As a priest, I sometimes get asked why we celebrate both St Jude and St Simon on the same feast day. Tradition has passed down that these two apostles went sent out as missionaries together to Persia and to Mesopotamia. They both died as martyrs in Persia, with St Jude being killed with an ax or a club and St Simon being killed with a saw. There relics were placed together in the same tomb at the Basilica of St Peter at the Vatican.
St Simon is called a Zealot in the New Testament, which perhaps alludes to his zeal for the Jewish law or his membership with the nationalist movement in Ancient Israel known as the Zealots. A tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church passes down that Simon was the bridegroom at the Wedding of Cana where Jesus turned water into wine. Because it has been passed down that St Simon was killed with a saw, he is the patron saint of lumberjacks, an interesting fact about him.
St Jude is known as the patron saint of hopeless causes. Many of the Catholic faithful ask for his prayers and intercession in difficult situations that they face. Tradition passes down that Jude may have been a cousin or relative to Jesus. Since his name is similar to the name of Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, many early Christians may have been hesitant to pray with him or to ask for his intercession, which is why it is said that is eager to help those who approach him in prayer, not matter how hopeless or desperate the situation may seem.
We commemorate these two apostles today and unite our prayers with their prayers.
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