Skip to main content

Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles

Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles: Feast Day October 28th

Today we celebrate Saints Simon and Jude who were two of Jesus’ Twelve Apostles. We know that both saints were martyred for spreading the faith, and that Saint Jude was a cousin of Jesus. If you’re like me, you’re probably more familiar with Saint Jude because of Saint Jude Children's Hospital in Tennessee, and the fact that he's known as the Patron Saint of Impossible Causes and often prayed to asking for his intercession for healing and hope. If you're interested in learning more about him, here is some additional reading about Saint Jude, from the National Shrine of Saint Jude, as well as a link to beautiful Prayers for Saint Jude’s intercession. 

We all have our crosses to bear. Some are known to others and some are private known only to God and to ourself. Praying to Saints, like Saint Jude, and asking for their intercession is a wonderful gift. How many times have you asked friends or family members to pray for you? Have you ever thought about asking your saintly family members already in Heaven to pray for you? I hope you and your family have a wonderful time celebrating Saints Simon and Saint Jude today! 

Celebrating Saints Simon and Jude Through Food:

Make cross-shaped cookies (sugar, shortbread, gingerbread or some other type of cookie dough that rolls and cuts nicely) and give them to friends and family members. Since it’s fall, you can also try this spiced pumpkin cut-out cookie recipe from The Pioneer Woman if you’re looking for a tasty fall flavored treat. 

Activity and Craft:

Look for the Cross Scavenger Hunt:

Crosses are everywhere! From doors to tree branches, to lines on the sidewalk. Take your family on a scavenger hunt. Walk through your house and your neighborhood and take pictures of all the crosses you see. 

Stained-glass Cross:

Using wax paper or parchment paper, draw a cross and color it using marker, crayon or colored pencils. Write the words: “My cross is never carried alone—my Lord is with me always.” Hang your cross on a window or glass door, and when you feel like the cross you carry in your life is too heavy, look at the sunlight streaming through your stained-glass cross and read the words you wrote. No cross is impossible for Christ to carry, and He is always there helping you carry yours. Every time you look at your stained-glass cross, you can also remember that everything you suffer, the crosses that you carry, is a beautiful opportunity and sacrifice you can offer up to the Lord in prayer.


Prayer and Action: How can you help carry the cross in someone’s life?

Brainstorm with your family a person or group of people that you know needs a helping hand, then anonymously do something to help them; such as praying for them, dropping of a meal or groceries, donating needed goods to a local charity, or sending a "thinking of you card" or money to them in the mail. This is a beautiful way to help you and your family engage in an act of corporal mercy together as well as help those in need. 

Pray Together: 

Below is a prayer I wrote in 2011 that you and your family can also prayer together. 

Prayer for the Suffering 

Dear Lord, there are many who are afflicted by their pains and hurts of the body and the soul, of mind and spirit, heart and limb, please comfort those who live in sickness. Comfort those who live in grief. Send forth your loving spirit Lord, be with those in greatest need. Holy Lord, God of life, send healing grace to those distressed. Free them from their afflictions, save them by your healing hand. Many in this world are hurting, many in this world depressed. In their own varied ways they suffer and are fading fast. Give them hope, help them fight. Through you they will succeed. You dear God are always with them in every hour of greatest need. I lift my hands, I lift my words and prayers. Please heal those who suffer in this world. Give them grace, ease their pains. Heal them Lord of love and light. Amen. 

Saint Simon and Saint Jude, pray for us! 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Make a Rosary Garden—Planting Flowers and the Seeds of Prayer

Make a Rosary Garden—Planting Flowers and the Seeds of Prayer:  On the lawn outside of my family's parish, there is a stepping-stone Marian-Rosary garden. Often, after attending daily Mass, on warm or non rainy days, my children love to run around the rosary stones, encircling the statue of Mary, and sit upon the garden's benches. The days when they would run around, only able to exclaim the words, "Hail, Mary! Hail, Mary! Hail Mary!" for each stone, are precious treasured memories I hold within my heart. When we entered the pandemic shutdown, in the spring of 2020, I didn't realize just how much I missed the rosary garden tradition my children and I had after Mass. When my husband and I scheduled confession with our pastor, twelve days into the shutdown, we took turns waiting with our children and letting them play and pray in the rosary garden, while we participated in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I'd always desired to make a Mary/Rosary garden in our ba...
Post a Comment
Read more

Invite Your Parish Priest Over for Dinner:

Invite Your Parish Priest Over for Dinner: Four months after moving into our new house, my husband and I decided to invite our parish priest over for dinner and to bless our new home. We still had piles of unpacked boxes, our toddlers were bouncing off the walls with excitement, and my husband and I were a little nervous. Was our home clean enough? Would we be able to engage in good conversations with our guest? When the doorbell rang, our children raced to the door, and began bouncing around, welcoming Father inside. During dinner, we found that the conversations flowed easily. We shared stories about where we grew up, our families, and various other details as we got to know one another outside of church. We laughed as our daughter spilled the beans that my husband and I were expecting our third child, and when we shared our due date, our priest began enthusiastically sharing all sorts of common, as well as some crazy sounding, saint names for days on and near our due date.  Afte...
1 comment
Read more

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Feast Day: Nov. 17th  Saint Elizabeth of Hungary has always held a special place in my heart since she is my confirmation saint. If I'm being honest, when I was reading about saints back in the eighth grade, trying to choose which saint I wanted to take as my patron, my requirements were as follows: (1) She couldn't die a horrible death, (2) She was married with kids, (3) and her life was pretty good allowing her to serve God and others through the blessings she'd been given. In hindsight, my list of "requirements" was probably a little superficial, but now as an adult I focus more on the virtues and saintly qualities of Saint Elizabeth, and find inspiration in how she lived. She was humble, a kind and loving wife and mother, and very generous to the poor. She also made plenty of time to pray and grow in her relationship with the Lord. On her wedding day, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, who was a princess, did not wear a crown. Instead she s...
Post a Comment
Read more