October 28, 2026
Saints Simon and Jude
Gospel: Lk 6:12–16

Today is Wednesday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time. Today the Church celebrates the feast of the martyrdom of Saints Simon and Jude. The recently published Missal tells us: St. Simon (1st century) is usually called “the Canaanite” and “the Zealot,” suggesting he belonged to the Jewish party of the “Zealous of the Law.” St. Jude, also called Thaddeus (1st century), has a short epistle in the New Testament ascribed to him, and is popularly invoked as the patron of hopeless causes. Tradition records that after Pentecost they went out to evangelize: Simon in Egypt, Jude in Mesopotamia, and then together in Persia, where they were martyred. Their names appear in the Roman Canon. The passage from the Gospel of Saint Luke presents to us the narrative of how, after praying all night, Jesus chose the Twelve Apostles from among His disciples who had followed Him since Galilee. Let us try to understand.

First, Saint Luke tells us: Jesus went up the mountain to pray; He prayed to God all night. (cf. Lk 6:12) This shows that Jesus is always with the Heavenly Father. We know that Jesus is the Second Person of God, the Incarnate Word of God, who was with the Father in the beginning; all things were made through Him, created by Him, and completed in Him. Then why did He pray to God all night? What does Luke want to tell us? Luke wants to tell us: Jesus is always with God; He maintains His bond with the Father through all-night prayer.

Next, Saint Luke tells us: After daybreak, Jesus called His disciples and chose twelve from among them, and gives us their names. (cf. Lk 6:13–16) We can see a common characteristic in those Apostles who were first called by the Lord: they were not men of superior common sense, nor were they social celebrities of that time. They supported themselves with their own hands. Each of them had different life backgrounds, levels of education, and temperaments. The Lord Jesus did not change them, but invited them in their daily lives to proclaim the Gospel to all creatures, so that through their preaching, many might be set free from sin and death.

Today, like Saints Simon and Jude, we are chosen by God, rich in mercy, from this passing world to be His disciples. He invites us, through receiving His Baptism and the anointing of the Holy Spirit who proceeds from Him and the Father, to be set free from sin and death. He further invites us, through receiving His Body and Blood, to be united with Him and thus receive full nourishment, so that, like Saints Simon and Jude, we may with concrete actions and holy lives courageously bear witness to the truth.

O God, who by the blessed Apostles
have brought us to acknowledge your name,
graciously grant,
through the intercession of Saints Simon and Jude,
that the Church may constantly grow
by increase of the peoples who believe in you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica