Unknown Stones, Eternal Foundation: The Apostles Who Built the Church

Eph 2:19-22, Psalm: 18, Lk 6:12-19

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

How much do you know about Saints Simon and Jude? If you are honest, probably very little. Simon is called the Zealot, a man who once belonged to a revolutionary movement. Jude is called Thaddeus, and he is mentioned only a handful of times in the Gospels. We know almost nothing about their lives, their missions, or their deaths. They are the forgotten apostles—the hidden ones. And yet, on this feast day, the Church tells us that they are foundational. They are the stones upon which the household of God is built.

In his Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul writes, “You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.” This is a breathtaking image. The Church is not a building of stone and mortar. It is a living temple, built of living stones—the apostles, the prophets, the saints, and each one of us. And the foundation of this temple is the apostles. Not just Peter, James, and John. All of them. Including Simon the Zealot. Including Jude Thaddeus. The forgotten ones. The hidden ones. The ones whose stories we do not know.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus goes up the mountain to pray, and He spends the entire night in prayer before choosing the Twelve. He does not choose the most qualified. He does not choose the most famous. He chooses ordinary men—fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot. He chooses them not because they are great, but because He will make them great. He gives them authority over demons and power to heal. And He names them apostles—”sent ones.” They will be the foundation of the Church, not because of their own strength, but because of His.

The connection is this: The Church is built on the apostles, but the apostles are built on Christ. The capstone is Jesus. The foundation is the men He chose. And we are the living stones being built into the temple. The Church does not belong to the famous apostles or the forgotten ones. It belongs to Christ. And every stone—great or small, known or unknown—has its place.

Pope Francis has said, “The Church is not a museum of saints, but a field hospital for sinners. Every one of us is a living stone, being built into a spiritual house.” Saint John Paul II, in his encyclical Redemptoris Missio, wrote, “The Church is built on the apostolic foundation, and we are called to continue the apostolic mission.” And Saint Augustine, contemplating the mystery of the hidden apostles, said, “God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called.”

What does this mean for us? Most of us will live our lives in holy obscurity. We will not be famous. We will not be written about in history books. We will not have feast days celebrated around the world. We will be like Simon and Jude—hidden, forgotten, ordinary. But that does not mean we are unimportant. The Church is built on hidden stones. The Kingdom is advanced by unknown saints. The most important work is often the quietest.

Today, let us examine our hearts. Are we faithful, even if we are hidden? Are we serving, even if no one notices? Are we building the Church, stone by stone, in our families, our parishes, our communities? Let us ask Saints Simon and Jude to intercede for us, that we may be faithful living stones, built into the household of God, with Christ as our capstone.

For the Church is built on unknown stones. And we are all called to be one. Amen.

May God bless you all!