The last Sunday of October has in recent Church History been seen as a preparation for the feast of All Saints. We emphasize the devotion which the whole Church has for the Apostles. Over the past years, we have been preaching on the Apostles - and today, in honor of their feast, we consider Sts Simon and Jude.
St Simon "the Zealot" was not a member of the Zealot political party, but a man of great zeal for the Gospel. Simon "the Canaanite" was not pagan Canaanite from Canaan, but rather from Cana in Galilee. Indeed, he may have been the groom at the wedding feast when Jesus changed water into wine - leaving all things he followed Christ. He suffered martyrdom by being sawed in half (lengthwise).
St Jude Thaddeus was a nephew of St Joseph and brother of St James the Less, and a cousin of Jesus. He is pictured holding an image of Jesus' face to indicate what our Lord promised him, "If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him." (John 14:23) The name "Thaddeus" indicates the greatness of his heart, his compassion for all in need. Perhaps this is why he is the patron saint of hopeless causes.
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A list of the 39 saints listed in Roman Canon (1st Eucharistic Prayer):
Mary, Joseph,
Peter, Paul, Andrew, James (the Greater), John, Thomas, James (the Less), Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon, and (Jude) Thaddeus,
Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus (II), Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian,
John (the Baptist), Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity (of Rome), Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia.
