Meditation for the Day

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles, October 28

Let Us Ask Our Lord to Fill Us with That Strength of Faith Which Only His Spirit of Truth Can Give, So That We May Give Selflessly of Ourselves through the Life We Live and the Wonders of This Faith We Express.

“You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God.”

In our First Reading today, Paul speaks to us about the fact that, in Jesus Christ – whether we are apostle or disciple, plumber or bricklayer, doctor or lawyer, clergy, religious or layperson – we are all one, sharing in a common journey – the destination of which is Heaven, the object of our desire which is eternal life.

No matter who we are or what our role in life may be, we know only too well that this common journey in which we share is oftentimes fraught with obstacles and difficulties.

I do not believe that there is a single one of us above the age of reason who has not carried his or her share of crosses in this life at one time or another. Some of these crosses which you and I bear or have borne have been light, while others have seemed extremely heavy, almost to the point of being unbearable.

And I am sure that there have been times in the life of each of us when we have had doubts, wondering why God allows certain things to happen to ourselves or to others. And it is not uncommon for us to ask, in the midst of our suffering, “Does God really hear me? Does He really care?”

What these questions make us is not a people who are weak of faith. Rather, what they make us is human, just as human and just as vulnerable as the Apostles were, during and after the days in which Christ walked amongst His own children.

Today is the Feastday of two of the original Twelve Apostles selected by our Lord, Saints Simon and Jude. And both saints are honored together for it is believed that, after the destruction of Jerusalem, both Simon and Jude traveled together throughout the regions of Mesopotamia, Libya and Persia – preaching and converting many people to Christianity until their martyrdom.

Just as we find with the other Apostles, we see in Simon and Jude men who are completely human, with their own weaknesses and human faults. And in spite of their mistakes and human flaws, Jesus never abandoned them. Even though they all abandoned our Lord when He suffered His Passion, our Lord did not condemn them; He did not chastise them for their human failings.

Instead, our Lord would appear to them after His Resurrection and give them His Peace. In spite of their weaknesses, Jesus loved them, supported them and made them the foundational stones of His new Church.

And it is in their weaknesses, it is in their doubts and their faults that we are able to see ourselves – for we find our own humanity. It is within the lives of these special Twelve, recognizing our own weak human nature, that we can take hope, knowing that no matter how dark life may seem for us at times, our Lord is always there filling us with His Love, asking that we open the eyes of our hearts and souls to the gift of faith and peace which He wishes to share with each one of us.

With the faith which we bear and to which we profess, even amidst our own human frailties, we can look to the lives of these specially chosen men who were called by our Lord. We not only see them as the pillars of our Church, we also see that each of us shares in the same humanity as brothers and sisters – for we are all one in the Body of Christ – and, as Saint Paul tells us, “…with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.”

Let us fill our hearts with the confidence of always reaching out to our Lord, both in good times and bad. Let us ask our Lord to fill us with that strength of faith which only His Spirit of Truth can give, so that we, too, in imitation of Saints Simon and Jude, may give selflessly of ourselves through the life we live and the wonders of this faith we express –

– so that we, too, like the Apostles, may respond to God’s grace and become instrumental in helping to build up the Body of Christ here on this side of Heaven.

May God bless you, God love you, and may God always keep you. †

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Please Comment, Like and Share, and Suggest to your Facebook friends – to spread the message of God’s Merciful Love.

Por favor Comente, Le Gusta y Comparta, y Sugiera a tus amigos en Facebook – en difundir el mensaje del Misericordioso Amor de Dios.

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Scripture for the Day

• “…you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.” (Ephesians 2:19-20)
• “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)
• “And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)
• “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” (Matthew 5:11-12a)
• “…power is made perfect in weakness. I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9b-10)
• “The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the works of his hands. Day unto day pours forth speech; night unto night whispers knowledge…A report goes forth through all the earth, their messages, to the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:2-3, 5a)
• “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain…” (John 15:16a)
• “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6b)
• “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” (Matthew 10:8bc)

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Prayer for the Day

“Eternal Father in Heaven,
Ever-living Source of all that is good,
keep me faithful in serving You.

“Help me to drink of Christ’s Truth,
and fill my heart with His Love,
so that I may serve You in faith and love
and one day reach eternal life.

“In the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist,
You give me the joy of sharing in Your Life.

“Keep me in Your Presence; guide me in imitating
the holiness and life of selflessness shown to us
by Your Apostles and disciples in the early Church.

“Let me never be separated from You
and help me to embrace Your will always. Amen.”

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