Saints of the Shadows!

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles!

Eph 2:19-22; Lk 6: 12-16

The Feast of Saints Simon and Jude invite us to live out our trust in God because their trust in Jesus changed everything for them. 

As his name indicates, ‘Simon the Zealot’ must have been ‘zealous’ about his Jewish identity and opposed Roman oppression and taxation. 

Jude is referred to as ‘Judas, son of James,’ but ‘not the Iscariot’ (Jn 14:22). Pope Benedict XVI pointed to the tradition that the Epistle of Jude was written by the apostle. There is also a reference to these two apostles as Jesus’ brothers (Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3).

It is sad that, apart from these minor details, we do not have much on them. 

Nevertheless, these two apostles teach that discipleship is a journey of trust.

Just as his name suggests, Simon the Zealot must have been one of those zealots who not only awaited liberation from the Roman occupation but was also ready to use force if their resistance required it. It is totally surprising that Simon left behind all his revolutionary ideas to embrace a missionary life, all because he trusted Jesus and was willing to be transformed by him. It is said, ‘Changing is like dying.’ True to the saying, Simon must have died to his former self and accepted the discipleship of Jesus, which implied a lifelong commitment to proclaim love, practice forgiveness, and announce peace as part of establishing the Kingdom of God. Though the journey of discipleship demanded the impossible from him, he was ready for it and became, in the end, what the journey specifically required of him. From the life of Simon, we gain two powerful insights. From the way he embraced change, we understand that any sacrifice is possible if we truly love Christ. Secondly, there is nothing wrong with switching sides if we realize that our former convictions were totally flawed and wrong. 

St. Jude is often referred to as ‘the patron of the hopeless causes.’ It is ironic that he offers hope for what is already named ‘hopeless.’ When we walk to him in faith seeking his intervention, what we hope for comes to realization. In this sense, seeking his intercession is to ‘hope against hope.’ From two sources, we can understand St. Jude and his passion for the Gospel. It is Jude who asks Jesus during the Last Supper, ‘Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?’ (Jn 14: 22). We can sense his passion, curiosity, and concern from that one interaction with the Lord. He comes across to us as a man who longed to understand how Christ’s revelation would transform the world. The second instance would be a reference to his epistle. In his short but powerful letter, Jude urges believers to ‘build themselves in their most holy faith’ and ‘keep themselves in God’s love’ (Jude 20-21). The saint of the hopeless causes strengthens the readers by reminding them that hope in God would never go in vain. When our faith is put to the test by many contemporary realities, we need to turn to St. Jude for hope, who teaches us that nothing is beyond God’s reach. 

Let us pray that we may live the Gospel quietly but courageously like Saints Simon and Jude, who show that our discipleship is measured not by fame and popularity but by fidelity and faithfulness. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar