Saints Simon and Jude: The Apostles Who Served God in the Shadows
Feast October 28th
We all love seeing our efforts bear fruit, as it makes us feel successful. But two apostles who gave everything for Christ saw almost no results yet still died at peace. If you’ve ever felt invisible in your service to God, their story may inspire you in unexpected ways.
The Forgotten Apostles
October 28th marks the feast of Saint Simon and Jude, two of Christ’s twelve apostles. If you’ve never really noticed this feast before or don’t know much about them, you’re not alone. Almost nothing is known about Saint Simon in the Bible, mentioned only briefly in the Gospels. Saint Jude, also called Thaddeus, was a cousin of our Lord and one of the twelve apostles.
According to tradition, both apostles traveled as missionaries to Persia, where they were eventually martyred together. Yet unlike the famous apostles who worked in the Mediterranean area and left significant historical traces, these men labored in distant lands and left little mark in the history books.
Success in God's Eyes
Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira offers a striking reflection on these lesser-known apostles. He notes the resignation they must have had, as many died with peaceful hearts despite seeing no apparent fruit from their apostolate. Yet they knew that all actions carried out in accordance with one’s vocation, with integrity of spirit and upright intention, will be rewarded in heaven and contribute to God’s glory, even if on earth they received only faint recognition.
The Lesson of Faithful Service
Holy Mother Church surrounds the memory of these apostles with deep respect and gratitude, affirming that God was pleased with them. Their lives were entirely fulfilled, even dying in the apparent failure of their apostolate. They had rendered to God the worship of their adoration and selfless sacrifice, making themselves like those jars of perfume that Saint Mary Magdalene broke over Christ’s feet, with no other purpose than to be poured out and serve Him.
The challenging truth: if someone knew their apostolate would be without any human fruit and refused to carry it out, they would rob it of its very fruitfulness. It is precisely this state of mind—to give oneself fully to God—that must be the starting point of a truly fruitful apostolate.
Finding Peace in Faithfulness
We can become discouraged when our efforts in our families, communities, or apostolates seem to bear no visible fruit. We feel like failures. But Saints Simon and Jude remind us that success in God’s eyes is not measured by results, but by fidelity. It is found in the courage to be that jar of perfume—completely broken and poured out for Him, trusting that He will use our sacrifice as He sees fit.
On their feast day, may we remember their heroic fidelity and ask Saints Simon and Jude to intercede for us, that we may serve God with the same faithfulness, whether or not we ever see the fruit of our efforts.
