Feast Of Saints Simon And Jude . . . The Book Of Jude Speaks To Our Degraded Culture
By FR. JAMES ALTMAN
(Editor’s Note: Due to the press of other business, Bishop Joseph Strickland is unable to submit a weekly column to The Wanderer. We look forward to his writing for us on occasion, and we thank him for his many outstanding essays. Below we are featuring an article by Fr. James Altman of La Crosse, Wis., that focuses on the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, October 28. Readers may recall that Fr. Altman was recently in the news because of his forthright homily on how Catholics can put themselves in the state of mortal sin by voting Democratic.)
- + + In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today being the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, it might seem odd that we did not hear from the book of St. Jude. Instead, we heard from St. Paul to the Ephesians.
The reason surely is that we are reminded by St. Paul that Jesus built His Church “upon the foundation of the Apostles.”
That is why we profess — in our Creed — I believe in one, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
The Apostle Jude does have a book in our Sacred Scripture, the penultimate book, just before Revelation.
The book of Jude only has one short chapter and it is worth reflecting on now, given the degradation of our country and culture when we see now yet another round of rioting, looting, burning, and shooting.
Dear family, I hope you all are prepared because what we are seeing will continue until such time as Almighty God is put back into our public life, until such time as His grace publicly leavens the public lives of our elected officials.
Hear the words and warning — straight from the apostle — St. Jude:
“Beloved, although I was making every effort to write to you about our common salvation, I now feel a need to write to encourage you to contend for the faith that was once for all handed down to the holy ones. For there have been some intruders, who . . . pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:3-4).
So yet again — right away, in apostolic times, we see St. Jude, as we saw St. Peter and St. Paul, warn us about the wolves in sheep’s clothing who pervert and undermine the truth of the Gospel.
Then Jude describes what happens to those who follow those intruders whom he calls “false teachers.”
“I wish to remind you, although you know all things, that [the] Lord who once saved a people from the land of Egypt later destroyed those who did not believe” (Jude 1:5).
So Jude is warning the people about what happens to those who stray, those who do not believe the Truth. St. Jude is telling us — what will happen when a whole society abandons faith as truth, when a whole society thinks it is so enlightened that mere sinful humans can come with a better guide to proper behavior than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, better than the Gospel of Jesus Christ Crucified.
We saw the summer of love in Seattle and we surely are seeing all the “love” in Minneapolis, Portland, Kenosha, Chicago, New York, and now in these last two days all the love in Philadelphia.
Kind of ironic, isn’t it? Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love and we sure saw a lot of brotherly love over the last two nights of rioting, looting, burning, and shooting.
Then St. Jude refers to the fallen angels, the demons of eternal Hell.
“The angels too who did not keep to their own domain but deserted their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains, in gloom, for the judgment of the great day” (Jude 1:6).
Dear family, those would be the demons that Our Blessed Mother showed to the precious children of Fatima.
Then St. Jude speaks directly to Hollywood and the swamp in D.C.:
“Likewise, Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding towns, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual promiscuity and practiced unnatural vice, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 1:7).
The amazing thing about this passage is that there still are people out there who call themselves Christians, who deny that the New Testament condemns unnatural vice.
And, amazingly enough, these same Catholic and Christian imposters do not have a problem voting for a candidate or a party that promotes unnatural vice.
To those in his day, St. Jude issues a solemn warning that is every bit applicable — to our day.
In fact, St. Jude could proclaim his apostolic words from this very pulpit, this very day:
“Woe to them! They followed the way of Cain” (Jude 1:11).
We know that cannot be good. And St. Jude was not there talking about those outside the Church but rather inside the Catholic Church, for he then said: “These are blemishes on your love feasts” (Jude 1:12).
As we read with clarity in the footnotes: “[They] engaged in scandalous conduct in connection with community gatherings called love feasts (agape meals), which were associated with Eucharistic Celebrations at certain stages of early Christian practice, cf. 1 Cor. 11:18-34 and the note on 2 Peter 2:13.”
As to those who blemish the Celebration of the Eucharist, St. Jude said: “The gloom of darkness has been reserved forever” (Jude 1:13).
Then, like Jesus explaining to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, St. Jude explains the current situation to the faithful:
“But you, beloved, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, for they told you, ‘In [the] last time there will be scoffers who will live according to their own Godless desires’” (Jude 1:17-18).
As we look around us, what do we see but scoffers, people who call faithful people “deplorable.” People who say simple Catholic patriotism is evil. People who deride us by saying such things as we cling to our Bibles and our guns.
In the words of the Apostle St. Jude: “Woe to them.” Which is nothing other than the words of Jesus the Lord, woe to them, damned are they who scoff at our faithfulness. Damned are they who boo God on national TV. Damned are they who scoff at the Creator’s condemnation of unnatural vice.
St. Jude then explains why this is so: “These are the ones who cause divisions; they live on the natural plane, devoid of the Spirit” (Jude 1:19).
Do you see why I urge you to look around at the world and the Church today and see and discern those who cause division, not because of truth, for even Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life, said He came not for peace but for division based on His Truth — but rather division based on schism away from the Truth, schism which causes division of father against son, and mother against daughter. Rather St. Jude here speaks about division caused by those who live on the natural plane devoid of the Spirit devoid of the Holy Spirit of God’s Truth.
We know what the real Truth actually is because it is unchanged and unchangeable and it has been with us since the Incarnation of Jesus the Lord and remains with us because of the Holy Spirit Jesus promised the apostles — at the Last Supper:
“But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
“And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin, because they do not believe in me; righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth” (John 16:7-13).
We know that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit of Truth and, inflamed by this Holy Spirit after Pentecost, St. Jude wrote what he wrote in his apostolic letter.
St. Jude finishes his short, brilliant, amazing teaching with words of encouragement and love to those who remain faithful:
“But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 1:20-21).
And then this great apostle ends his short letter with a great doxology:
“To the one who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished and exultant, in the presence of his glory, to the only God, our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, power, and authority from ages past, now, and for ages to come. Amen” (Jude 1:24-25).
Dear family, what the words of this holy apostle meant then, as now is that holy apostles and their successors must speak up and speak out to encourage the faithful to hold fast to the Truth and warn them about joining the ranks of those who do evil in the eyes of God.
Now, in these end times about which our Blessed Mother warned us, and about which Pope St. John Paul II said are upon us this very day.
Let us recognize the Truth in every word St. Jude wrote, and give thanks to God for this holy apostle as we now call upon his intercession:
St. Jude the Apostle…pray for us.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.