Feast of Saints Simon and Jude (Apostles)
Ephesians 2: 19-22 Luke 6: 12-19
Theme: Jesus also prayed
Happy feast day to you all! We thank God for the grace of been part of the novena to St. Jude. May our prayers and petitions find favour in the sight of God, through Christ our Lord. Amen. As we celebrate the feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles of Jesus, we are all encouraged to emulate their faith in God and service to humanity. This is very important in our call to discipleship. They willingly gave everything, including their lives for their conviction and faith in God. In the same way, we are all encouraged to get closer to these Saints and encourage devotion to them. There are testimonies from people who promote devotion to these Saints, especially St. Jude Thaddeus, who is known as the patron saint of difficult situations. All those who have them as their patron Saints have their own testimonies, including myself. In view of this, I want to encourage us all to promote devotion to these Saints as we make them our friends.
Interestingly, in the gospel reading of today, we are told that Jesus took time out to go and pray, after which he chose his Apostles. One thing that was very clear about Jesus is the fact that he always found time to pray before making any major decision in his life as presented in the scripture. That goes to show us the importance of prayer in our life as children of God, taking into consideration the fact that Jesus was also God. My brothers and sisters in Christ, the action of Jesus points out the fact that prayer is a necessity, and we all need it in our life. None of us can be busier than Jesus that we cannot make out time to pray, it is about our priority. Prayer should be our priority as children of God. It is necessary that we always accompany our hard work with prayers, so that it will bear good fruit.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, the sacrifice that was made by the two saints we celebrate today, should be a source of great strength for you and me as Christians in our own time. They were chosen from among the people, and willingly gave everything for their faith in God. In the same way, we are all encouraged to live a life that is worthy of our faith in God and pleasing to him. We are encouraged to make out time for prayer in our daily lives. It is not about the length of time that we spend in prayer, rather it is about being present at prayer while we pray.
I pray that through the intercession of Saints Simon and Jude, that God will grant us the grace to pray. May the Lord bless his words in our hearts, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Peace be with you