Saints Simon and Jude
Excerpts taken from Laudate
Jude, son of Cleophas, who died a martyr, and Mary who stood at the foot of the Cross, and who anointed Christ’s body after death. Brother of Saint James the Lesser. Nephew of Mary and Joseph; blood relative of Jesus Christ and reported to look a lot like him. May have been a fisherman. Apostle. Wrote the canonical Epistle named for him. Preached in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia with Saint Simon. Healer. Exorcist. Could exorcise pagan idols, which caused the demons to flee and the statues to crumble.
His patronage of lost or impossible causes traditionally derives from confusion by many early Christians between Jude and the traitor Judas Iscariot; not understanding the difference between the names, they never prayed for Jude’s help, and devotion to him became something of a lost cause.
Simon, an Apostle, called the Cananean or zealot because of his zeal for the Jewish law; he was not from Canaan nor a member of the zealot party. Like all the Apostles, he was a convert, and was trained by Saint Peter the Apostle Simon evangelized in Egypt and Mesopotamia, though there are traditions of him being in several other locations. He was a martyr for the faith, but several places claim to have been the site of that, too. We really do not have a great deal of confirmation regarding Saint Simon.
Saint Jude: pray for us
Saint Simon; pray for us
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen