Today we celebrate the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude amongst the first chosen by our Lord
for the Apostolic College. It is not quite well known why their feast is celebrated together.
It is believed perhaps that because for a time they preached both of them in the area of Mesopotamia.
And it is often as in the case with the early saints of the church, most biographers tell us that we do not know
much about Saint Simon and Jude. But indeed, this in one way is a false way of looking at it
because we know all that we need to know about Saint Simon and Jude. We know that which was
essential in their lives, that by the very fact we celebrate their feast, they loved God above all
things. And because they loved God, they were faithful to their mission. And hence, they loved
their neighbor as themselves for God's sakes. For being amongst the Apostolic College, they were
chosen to establish the church in the world. And so truly, we know much about them.
Because their message has gone out to all the world, and indeed, continues to go out to the world
and will until the end of time through their successes. We know that because of this, Saint Simon
and Jude were both zealous and took no repose in preaching the gospel to the pagan lands.
They would for this ultimately pay the ultimate price. And indeed, part of the reason why Saint Judas
perhaps the patron saint of the church, Saint Simon and Jude, was so zealous in preaching the gospel
to the pagan lands. And indeed, part of the reason why Saint Judas was so zealous in preaching the gospel
of impossible causes is because his final missionary activity was done in Armenia. And it
took 250 years after the shedding of his blood for those people to convert en masse to the Christian
faith. And so, he truly, as these people showed themselves obstinate, Saint Jude would continue
to labor for them from his heavenly kingdom and ultimately would gain for them the grace of
conversion. And so, we rejoice today because of this. And so, we know much about them. And hence,
God in his mercy has smiled upon us and established his church in a most special way, that it was to be
founded by the 12 apostles amongst whom were Saint Simon and Jude. And because of their zealous labor
for the Lord, we do not know much about their personal lives because they were more interested
in communicating the love of Jesus Christ to all peoples and to all lands. And this they did in a
most heroic way. And so, they continued to do this. And so, we know much about them. And hence,
they contributed in a special way in that miracle of our Lord, which is said by many theologians to be
the greatest of his miracles after his Eucharistic presence. But indeed, even his Eucharistic presence
cannot come amongst us unless that miracle of his church, perduring until the end of time, is true.
And so, the fact that the Catholic Church is present in the world today is the greatest miracle
worked by our Lord in the world today. And so, we know much about them. And hence, we rejoice today
because of it. The priesthood is perpetuated and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass continues.
And as Scripture and our Lord promised us, will continue until the end of time. And so,
the apostles saw through the persecutions and the trials and tribulations in their time.
And we must see through the persecutions and the trials and tribulations of our time. For when we
look upon the state of the church and of the world through human eyes, we are driven to despair.
But we must see through the persecutions and the trials and tribulations of our time. And so,
we must have the eyes of the apostle who knew full well that the Lord cannot deceive nor be
deceived. And in doing so, he promised the apostles that his church would continue until the end of
time. And so, they labored in their time as we must learn from them to labor in our time. We must
not look for external proofs that Christ is present in his church. We must look to the end that he has
promised to be faithful to his promise. And no matter how we look at it, we must see through the
persecutions and tribulations and tribulations of our time. And so, we must see through the
persecutions and tribulations of our time. And no matter how we look at it, we must see through the
state of the world may appear. He will eventually renew it with his love, renew it with his
forgiveness. This is the message that St. Simon and St. Jude would bring to the pagan worlds.
Repent and be baptized for the kingdom of God is at hand. It truly is at hand and it will continue
until the end of time. And so, let us this day especially pray to St. Simon and Jude that they
may pray for us. But most especially, let us pray for the kingdom of God. And so, we must see through
the persecutions and tribulations of our time. And so, let us this day especially pray to St. Simon and Jude that they may pray and intercede for those members of Christ's mystical body who are essential to her
perduring until the end of time. That is, their successors, the bishops, that they too may be
heroic in defending the faith, that they too may be willing to shed their blood for the defense
in defending all the doctrines of Christ. And indeed, one of the successors of the apostles
and indeed, a great successor of St. Peter himself,
Pope John Paul II, has told us that if bishops are not zealous in defending the doctrine of the
indissolubility of marriage, he prophesied that whole Catholic diocese would disappear because
he truly understood this mystery of the integrity of the faith. That if one doctrine, and most
especially, a doctrine that is at the very core of the survival of society, that is, the sacrament
of matrimony, by which a man and a woman united,
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most of the apostles modded it was when they began to teach that what Christ said he meant
that one man and one woman would be united together in matrimony not under their own power
which they cannot perdure in but by the grace of God they will show themselves faithful in marriage
because Christ showed himself faithful when he married himself to his mystical body and so let
us be thankful this day for saints Simon and Jude and all the apostles let us ask them to pray
for the bishops for their handing on the faith is the very core of the survival of the church
and let us also turn in a special way to Saint Jude who had the added blessing of being legally
the cousin of our Lord and Savior and so he is often depicted with a square in his hand
in order to denote the nobility of of human labor when it is done for
Christ and for the people of the world.
Christ but most especially to to denote to denote that he was a follower of the architect of the
church that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that he was called in a special way as were
all the apostles and all the members of the mystical body to continue to build up the edifice
of the church both by our human labors but primarily by our life of prayer and of penance
and entering into the sacramental mysteries for they taught us well that the church
is made up of living stones and that when we dedicate ourselves entirely to God then and and
give up our lives as the Apostles did and that is precisely why they are considered the found one of
the reasons they are the foundation of the church for they are amongst the first who gave up their
lives for the kingdom of God and so they truly laid the stones but the death of each and every
Christian whether it be a death of blood martyrdom or the white martyrdom by which we perdure and
the faith of the Apostles when we pass from this life faithful to Christ we we build up the edifice
of Christ it is another stone laid in the edifice of Jesus Christ the church and so it continues to
grow it continues to get to get bigger and greater each and every moment not necessarily by means of
numbers but by by but by way of charity in which souls truly give themselves up entirely so that
the Lord may live in the name of the Father and in the name of the Son and in the name of the Holy
I- forgive them and in the name of the Father and in the name of the Holy Spirit we live our lives
in righteousness and Nazareneaque in the name of CHRIST and now the matter of Christ lies in the
life as in the mixture of the one unspeakable that is law and reflection it all is with the
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to the most extraordinary response of grace that is possible for a human soul in this world.
And they perdured, and hence, they truly exercised charity in its most profound way.
And so, let us pray to St. Simon and Jude that we too may love the Lord above all things,
and then, like them, we may love our neighbors as ourselves,
according to the vocation God has given us within his mystical body,
so that we too, at the end of our lives, may be laid in the edifice that is the Church,
that greatest of God's miracles, established by the blood on Calvary,
sustained by the efforts of the mystical body,
as they lay down their life for him who first laid down his life for them,
so that when the Lord comes again, he will find her holy and immaculate,
just like he found his mother, pleasing to him,
and then all will rejoice with him for all eternity.
All eternity in heaven.
All eternity in heaven.