SAINT SIMON THE ZEALOT, THE APOSTLE

Almost nothing is known about Simon in the Bible, only once to list his name alongside the other twelve disciples.

Saint Simon the Zealot, during his three years of ministry with Jesus, matured into an apostle. Able to spread the gospel in truth and love to all nations.

According to church tradition, he served as a missionary in Egypt and was martyred in Persia.

 

SAINT JUDE, THE APOSTLE

Saint Jude, known as Thaddaeus, was a brother of Saint James the Less, Saint Jude is not the same person as Judas Iscariot.

His mother Mary was the Virgin Mary's cousin. He was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Ephesians 2:19-22 

Now you are no longer

Strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people: you are of the household of God. You are the house whose foundations are the apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. In him the whole structure is joined together and rises to be a holy temple in the Lord. In him you too are being built, to become the spiritual Sanctuary of God.

 

Ps 19:2-3,4-5 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Luke 6:12-16

At this time, Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, he called his disciples to him, and chose twelve of them, whom he called 'apostles': Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Jesus chose them."

Today's Gospel tells that Jesus spent a night in prayer. Afterwards, he chose his twelve Apostles. We may reflect on the point that Jesus did not choose people having similar personalities. Rather, Jesus chose people of different characters. Simon and Jude could be taken as examples.

 

On the one hand, Simon is identified as a Zealot (cf. Lk 6:15) while in other accounts he is identified as Simon the Cananean (cf. Mk 3:18; Mt 10:4). On the other hand, Jude is identified as Judas the Son of James (cf. Lk 6:16) and as Thaddeus (cf. Mk 3:18; Mt 10:31. Based on other manuscripts for Matthew 10:3, Jude is also referred to as Lebbalos.

 

This word is from the Hebrew libbai, which means "hearty" The Hebrew word leb means "heart." We may wonder how the personality of Simon, the nationalist, would blend with the personality of Jude, the cordial and exuberant. While being summoned to become the better versions of ourselves, the Lord always respects our personalities. He builds up on the good side of our character, allowing it to harmonize with those of others whom he also called to follow him on the road.