St. Jude Thaddeus: Helper in Desperate Cases by Anonymous

Author:Anonymous [Anonymous]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TAN Books
Published: 2015-12-13T06:00:00+00:00

Explanation of St. Jude’s Epistle

During the time of St. Jude’s apostolate, certain errors had spread among the Hebrew Christians. It was to caution them against these falsehoods, as well as to exhort them to be faithful to the teachings of the Apostles, that this Epistle was written. St. Jude inveighed especially against practices of simony and heretical beliefs advocated among the early Christians.

In his Epistle, St. Jude urged the faithful to remain steadfast in the doctrine and practices taught by the Apostles, who had foretold that in aftertimes there would be false teachers who would scoff at and ridicule all revealed truths, abandoning themselves to their passions and lusts: men who would separate themselves from the Catholic communion by heresies and schisms, and carnal men enslaved by the pleasures of the senses. That such men would be severely punished, he said, was evident from the punishment of the unbelieving Israelites in the desert, of the wicked angels and of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha. St. Jude foretold for heretics the same punishment meted out to Cain, Balaam and the sons of Core, because they imitated the errors of those wicked ones. To the pride of their wicked teachings and life he opposed the modesty of the Archangel Michael.

St. Jude likewise exhorted the early Christians to erect a true spiritual edifice by living lives founded upon faith, love of God, ardent hope and prayer, while awaiting the mercies of God and the reward of eternal life. He exhorted them to practice fraternal charity and cautioned them that, in their efforts to win converts, they would encounter three types of persons (as described in Notes above):

First, those obstinate in their errors and sins, who must be regarded as already judged and condemned. These, he said, should be reproved and, if possible, convinced of their error.

Second, those willing to listen to their admonitions. These, he said, they should save by pulling them, as it were, out of the fire and the ruin of which they were in danger.

Third, those who either through ignorance or weakness were liable to be drawn into the snares of unbelievers. These must be dealt with more gently and with a charitable compassion, and must be taught to hate even the garment which is soiled by the flesh, meaning the sensual and corrupt actions which defile both body and soul.

So strikingly applicable to our own times are the exhortations contained in this Epistle that they might well have been addressed to the Christians of today. False teachings and errors without number are today being spread throughout the world, and Catholics of our time truly need to be exhorted to remain steadfast in their faith if they would escape being drawn into this whirlpool of error.

The means which St. Jude proposed to the early Christians to maintain the Faith and keep themselves in the love of God are none other than those which the Church in our own times holds out and has always held out to her children.

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