Archive for the ‘Sts. Simon and Jude’ Category

Miracles Opened his Mind

October 14, 2023

By Fr. Victor Feltes

I love Catholic conversion stories because they always have happy endings. Toby, a friendly acquaintance of mine, recently shared with me this great story of how he became Catholic. He is a 42-year-old, married father of three in Colorado who entered the Church at the Easter Vigil of 2006:

“I was fairly young when my parents stopped taking me to the Dutch Reformed church (my uncle is a pastor in one). So I had mostly no religion, but a little. In high school, I suffered terrible migraines that would make me vomit. One day, in the middle of upchucking, I prayed to ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’ to make it stop and if he did I would worship him. I have not had a migraine since—not even a little one. But a lot of people claim this God as theirs, so I had to figure out how to worship him.

So, every Sunday through high school, I went by myself to the closest church, a Calvary Chapel. In college, I tried other churches to see what seemed right, but nothing did. I ruled out Islam (since they do not claim all three patriarchs) and Catholicism because of my Protestant biases. So I looked at Judaism. I did a lot of research about the existence of Jesus and was convinced to try Messianic Judaism because I was convinced he was the Messiah. However, that also seemed empty. So I gave up. I lived a hedonistic life deciding that, though I believe, I would never know how this God really wanted to be worshiped.

Now midway through graduate school, I bought saint candles simply for décor (and because they are so cheap). One day, returning from vacation, I put a stone turtle souvenir I had just bought on my desk next to it, and took a shower. Coming back the turtle was in pieces on my desk. I looked up the saint, and the first webpage I found said Saint Jude was known for was casting demons out of statues and causing them to crumble. So I lifted my bias against Catholicism and attended RCIA (classes for joining the Catholic Church) and it fit. Things made sense in a way they didn’t elsewhere.

So, it took years and multiple miracles, but here I am. The Lord had to drag me to our Faith in a way that I could investigate the claims with an open mind, and not with the biases I had built up. It required a lot of changed views, but my journey left me docile. Two miracles and learning my own discernment was terrible can do that!”

Posted in Christian Perfection, Reflection, Sts. Simon and Jude, Supernatural Phenomena | Leave a Comment »

Uniquely Different — October 28 — Sts. Simon and Jude

November 3, 2010

[Jesus] called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve,
whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter…
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

In the early days of their ministry, whenever Jesus called out for ‘Simon’ or ‘Judas,’ more than one head may have turned. Among Jesus’ apostles there were two Simon’s and two Judas’. There was Simon Peter and Simon the Zealot, and Judas (or Jude) the son of James and Judas Iscariot the betrayer. Though these pairs shared the same names and the same calling to be apostles, they were different in important ways.

Simon Peter was called to be the Rock, the leader of the apostles and of the nascent Church. Simon the Zealot may have shared his zeal, but he was not meant to have the same role as Peter. Each saint’s apostleship was unique to him.

Sometimes Christians who eagerly desire to be saints themselves strive to impersonate their favorite holy heroes. We do well to learn from the lived examples of the saints, for St. Paul did say, “Be imitators of me, as I imitate Christ,” but there can truly be only one St. Paul, one St. Francis, or one St. Therese of Lisieux. Every saint in history has been unique, and every future saint will be, too.

The two Judas’ teach us a lesson, too. Even after years of preaching the Gospel, I can imagine some people felt an initial uncertainty towards Judas the son of James. Intellectually, Christians would know that this apostle could not possibly be Judas the betrayer (because he one took his own life,) yet they might feel wary about this “Judas” in their midst.

Sometimes our feelings toward other people are influenced by who they remind us of. For instance, if you meet someone whose face resembles a person who has hurt you in the past, you may be involuntarily uncomfortable around them. In psychology, this shift of emotions from one person or thing to another is called transference. This is the stuff that prejudice is made of, and the good apostle, Judas, caught some of its unjust, negative effect.

Though the apostles shared names and a common calling, they were unique individuals. The two Simons teach us that each is called to live out their own, unique, holy life. The two Judas’ teach us that we must always receive others in their own personal uniqueness.

Posted in Chrisitian Virtues, Christian Perfection, Early Church, Homily, Justice, Saintly People, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Peter, Sts. Simon and Jude, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

October 28 – Sts. Simon and Jude

October 28, 2009

Cowardly Lion

Today we celebrate the Sts. Simon and Jude, apostles and martyrs for Christ. Simon was known as “the Zealot,” and Jude, or Judas the son of James, was nicknamed “Thaddeus,” which means “Courageous” in Greek. In the Gospel today the apostles are listed, with Simon and Jude coming towards the end, right before Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus.

When Jesus sent out His disciples with the power and authority to heal the sick, cast out demons, and preach the Gospel, He sent them out two-by-two.  One could infer (though this is by no means certain) that this Gospel passage lists the apostles according to those old missionary pairings: Simon Peter with his brother, Andrew; James with his brother, John; and so on, ending with the Judas called “Courageous” and the other Judas who became a traitor.

So here we would have two Judas’, side-by-side, in discipleship and ministry. Yet, only one of them earned a nickname for being courageous. To grow in holiness requires our courage, a virtue that Judas Iscariot tragically lacked.

John’s Gospel tells us that this Judas held the money purse, and sometimes stole from it for himself. That’s because he lacked the courage to acknowledge his faults and to grow in the virtues.

Judas may have betrayed Jesus because he thought this would kick-start Jesus, the weak messiah, into real, revolutionary action. Judas did not have the courage to trust that the providence of God working through Jesus Christ was really the best way to bring about the Kingdom on earth.

And after he had sinned, Judas lacked the courage to seek forgiveness, choosing suicide instead, which is called “the coward’s death.” Simon Peter denied Jesus, but he had the courage to confess his sin and to seek reconciliation. That was Peter’s salvation.

If we are going to grow in holiness to sainthood, it’s going to require our courage; the courage to acknowledge our faults and grow virtue, the courage to trust in God’s will and providential plan for our lives, and, when we fall, the courage to confess our sins and to seek reconciliation with Christ.

Posted in Chrisitian Virtues, Christian Perfection, Columbus Chapel, Courage, Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Passion, Providence, Repentance, School Homilies, Sts. Simon and Jude, Trust, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »