Spiritual Reflection

Today we celebrate the feast day of the apostles Simon and Jude (also known as Thaddeus). I’m sure that they were hand-picked by Jesus as there is evidence that Jude was related to Jesus. Jude’s father was thought to be a brother to St. Joseph.

Simon was known well in Cana, a place familiar to Jesus. After the Ascension of Jesus, Simon and Jude were the first to be ordained Bishops. Simon and Jude worked as missionaries together and both suffered martyrdom because of their ministry.

Their impact on me was that they did so much without any fanfare. Even as apostles, they were less mentioned as being anyone special. Today it is a real blessing to meet and know people who just go about doing good without anyone knowing their identities. This was a gift from Simon and Jude to show us that value.

They were not martyred at the same time, but they are buried together in a crypt in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Interestingly the crypt is below the statue of St. Joseph who was known to be Jude’s uncle.

So, in honor of Simon and Jude, do something good that no one will know who did it.

That’s a great prayer and mine is to wish my brother, my teammate, an early birthday wish for tomorrow.

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