Jude of Alphaeus (Thaddeus) the Apostle, the Apostle
Jude is Galilean through his mother, Mary, daughter of Clopas, and Judean through his father Alphaeus, the elder brother of Saint Joseph. He is the youngest of the four cousins of Jesus, to whom he also bears resemblance.[1] They are the same age, Jesus being slightly younger. These two childhood and youth companions had the same teacher: The Virgin Mary.[2]
According to Maria Valtorta:"Jude Thaddaeus is a handsome man, in the fullness of male charm. Tall, strong and well proportioned, dark-haired, like Saint Joseph when he was young, olive-skinned without being earthy, with eyes that have something in common with those of Jesus, because they are of a bluish shade, almost periwinkle. His beard is square-shaped and brown, with wavy hair, less curly than Jesus', and brown like the beard."[3]He has an aristocratic face, "kingly features"[4], with a dignity that always commands respect.[5] His character is fiery and stern.[6] Further on, Maria Valtorta specifies:
"(He has a) dominating face, with a gaze that closely recalls, both in eye color and expression, that of Jesus: a true crowd leader. Yet, beneath his involuntary royal majesty, one sees the glimpse of a Heart full of compunction."[7]The Virgin Mary, at the end of her life, remembers him thus:
"Always noble and loyal. The descent from David was visible in him."[8]He becomes the 9th apostle of Jesus, in break with his father Alphaeus.[9] At the Homelant, Jesus unites his destiny with that of Simon the Zealot (Apostle):
"Come, Simon who has no son. Come Jude, who loses your father for my love. I unite you in the same destiny."[10]This perfect accord between the two is confirmed.[11] Tradition jointly gives them as evangelizers of Persia where they suffer martyrdom.
Jude cannot bear his namesake Judas, "an unreasonable aversion that appeared from their first meeting.[12]-[13] This leads to regular altercations which Jesus must mediate.
Jesus predicts the fate of Jude, a fiery evangelizer:"Jude has a whole temperament. He will act very well where it is a matter of overthrowing paganism."[14]And further:
"Your name is Jude, and you are like our great Jude (Judah): a giant. You are the protector. Your actions are like a lion and a roaring lion cub. You will unmask the impious who will recoil before you, and the wicked will be terrified."[15]This prediction refers to Judah, son of Jacob, whose tribe is symbolized by the lion[16] and to Judas Maccabeus, the craftsman of the liberation of the Jewish people.[17]
This temperament of Jude undoubtedly earned him the nickname Thaddaeus, which Maria Valtorta commonly uses. Thaddaeus, in Aramaic, means "courageous". Jude and Judas are pronounced the same in Hebrew: Yehuda, which sometimes leads to confusion. This name thus distinguishes him from Judas, his namesake.
Jude witnesses the Last Supper[18], the Resurrection[19]-[20], the Ascension[21], and Pentecost.[22], but not the Passion, because he flees during Jesus' arrest.[23]
His name[edit | edit source]
Jude (ג'וד) or Judas (Yehuda), and its feminine Judith, come from the Hebrew “yehudi” meaning Judean, Jew.[24]
Historical reference: Judah, son of Jacob. Judas Maccabeus, the liberator of the Jewish people. This name similarity between Jude and Judas causes some ambiguities.[25]
Jude is called Thaddaeus (from the Aramaic Thaddai, full of heart) or Lebbaeus (from the Hebrew Libbay, courageous or cordial) in some manuscripts, including the Codex Bezae. ("cordial or courageous," a meaning close to "full of heart"). This name distinguished him from Judas, his namesake.
Where is he mentioned in the work?[edit | edit source]
The childhood of Mary: GRM 14 The Nativity cycle: GRM 35The youth of Jesus: GRM 38 GRM 39
Preparation for Public Life: GRM 44
Calling of the first Apostles: GRM 51 GRM 52 GRM 56
Beginning of the apostolate in Galilee: GRM 57
Selection of the last Apostles: GRM 90 GRM 91 GRM 92 GRM 93 GRM 95 GRM 96 GRM 97
The last shepherds: GRM 98 GRM 99 GRM 100 GRM 101 GRM 102 GRM 103 GRM 104 GRM 105 GRM 105 GRM 106 GRM 108 GRM 109
In Judea before common life: GRM 110 GRM 111 GRM 112 GRM 114 GRM 116 GRM 117 GRM 118
Teachings on the Ten Commandments: GRM 119 GRM 120 GRM 121 GRM 122 GRM 123 GRM 124 GRM 125 GRM 126 GRM 127 GRM 128 GRM 129 GRM 130 GRM 131 GRM 132
End-of-year celebrations: GRM 133 GRM 134 GRM 135 GRM 136 GRM 137 GRM 138 GRM 139 GRM 140 GRM 141 GRM 142
The Samaritan woman: GRM 143 GRM 144 GRM 145 GRM 146 GRM 147 GRM 149 The female apostolate: GRM 151 GRM 153 GRM 154 GRM 155 GRM 157 GRM 158 In Galilee, the choice of Apostles: GRM 160 GRM 162 GRM 164 GRM 165 GRM 166
The Sermon on the Mount: GRM 169 GRM 170 GRM 171 GRM 172 GRM 173 GRM 174 GRM 176
Apostolate in Galilee: GRM 177 GRM 178 GRM 179 GRM 180 GRM 181 GRM 182 GRM 183 GRM 184 GRM 186
The second paschal voyage: GRM 187 GRM 188 GRM 189 GRM 190 GRM 191 GRM 192 GRM 193 GRM 194 GRM 195 GRM 196 GRM 197 GRM 198 GRM 199 GRM 200 GRM 201 GRM 202 GRM 203
Apostolate in Judea: GRM 205 GRM 206 GRM 206 GRM 207 GRM 208 GRM 210 GRM 211 GRM 212 GRM 212 GRM 214 GRM 215
Apostolate in Philistia: GRM 216 GRM 217 GRM 218 GRM 219 GRM 220 GRM 221 GRM 222 GRM 223 GRM 224 GRM 225
The conversion of Mary Magdalene: GRM 228 GRM 230 GRM 232 GRM 233 GRM 235 GRM 237 GRM 238 GRM 239 GRM 240 GRM 241 GRM 242 GRM 243 GRM 244 GRM 245 GRM 246 GRM 247 GRM 248 GRM 249 GRM 250 GRM 251 GRM 252 GRM 253 GRM 254 GRM 255
Sending of Apostles and Disciples on Mission: GRM 256 GRM 257 GRM 258 GRM 260 GRM 261 GRM 262 GRM 265 GRM 268 GRM 269 GRM 271 GRM 272 GRM 273 GRM 274 GRM 275 GRM 276 GRM 277 GRM 278 GRM 279 GRM 280
Perea, Gilead and Trachonitis: GRM 281 GRM 282 GRM 284 GRM 285 GRM 286 GRM 287 GRM 288 GRM 289 GRM 290 GRM 292 GRM 293 GRM 294 GRM 296 GRM 297 GRM 298 GRM 299 GRM 300 GRM 301 GRM 302
End-of-year celebrations in Nazareth: GRM 304 GRM 307 GRM 312
The disciples’ journey to Antioch: GRM 313 GRM 314 GRM 315 GRM 316 GRM 317 GRM 318 GRM 319 GRM 320 GRM 321 GRM 322 GRM 323 GRM 324 GRM 325 GRM 326
Phoenicia and Upper Galilee: GRM 327 GRM 328 GRM 329 GRM 330 GRM 331 GRM 332 GRM 333 GRM 334 GRM 335 GRM 336 GRM 337 GRM 338 GRM 339 GRM 340 GRM 341 GRM 342 GRM 343 GRM 344 GRM 345 GRM 346 GRM 347
The Transfiguration and the Bread from Heaven: GRM 348 GRM 349 GRM 350 GRM 351 GRM 352 GRM 353 GRM 354 GRM 355 GRM 356 GRM 357 GRM 358 GRM 359 GRM 360 GRM 361 GRM 362 GRM 363
The penultimate Passover: GRM 364 GRM 365 GRM 366 GRM 367 GRM 368 GRM 369 GRM 370 GRM 371 GRM 372 GRM 374 GRM 375 GRM 376 GRM 377 GRM 378
In Judea: GRM 379 GRM 380 GRM 381 GRM 382 GRM 383 GRM 384 GRM 385.
