Their Sound Goes Forth
Today we celebrate the feast day of Saints Simon (not Simon Peter) and Jude (not Judas Iscariot) who were among the twelve chosen Apostles of Jesus. Little is known about these two Apostles even in the Gospels. Simon is referred to as a zealot in the Gospels, which could have meant he was a member of a more radical sect within Judaism aimed at promoting Judaism by hook it crook and against Roman authority. Jude is popularly known as the Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes. Some suggest this is because he was often the last Apostle to be prayed to by the early Christian faithful on account of the fact that he shared a name with Judas Iscariot and praying to Jude reminded people of that betrayer. If that was the case, then in God’s providence, since Jude became the last Apostle to be prayed to, he also became the last hope for many and, thus, the patron saint for those with truly hopeless causes.
The two saints are linked together in the Roman Canon and also share the same feast day probably because they were both martyred together on the same day in Persia or possibly in Syria or Lebanon. However, the true details of their missionary journeys and martyrdom is unclear. The one thing that is certain about these Apostles, however, is that they were Apostles chosen by Jesus from his heart appointed and given a mandate to share the Gospel to the ends of the earth. And that is why their Word went forth through all the earth as our Fathers in faith and founders of our beloved Catholic Church.
The message of this feast to us is that we are also all called to proclaim the Gospel to all the earth, so that our Words too go forth through all the earth. This is done when we stay in communion with the Trinity most especially through prayer. In the Gospel we see Jesus having a whole night of prayer before choosing the Apostles who he was to entrust his mission. This was fond of Jesus especially before he made important decisions. For us to carry out our Mission and become successful like the Apostles, we need to remain in communion with the Trinity through prayer.
Jesus prayed because 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. St Paul, tells us that the Spirit completes our prayer making it heard and acceptable to God, so that He can answer them. We need the Holy Spirit always when we pray. And more still, we need intermediaries like saints to intercede for us and today let us pray through the Saints Simon and Jude. May their intercession always guide us to the Father.
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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