October 28: Feast Day of Saints Simon and Jude, the Apostles
Saint Simon, called the Zealot—to distinguish him from Simon Peter—and Saint Jude Thaddeus—to distinguish him from Judas—are two of the apostles, the least well-known of the Twelve, whom Christ called by name: “In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” (Luke 6:12–16).
They are celebrated together on October 28. They are grouped together in the Gospel lists and in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles because they spent the last years of their lives together. Indeed, we know that these two apostles both set out to evangelize the world after Pentecost and that they met again in Persia (which corresponded to the Parthian Empire) to preach together, and that they then traveled to Armenia. They are said to have died as martyrs together in one of these two countries. It is therefore natural and logical to celebrate them together on the day they gave their souls to God. However, they are invoked and prayed to for very different reasons. Saint Simon, for example, is the patron saint of married couples, so he is particularly invoked by newlyweds. Saint Jude, for his part, is considered the patron saint of hopeless causes. He is therefore also associated with Saint Rita. Let us pray to these two holy apostles, especially on their feast day, that they may intercede for us before the Lord and help us to be good disciples of Christ.
Pray with the Apostles Saint Simon and Saint Jude
Prayer to Recite on the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude
“Eternal and almighty God, through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, you founded your Church upon the Twelve Apostles and sustain it in the apostolic succession, united and steadfast around the successor of Peter. On this feast of Saints Simon and Jude, we wish to bless you in this spiritual temple that is your Church and our Church; we wish to glorify you by acknowledging its unity and our mission within it.
Jesus, Wisdom of God the Father, grant that I may recognize you in my daily life as the One who calls me; grant that I may know your will and experience your love, so that I may fill the passing of time with love.
O Jesus, you are the Master and Lord of my life; to you I cry out: come and touch me, come and deliver me from paralysis and darkness. Your light shines in the Temple of your Church; I want to enter it more deeply, even though I am but a wretched sinner. I want to ascend your holy mountain and draw near to your altar, to praise you until the end of my days. Amen.”
Prayer for Vocations
“Lord Jesus, we give you thanks because you pray with us and for us.
We entrust to you all those whom you have sent to follow in the footsteps of your apostles, and in particular our bishops, their successors.
We entrust them to you so that, following in the footsteps of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, they may guide the faithful in proclaiming the Gospel to those who do not know it.”
Continue your prayer with Saints Simon and Jude through Hozana!
Discover this and entrust your prayers to his intercession.
Join the Apostle Saint Simon in this !
Pray with Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal to rediscover