AGodx in Judea: GRM 386 GRM 387 GRM 388 GRM 389 GRM 390 GRM 391 GRM 392 GRM 393 GRM 394 GRM 398 GRM 399 GRM 402 GRM 403
Plain of Sharon: GRM 404 GRM 405 GRM 406 GRM 407 GRM 408 GRM 410 GRM 411 GRM 412
Pentecost, Decapolis, and Plain of Esdraelon: GRM 413 GRM 414 GRM 415 GRM 416 GRM 417 GRM 418 GRM 419 GRM 420 GRM 421 GRM 422 GRM 423 GRM 424 GRM 425 GRM 426 GRM 427 GRM 428 GRM 429 GRM 430 GRM 431 GRM 432
Summer in Nazareth: GRM 433 GRM 435 GRM 436 GRM 440 GRM 441 GRM 443 GRM 444 GRM 445 GRM 446 GRM 447 GRM 448 GRM 449 GRM 450 GRM 451 GRM 452 GRM 453 GRM 454 GRM 455 GRM 456 GRM 457 GRM 458 GRM 459 GRM 460 GRM 461 GRM 462 GRM 463 GRM 465
In Syro-Phoenicia: GRM 466 GRM 467 GRM 469 GRM 470 GRM 471 GRM 475 GRM 473 GRM 473 GRM 474 GRM 475 GRM 476 GRM 477 GRM 481 GRM 482
The Feast of Tabernacles: GRM 488 GRM 489 GRM 490
In Moab and Judea: GRM 497 GRM 498 GRM 499 GRM 507 GRM 508 GRM 509 GRM 510 GRM 511 GRM 515 GRM 519 GRM 520 GRM 522 GRM 525
The Feast of Dedication: GRM 527 GRM 528 GRM 529 GRM 532 GRM 534 GRM 536
The resurrection of Lazarus: GRM 547 GRM 548
Exile in Samaria: GRM 551 GRM 552 GRM 553 GRM 554 GRM 555 GRM 566 GRM 571 GRM 574 GRM 575
Return to Jerusalem: GRM 576 GRM 577 GRM 578 GRM 582 GRM 584 GRM 586
Holy Week: GRM 590 GRM 593 GRM 594 GRM 595 GRM 597 GRM 598 GRM 599
Easter Sunday: GRM 621 GRM 626
From Resurrection to Ascension: GRM 628 GRM 629 GRM 630 GRM 631 GRM 634 GRM 635 GRM 636 GRM 638
The apostolic times: GRM 639 GRM 640 GRM 641 GRM 643 GRM 649
Learn more about this character[edit | edit source]
Excerpts from the Dictionary of Gospel Characters, According to Maria Valtorta (Msgr. René Laurentin, François-Michel Debroise, Jean-François Lavère, Salvator Editions, 2012):Saint Jude is celebrated on October 28 with Saint Simon and on June 19 in the East.Together with Simon the Zealot (Apostle), he preaches the Gospel in Palestine, Syria, Libya, then in Persia where they die as martyrs around 80 AD. Jude's tomb is located in the Black Church (Ghara Kelisa), a very ancient Armenian church near the town of Maku in northern Iran. An important pilgrimage still takes place there today. However, another tradition places his tomb in Edessa, now in Turkey.
Some of his Relics would have been brought back from Babylon in the 8th century and given to Charlemagne by Pope Leo III. They are said to be today at Saint-Sernin in Toulouse.
