On Simon and Jude

During his Wednesday General Audience on October 11th, His Holiness reflected on the persons of the Apostles Simon the Cananaean (also called the Zealot) and Jude (called Thaddaeus). This was the first audience in which he reflected upon two of the Apostles at once. He did so both because the two are always mentioned together and "because there is not moch information about them."

The Holy Father prayed: "may both Simon the Cananaean as well as Jude Thaddaeus help us to rediscover always anew and to live tirelessly the beauty of the Christian faith, knowing how to give both strong and serene witness."

Simon was a zealot who was "interested in people, not is social categories or etiquette" who reminds us that "Jesus himself, in fact, was the motive for cohesion, in whom all found themselves united."

Jude asked the Lord why he manifests himself clearly to the disciples and not to the Lord. Reflecting on the Lord's response, His Holiness said, "the Risen One must be seen, perceived, also with the heart, so that God can make his dwelling in him. The Lord does not appear as a thing. The Lord wishes to enter into our lives and because of this, his manifestation is a manifestation is one that implies and presupposes an open heart."

Concerning the Letter of Jude, the Holy Father stated, "in all the existing temptations, with all the currents of modern life, we must preserve the identity of our faith." "It is important," he went on to say, "to keep very present that this, our identity is not to be toyed with on a simply cultural plane or on a superficial level, but requires strength, clarity and courage given the contradictions of the world in which we live."