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Gospel: Luke 6: 12-16
Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Two of the Twelve Apostles were named Judas.
There was Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ, and Judas Thaddeus, thought to be the cousin of our Lord. Judas Thaddeus, commonly referred to as, “Saint Jude,” is the patron Saint of hopeless cases.
We celebrate his feast day today.
Jude developed this title because of a tradition dating back to the early Church, when Christians sought his intercession for the “hopeless cases” in their lives – people who were lost; sick; depressed; addicted; or who had strayed from their faith.
The idea – as simple as it seems – was that, if Judas Iscariot and Judas Thaddeus shared the same first name, then they also shared common ground; a type of bond. So, if anyone could reach the ears of “Judas Iscariot” and convert him, then it’d be Saint Jude.
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Deep faith does not require deep theology. What is needed is hope.
Perhaps today we can embrace the spirit of the early Church, turning to Saint Jude for all of those people or things we consider “hopeless cases.”
May Jude, who walked alongside our Lord here on earth, now bring our petitions to him in heaven.
Saint Jude, pray for us.
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Image credits: (1) 12-step Philosophy (2) Aleteia (3) Saint Jude Shrine, Baltimore