Sts. Jude and Simon

Feast (1969 Calendar): October 28
Double of the II Class (1955 Calendar): October 28

Today is the Feastday of Sts. Simon and Jude Thaddaeus, Apostles, who both preached the Gospel in Mesopotamia and Persia. St. Jude is the author of a short Epistle in the New Testament.

St. Jude Thaddaeus was the son of Cleophas and the woman named Mary who stood with the Blessed Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross as Our Lord was redeeming the world. St. Jude is the brother of St. James the Lesser. St. Jude is reported to also be a relative to Jesus. He was a preacher in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia with St. Simon the Apostle. He also is remembered as a Healer and Exorcist, who could exorcise pagan idols, causing the demons to flee and the statues to crumble.

Like all of the other 11 faithful Apostles except St. John the Evangelist, St. Jude was martyred. He was beaten with a club and beheaded. His relics are in the Vatican. However there is kept a relic of the arm of St. Jude in Chicago, Illinois.

Patronage: desperate situations; forgotten causes; hospital workers; hospitals; impossible causes; lost causes, diocese of Saint Petersburg, Florida

St. Simon called Simon the Cananaean or Simon the Zealot was also an apostle of Jesus Christ. Not much is known about him outside of the account in the New Testament. He did evangelize with St. Jude in Egypt and Mesopotamia, and several places claim to have been the site of his martyrdom.

Patronage: curriers; sawmen; sawyers; tanners

Prayer:

O God, Who, through Thy blessed Apostles Simon and Jude, hast brought us to the knowledge of Thy name, grant that we may celebrate their everlasting glory by advancing in good works, and that we may advance in good works by celebrating their glory. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal