Feast of Saints Simon and Jude

At the Last Supper St. Jude asked Jesus if he were going to reveal the Father only to the Apostles and not the whole world.(Jn 14:22-23) Jesus responds "Anyone who loves me will be true to my word, and my Father will love him; we will come to him and make our dwelling place with him." This is a great gift. Our Lord in responding to Jude reveals not only the Father's Love, which is what Jude asked about, but also reveals the deeper truth. The truth that the Father and Jesus in loving us begin to dwell in us. They take up residence in our hearts. This is a profound truth. God's dwelling is in the hearts of men who love Him and strive to follow His Word. If you look at the image of St. Jude he is always depicted with the face of Christ on his chest in either a scapular or a medal. This image reveals the truth of the Gospel. The Father and Christ Jesus in Love take possession of Jude's heart. The image of Christ's face upon Jude's chest reveal to whom Jude belongs. It reveals his identity as God's own son by adoption. St. Jude is the patron of the hopeless precisely for this reason. His life reveals that no one is beyond hope. He asked a very innocent question during the Last Supper and received a response that brings Hope to all humanity. If we love the Lord and try to keep His commandments, the Father and He will come into our hearts and begin to dwell in us. St. Jude calls us today to not only know the truth of our lives but to have the courage to begin to live in the truth. He calls us to allow the Lord to place His seal upon our hearts. He challenges us to invite the Father and our Lord to take possession of our hearts and dwell within them. St. Jude teaches us to not be afraid of God but instead to be secure in the knowledge that we are loved. Secure in this knowledge we can live our lives and our faith filled with Hope.