Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles

Today’s feast honors saints Simon and Jude, called by Jesus to be his disciples. St. Jude is regarded the Patron Saint of desperate cases and lost causes. This makes Jude a popular figure for the troubled times of our lives particularly when we feel lost and alone.
Saints Simon (the Zealot) and Jude Thaddeus were directly called to be disciples and part of the twelve by Jesus himself.
The two words that strike me in the readings today are “capstone” and “community”. The letter to the Ephesians refers to Jesus as the capstone of the arch made up of the disciples of Jesus. The capstone is the topmost piece of the arch that keeps the whole structure together. Spiritually, Jesus is that piece of the arch.
Jesus is what keeps the community of disciples firmly together; or, without him we (the arch) ultimately fall apart and crumble. He tells the Ephesian Christians that they are members of the household of God firmly founded on those called into disciple-service with Jesus.
That’s right: each one of us is a disciple among the community of disciples, our faith community, called to be the church. Jesus really IS the capstone of the arch we call church.
Like St. Simon and St, Jude we join an apostolic church, called into life for faith-filled service of our Master, Jesus.