Saint Simon and St Jude Thaddeus, pray for us!

     Today, October 28th, we celebrate and honor two Great Saints. St. Jude Thaddeus and Saint Simon "the Zealot". Two great witnesses to the testimony of Jesus Christ, being true God and true man. St Jude is so named by Luke and Acts in the Bible. Matthew and Mark call him Thaddeus. His name, shortened to Jude because of the disgrace of that name by Judas Iscariot. Simon is mentioned on all four lists of the Apostles. Two of them call him "the zealot". Zealots were mainly responsible for the rebellion against Rome which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. unknown to many, the two men hold holiness and true Apostleship within their very veins and their whole being was dedicated to preach the word of God wherever they went, especially in such a torrent of reform and rebellion.

     St Jude Thaddeus's father, Alpheus, was the brother of beloved St Joseph, the spouse of Mary. While his mother, Mary Cleophas, was a cousin to Mary. Saint Simon, is named in the Gospel as the 10th apostle, just before St Jude Thaddeus.

     Both met in ancient Persia, to start their missionary works together. They preached on witnessing Christ to all and proclaimed to all to "have courage as Christians". In their refusal to worship the goddess Diana and deny Christ as the one true God, all the while declaring pagan gods as false, it is said,  that while preaching, two horrible demons came out of the Temple of the Sun, destroying St Jude. Terribly frightened, the people jumped ferociously on the two Apostles and brutally killed them. They're relics are kept in the Basilica of Saint Peter.

     My mother prayed with great devotion to St Jude Thaddeus, as he is said to be a patron of "hopeless cases". Her prayers were often directed to these two great Saints, as protectors for our family and the world. My respect for these two great Saints has only grown more and more throughout my years of aging because of this sweet memory of her devotion to them. True Apostles of Jesus Christ, let us now acknowledge them today with our prayers of Thanksgiving and petition. With honor and love, once again we find and recall two more friends to help us on our path to Heaven. 

     Saint Simon and St Jude Thaddeus, pray for us!