, when they find a certain lack of generosity of some who set out to follow the Master.

They trusted Our Lord as they would trust a father and a friend. They knew Him for His noble bearing, His gentle tone of voice, and even His way of breaking bread.

One writer says, “When his profound eyes rested on them and his voice resounded in their ears, they would feel inundated by light and moved by joy. They would blush when he reprimanded them. When he needed to correct them, their faces, worn by years and toil, would fall downward, like those of little children caught in wrongdoing.

“Time and again, towards the end of his earthly life, they were in awe when he would speak to them of his coming Passion. They remained close to him since they wanted to learn his doctrine, but above all because they loved him” (Otto Hophan, op. cit.).

On this feast of the apostles Simon and Jude, we can ask them to help us to know and love Our Lord more each day, and to follow Him as the center of our lives.

Mary, Queen of Apostles, pray for us.

JOSHEsc