Archdiocese of Denver

JUDE Also known as: THADDEUS Feast Day: OCT. 28 T he apostle Jude is widely known as the patron saint of lost causes and desperate circumstances, and while the verdict is out on whether or not he himself was a lost cause (spoiler: he probably was until Jesus called him.), Jude is nonetheless an apostle whose epistle and intercession is often invoked in situations like the ones under his patronage. Though one of the shortest books in scripture, Jude's epistle is rich with beautiful passages, including the famous doxology at the end: "to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen" (Jude 1:25). MATTHIAS Feast Day: MAY 14 M atthias is often confused with Matthew, but let's dispel that confusion once and for all: they are not the same person. The apostle Matthias is only mentioned once in scripture, in Acts 1, and he is unique because he was not one of Jesus' original Twelve Disci- ples, though he followed Jesus for most of his life. As tradition goes, after Jesus' ascension, the disciples were down a man after Judas' suicide, and they sought to fill his spot with a new disciple. Lots were drawn between two men, and Matthias won favor. His name means "gift of God," and the Acts of the Apostles state that he was one of the 72 disciples that the Lord Jesus sent out to preach the Good News. Tradition holds that he preached in Cappadocia, Jerusalem, the shores of the Caspian Sea (in modern day Turkey) and Ethiopia. ⊲ SIMON THE CANAANITE Also known as: SIMON THE ZEALOT Feast Day: OCT. 28 S ometimes we wonder why Jesus picked apostles who had the same name; it makes it hard to remember who's who! But alas, Jesus is Lord, and he chose the apos- tles he chose for a very specific reason, and that includes the other Simon (not Peter). Simon the Canaanite, also known as Simon the Zealot, was one of Jesus' original twelve apostles, of whom very little is known. We can surmise the kind of apostle Simon was based on his "Zealot" title. While that word typically has negative connotations associated with it, to be a "zealot" simply means to be full of zeal. It's believed that Simon the Zealot was full of zeal for Jewish law, which he practiced before Jesus called him. Tradition holds that he was sawn into pieces in martyrdom for the Lord, and for this reason he is traditionally depicted with a saw; his relics can be found in Rome and Babylon. SPECIAL EDITION | ARCHBISHOP'S CATHOLIC APPEAL 5

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