Friday – Sts. Simon and Jude

Gospel – Luke6:12-16

Hey Jude!

Along the Via Dolorosa

I proudly share my name with my Dad – William Joseph Frere!  But God help me if he or my mom ever called me by that full and formal name!  Then I knew I was in big trouble!  And if they added in your Confirmation name?  Well, life as we knew it was over! 

Names!  Simple things and, for some, so many variations!  I could have been Bill or Billie, Will or Willie or the very formal ‘William’.  But I am and always have been called “Bill”.  And my Dad?  He was always “Will.”  Truth be told, secretly I always wished I could have been known as ‘Will’ just like my dad, out of a sense of pride and honor for all he has done for me, to carry on his legacy and memory.

Today we celebrate the Feasts of Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles!  Simon, but not Peter!  Jude but not Judas!  Except for Simon being called a Zealot and Jude speaking to Jesus at the Last Supper, we have very little details about their life and mission.  One apocryphal text has them preaching and being martyred in Persia.

So what do we have?  Jesus spent the night on the mountain to pray.  He calls each of the Twelve by name!  And he gives them a mission, to be apostles – to hear His words and teachings and then to spread that same word. We celebrate the moment when Simon and Jude were called by name and given their mission.  By our Baptism, we have all been called by God and given our mission – to give out the Christian message in our words and in our actions!  

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