Doing what seems impossible

Today we celebrate the feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, both apostles.  We know, therefore, that these two men knew Jesus intimately. Developing a personal relationship with Jesus is key to our baptismal call to carry out the mission of the Church to share the faith.  Both Simon and Jude suffered through Jesus' passion and death and witnessed Jesus' resurrection and ascension (He appeared to them in person in the upper room and they were present in Galilee when Jesus returned to His Father to send them the Holy Spirit).  From being frightened men, they were transformed into human beings of tremendous courage who stood up for their faith even to the point of martyrdom.  As Christians, you and I have been given the same faith. We have the power through the Spirit to make a difference in a world of secularism, materialism, and paganism. We can change the world through the power of Christ's resurrection and set it ablaze with the Spirit's fire of the first  Pentecost. If we do not believe in these powers, St. Jude, the patron of impossible cases, certainly can intercede for us.