Saint of the day October 28: Saint Jude Thaddeus. Catholic Saints

Every October 28, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Jude Thaddeus, Apostle of Christ, whom the Gospels present as the “brother of James.” Today is also the feast of another of “the Twelve”: Simon, the Canaanite; or, Simon, the Zealot.

Judas Thaddeus and Simon

Unlike the one who betrayed Jesus, also called Judas, Judas Thaddeus remained faithful to Christ until the last moment of his life. He is known as the patron saint of impossible causes and his feast day is celebrated together with that of Saint Simon, the Apostle.

In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark he is simply called “Thaddaeus”, while Luke, both in his Gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles, calls him Judas of James.

This name is due to the fact that Judas Thaddeus was the brother of James the Less and cousin of Jesus. The epistle that bears his name is attributed to him, in which he presents himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James” (Jds 1:1).

On the other hand, little is known about the life of Simon the Zealot, but he is taken into account because he is mentioned in the list of the Twelve Apostles.

Preaching

According to the Roman martyrology, Saint Jude Thaddeus, after leaving Judea after Pentecost, preached in Mesopotamia and then in Persia, where he suffered martyrdom alongside the Apostle Simon, in the city of Suanis.

An ancient tradition says that at the moment before being executed, Saint Jude told Saint Simon that he could see the Lord calling them to his side. Judas and Simon died for resisting idol worship.

Iconography

Saint Jude Thaddeus is usually represented with an image of Christ on his chest, as a symbol of his kinship with the Lord and his physical resemblance to Him.

A mallet also appears in his representations, an instrument with which he was executed with a blow to the head, before it was cut off with an axe. Much of the iconography represents Judas Thaddeus with a flame above his head, symbolizing that he was one of the apostles upon whom the Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues of fire during Pentecost.

Patron of the impossible

Saint Brigid of Sweden (1303 – 1373) tells in her Revelations that the Lord Jesus exhorted her to ask him for favors and graces through Saint Jude Thaddeus. Perhaps this is the main reason why devotion to this saint has penetrated so deeply into popular Christian piety. There are many who call it “miraculous” and live grateful for it.

San Judas Tadeo shares the patronage of the impossible with Santa Rita de Casia.

The tree that grew straight cannot be twisted

Unfortunately, in some cases, devotion to Saint Jude has given rise to certain deviations that the Church has timely clarified. In 2008, through a statement titled “Saint Jude Thaddeus and some deviations from his cult“, the Primate Archdiocese of Mexico clarified that San Judas Tadeo is not the “saint of criminals or drug traffickers”, as some maliciously claimed to justify their crimes or evils. Furthermore, the document once again insists that his devotion is not compatible with the pseudo cults related to the so-called “Santa Muerte”, a phenomenon that does not belong to the Catholic identity either.

The archdiocese also noted that “the Church encourages popular manifestations of authentic devotion,” but that “in some cases – such as those mentioned above – there are serious incompatibilities” with the teachings of the Church. Certainly the cult of “Santa Muerte”, linked to witchcraft and paganism, is very popular in Mexico and intensifies with the approach of All Souls’ Day (November 2).

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If you want to know more about the life of Saint Jude Thaddeus and the apostolic letter attributed to him, you can read the following text from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/Ep%C3%ADstola_de_San_Judas.