Ephesians 2:19-22,
Psalm 19:1-2.3-4,
Luke 6:12-19 Full Readings
Saints Simon and JudeSaints Simon and Jude Pray for Us
The scripture tells us little about Simon the Zealot and Jude who was also called Thaddaeus. Jude is the patron saint of lost and desperate causes. Put together we can understand the zeal with which they followed Christ in his earthly ministry. And beyond that, think of the persecution they faced after the Ascension. Our Christian Journey is decorated with trials, temptation and persecution but we must take courage from those who have gone before us in faith, to understand that there is a crown of unfading glory awaiting us. Jesus Christ our Lord and master have gone through the worst case scenario. So we know that not only do we participate in Christ’s suffering, we share in his glory. As we celebrate the feast of Saints Simon and Jude we pray for strength and courage to live a holy life. May these saints continue to intercede for us.
St Jude has been known for answering the prayers of many people who have desperate cases, me being among them, and so brethren, let us not hesitate to pray through him and ask for his intercession. As a cousin of Jesus, he is nearer to him and so whatever he asks from Jesus on our behalf, will be given to us. All what we need is to pray unceasingly through him and we shall get what we pray for according to God's will.
Brethren, prayer is very important and it is giving licence to God to enter into your life and work in it and through you. That's why we see Jesus praying the whole night before he chose his Apostles. One may wonder why Jesus who was God would pray, but we see him praying.
Prayer is first and foremost an act of deep communion with God. In Jesus’ case, it’s an act of deep communion with the Father in Heaven and with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was continually in perfect communion (unity) with the Father and the Spirit and, thus, His prayer was nothing more than an earthly expression of this communion. His prayer is a living out of His love of the Father and the Spirit. So it’s not so much that He needed to pray so that He could stay close to them. Instead, it was that He prayed because He was perfectly united to them. And this perfect communion demanded an earthly expression of prayer. In this instance, it was prayer all night long.
Second, the fact that it was all night long reveals that Jesus’ “rest” was nothing other than being in the presence of the Father. Just as rest restores us and rejuvenates us, so the all night vigil of Jesus reveals that His human rest was that of resting in the presence of the Father.
Third, what we should take from this for our own lives is that prayer should never be underestimated. Too often we speak a few prayerful thoughts to God and let it go at that. But if Jesus chose to spend the entire night in prayer, we should not be surprised if God wants much more from our quiet time of prayer than we are now giving Him. Don’t be surprised if God is calling you to spend much more time every day in prayer. Do not hesitate to establish a set pattern of prayer. And if you find that you cannot sleep some night, do not hesitate to get up, get on your knees, and seek the presence of God living within your soul. Seek Him, listen to Him, be with Him and let Him consume you in prayer. Jesus gave us the perfect example. It is now our responsibility to follow that example.
We as human beings here on earth are sometimes imperfect in our prayers and that's why St Paul tells us that the Spirit completes our prayer. Therefore we need intermediaries like saints to intercede for us and today let us pray through sts Simon and Jude.
Let us Pray.
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. Amen.
Be blessed
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