Jerome of Stridon, the author of the Vulgate, says of Jude that he was "trinomius," as he bore three names: Jude, Thaddaeus, or Lebbaeus. The latter nickname having in Hebrew a meaning close to the Aramaic Thaddaeus (courageous).
Origen and Tertullian attribute to him the Epistle of Saint Jude and identify him as a "brother of the Lord".
Saint Thomas Aquinas, in the Catena Aurea[26] refers to the Venerable Bede[27] to affirm that Thaddaeus and Jude are one and the same person, that he was brother of James (the Lesser), cousin of Jesus and author of the epistle bearing his name. This epistle was at one time suspected because of its references to two Old Testament apocrypha: the Book of Enoch and the Assumption of Moses.[28]
In Acts 1:13, the mention "Jude of James" is usually translated as "son of James". Maria Valtorta, along with previous tradition, prefers the translation "brother of James".[29]
Eusebius of Caesarea (4th century), citing Hegesippus, reports the appearance of the grandsons of Jude, brother of the Lord, before Emperor Domitian (81-96) during the first large-scale persecution Against Christians.[30] Faced with the poverty of these two persons, the emperor released them. How Jude, portrayed as celibate by Maria Valtorta, had descendants remains uncertain: either he married late (though tradition doesn't mention any name), or he adopted the children of his elder brother Joseph. In any case, by the end of the first century, there were no other surviving descendants of Alphaeus, Jesus' uncle.
Still according to Salton, Eusebius of Caesarea reports that Agbar, king of Edessa, wrote to Jesus upon learning of his fame. Thaddaeus was sent to him and baptized him along with his entourage.[31]
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
Note: Quotations from the work of Maria Valtorta on this page currently use machine-translated text and will gradually be replaced by the official English translation. Until then, the official translation may be consulted through the reference link provided with each quotation.
- ↑ GRM 253
- ↑ GRM 38.7-9
- ↑ GRM 51.1
- ↑ GRM 525.4
- ↑ GRM 536.2
- ↑ GRM 575.19
- ↑ GRM 639.1
- ↑ GRM 649.6
- ↑ GRM 56.5
- ↑ GRM 56.7
- ↑ GRM 435.5
- ↑ GRM 410.3
- ↑ GRM 498.3
- ↑ GRM 258.4
- ↑ GRM 600.11
- ↑ Genesis 49:8-10
- ↑ 1 Maccabees 2:66
- ↑ GRM 600
- ↑ GRM 627
- ↑ GRM 629
- ↑ GRM 638.16-23
- ↑ GRM 640
- ↑ GRM 602
- ↑ Hebrew alphabet on croixsens.net
- ↑ GRM 465.9, see note 5 on the site
- ↑ Saint Thomas Aquinas, commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Mark - Chapter III, verses 13-19.
- ↑ "Thaddaeus is the one whom Saint Luke, in his Gospel (Luke 6), and in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1), calls Jude, brother of James. He was indeed brother of James, who was himself brother, that is, cousin of the Lord, as he writes in his Epistle."
- ↑ It is believed to be the last apostle to have written, except for Saint John.
- ↑ The Osty Bible (1973) indicates in its footnote for Luke 6:16 "Judas (son or brother) of James". The Chouraqui Bible (2003) does likewise ("Yehuda of Ya'akov - Jude, son or brother of James. Matthew and Mark here name Thaddaeus (Thaddaeus)"). Jerome of Stridon, author of the Vulgate, mentions his relationship to James, son of Alphaeus, using the expression "Jude of James" without further precision ("Iudam Iacobi" (Luke 6:16, Acts 1:13).
- ↑ Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book III, chapters 19 and 20. Source quoted by Daniel-Rops in Jesus in His Time: When, later, Emperor Domitian (81-96), informed of the prophecy promising a descendant of David to humble the mighty and thrones before him, summoned the last representatives of the royal lineage of Israel, the poor peasants brought to him – two grandsons of Jude the apostle – appeared so humble, so harmless that he spared their lives and sent them back to their hoes. (p. 109.)
- ↑ Ib°, Book I, chapter 13, § 11.