Saint Jude is the ‘go-to’ apostle and saint for so many people, and in this Province we are lucky enough to have the Carmelite Shrine of Saint Jude. But who was he and why is he the Apostle of Hope?
Jude is known as Judas and is differentiated from the traitor (of the same name) by descriptions such as “not Iscariot”, “son of James”, or “the Zealot”. He is also usually taken to be the Thaddeus in the lists of Apostles given by Matthew and Mark. Jude has only one recorded spoken verse in the Gospel of John when, at the Last Supper, he asks: “Lord, why is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not the world?” Though he only has this one recorded moment, it doesn’t mean he wasn’t important to the Christian story. As Fr. Richard Copsey wrote in a recent reflection, “[Saint Jude] is not a passive bystander, [because] he was selected by Jesus as an apostle so must have had a special role.” Jude was being prepared by Jesus to spread the Good News after his death and resurrection.
After the crucifixion, Jerusalem would have returned to how it always was – busy and full of activity once more. Some would not have even heard about the tragedy that had occurred at Calvary. Though we don’t read his name again, we know that Jude was one of the Apostles hiding and fearing for their lives. The darkness of grief they felt would have been made all the darker by feeling that they had also failed during the trial of Jesus. They had, of course, hoped and believed that if they followed Jesus, he would have founded his kingdom – but now it had ended like this with his death. Now there was no hope.
But then things changed. The promises and reassurances of Jesus, which the Apostles had misunderstood, were now about to be fulfilled.
Several women who had witnessed the crucifixion and had helped with his burial had made a promise to themselves: on Sunday (the earliest opportunity), they would anoint and prepare Jesus’ body with spices. These spices were used to offset any odour that resulted from decomposition. The fact that they agreed to do this, means that they had no expectation of the immediate resurrection of Jesus from the dead. On the way there, they had asked each other how they were going to roll away the heavy stone – and were unsure until they arrived and found the stone had been rolled back already. Inside, they saw a young man dressed in white. He said: “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look Inside is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” Utterly frightened, Mary Magdalen and the other women headed to speak to the eleven.
Now everything changes in the story of Jesus’ followers. Peter and John go out to look – and the body has indeed gone. They return to the other nine apostles and Mary to let them know. Over the next forty days, the truth of the Resurrection is revealed by Jesus himself. He visits the apostles and many other disciples several times. John tells us that Jesus appeared many more times than what is recorded in his Gospel, but the best guess is around ten or twelve times. There were probably more times, because even Saint Paul mentions another time not recorded in the New Testament.
The Resurrection is, of course, more than just some appearances – it is the start of a new era of God’s eternal purpose. Now finally, the Apostles can all enjoy the hope of the resurrection. They are transformed and go out to spread the Good News assisted by the Holy Spirit. They now lived on hope, hope that with the living Christ they would become more like Him in showing love to others. Hope too that when death came, they would find a still more magnificent life in another place with Jesus. Jude goes out with Simon to spread the Good News of Hope across Asia Minor, and the other Apostles do likewise across Europe, Africa and Asia.
This hope spread by the Apostles is just as important as ever because life is pretty difficult for many of us right now.
Back in 1955, when Carmelite friar, Fr. Elias Lynch founded the Shrine of Saint Jude, it was in many ways a response to the needs of the post-war generation looking for hope, and Saint Jude made extra sense, because the Carmelite charism is so deeply rooted in the Gospels. These initial reasons are still realities in 2023: we need a place of prayer, peace and hope – knowing that, to God, nothing is hopeless.
Jude is said to have travelled across the east spreading the Good News, welcoming people to become Christians and share in this message of hope. At the Shrine of Saint Jude (and all Carmelite communities) everyone is welcome. Sometimes it is easy to imagine Saint Jude welcoming each of us to come and discover the magnificent hope and love of God at the shrine. We too need to be messengers of hope, telling everyone about God and the hope that is brought by faith in the Resurrection: making sure too that we are welcoming to all.
In 1955, Jude was very much the forgotten Apostle, which is why people always turn to him when they feel forgotten. However, thanks to the foresight of the Carmelites in England, sixty-eight years ago, Jude is no longer the forgotten Apostle in these isles.
When we think of Jude, it is a good way of reminding ourselves that no-one is forgotten by God.
God is our Hope, Jesus is our saviour, and Saint Jude is our friend who reminds us of all of this. He is truly the Apostle of Hope.
AMDG
Matthew Betts
