Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles

On the feast of Saints Simon and Jude, let us contemplate the image of the Church as living stones built upon Christ the cornerstone.

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22 (RSV)

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Biblical Images of Communion

From the beginning, Christ holds all creation together in himself (Colossians 1:17). Chosen in him from before the foundation of the world, human persons begotten by the Father commune in the Spirit as one Body (Ephesians 1:3-10). Scripture summons the oneness of communion in Christ using various images:

There is the sheepfold, the flock, the vine, the spiritual building, the Holy City. Above all, there is the image of the Body as set forth by the Apostle Paul.

Pope John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, 19

Two millennia after Paul’s letters to the early Christians throughout Greece and Asia Minor, the Church continues to deepen her contemplation of the mystery of communion. Sent by the Father, Jesus chooses apostles to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Dipped and submerged in the divine persons of the Blessed Trinity, human persons emerge as newborn children of God from the waters of salvation—Christ’s death and resurrection (Romans 6:3).

Christ the Cornerstone

Christ, the original apostle (Luke 1:32), builds his “holy temple” upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, joined together in himself the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). The baptized, who are the “living stones,” form a “spiritual house” and a “holy priesthood,” offering spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5). 

Anointed by the Holy Spirit, each saint becomes a spiritual temple called to restore creation, the cosmic temple of God (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). Divine mercy flows through his Church to the world, for at the center of Christ’s Body beats his Sacred and Merciful Heart. 

Saints Simon and Jude, Pray For Us!

Traditional Chinese Translation

《聖徒的聖殿》
我們是上帝的聖殿建造在基督這房角石上面：
從使徒和先知成長為一個家庭！