Memory of the apostles

Memorial of the apostles Simon the Canaanite, called the Zealot, and Judas surnamed Thaddeus.

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke 6,12-19

Now it happened in those days that he went onto the mountain to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them 'apostles': Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor. He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples, with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Today, the Church remembers the apostles Simon and Judas. Simon is nicknamed the 'zealot' perhaps because he belonged to the anti-Roman group of zealots who also practised violence. Tradition has it that he preached the gospel in Samaria, Mesopotamia and died in Persia. Judas, also called Thaddeus which means 'magnanimous', is the apostle who at the Last Supper asked Jesus to manifest himself only to the disciples and not to the world. His name appears in last place in the list of apostles. Tradition indicates him as the author of the letter of the same name addressed to converts from Judaism. Almost nothing is known about their lives. But this does not make them any less important than the others. In the Church it is not notoriety that counts, but communion with the Lord and with one's brothers and sisters. The Gospel passage emphasises not the diversity of their tasks, but the crucial fact that they are all beside Jesus. It sounds completely out of place to seek out who among them is first. Unfortunately, it also happens frequently in the Christian community. The first place is not sought in serving, so much as in appearing or being the protagonist. The primacy to be sought is rather that of love, of generous, selfless service. The evangelist emphasises the list of names. Jesus calls everyone by name, even Simon and Judas. It is his direct call - by name - that makes them disciples and then apostles, sent for the mission of the Gospel. From this common call also flows fraternity among them. That is why Jesus could say that it is from mutual love that others will recognise them as his disciples. The name, in the biblical mentality, is not only a useful tool to call us, it is much more: it signifies the history, the heart, the life of each one.