Friends of the Rosary, Today, October 28, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Apostles Saints Jude Thaddeus and Simon the Zealot. The two disciples of Christ have shared this feast since ancient times. They both expired as martyrs. St. Jude is the author of a short Epistle, which forms part of the New Testament. He is the patron saint of desperate situations, forgotten causes, hospital workers, hospitals, impossible causes, lost causes, and the diocese of Saint Petersburg, Florida. Through his intercession, St. Jude helped several saints in significant or hopeless matters, so his reputation as the patron of impossible causes began. In art, Jude typically bears a medallion imprinted with the face of Christ, while St. Simon is represented with a saw, the instrument of his martyrdom. Simon was a vigorous defender of the Law, a fighter. He is mentioned on all four lists of the apostles. On two of them, he is called “the Zealot.” The Zealots were a Jewish sect that represented an extreme of Jewish nationalism. They raided and killed, attacking both foreigners and “collaborating” Jews. However, Jesus needed no Zealots to bring about the kingdom by force. Like this former Zealot, Jesus chose some unlikely people: a former tax collector, an impetuous fisherman, two “sons of thunder,” and a man named Judas Iscariot. Today is also the third anniversary of the departure of Maria Blanca, co-founder of the Rosary Network. A Requiem Mass will be celebrated at 7:00 pm in the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford, Connecticut. Ave Maria! Jesus, I Trust In You! Sts. Jude Thaddeus and Simon the Zealot, Pray for Us! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! + Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York • October 28, 2024, Today’s Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET