“Built upon the foundation of the apostles”: Simon, Judas, and Mary, Mother of the Church

By Prof. Dr. Daniel C. Afonso · Updated 8 October 2026

Superaedificati super fundamentum apostolorum et prophetarum, ipso summo angulari lapide Christo Iesu.
Ef 2,20

The feast of Saints Simon and Judas (October 28) unifies Eph 2, where Paul describes the Church asA building constructed on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone“In Luke 6, where Jesus spends the night in prayer before choosing the twelve apostles, among whom Simon, called Zelota, and Judas, son of James. Both texts describe the same foundation: the Church that arises from Jesus’ night of prayer (Lk 6) and that has the apostles as its eternal foundation (Eph 2). Mary, who was present with the apostles in the Cenacle (Acts 1:14), and who is the Mother of the Church, is the center of this apostolic foundation.”

I. The first reading: Ephesians 2:19-22

Paul presents the identity of the Church as a community ofCitizens of the saints and family of God(v.19): no longer strangers or pilgrims but members of the family. The foundation of this community is twofold: the apostles and the prophets (v.20). The cornerstone is Christ Jesus. The architectural blueprint is precise: the foundation supports the entire building, and Christ as the “angular stone“It is the one that joins the two walls of the building, Jews and Gentiles, the old Israel and the new people.”

“Annunciation”In whom all the well-ordered structure grows to become a holy temple in the Lord.“The building is not complete, it is growing. The Church is not a static monument but a temple in construction.”Dwellings of God in the Spirit(v.22). The Spirit that dwells in the temple is the same Spirit that Jesus promised to the apostles, and which descended upon them at Pentecost, with Mary in the midst (Acts 1:14; 2:1-4).

II. The Gospel: Luke 6:12-16

The election of the twelve begins with a night of prayer: «Jesus went up onto the mountain to pray and spent the night in prayer with God.» (v.12). The morning after is the morning of the Church: Jesus calls his disciples and chooses twelve, the number of the tribes of Israel, the number of the new people of God. The list includes Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, andSimon, called Zealot“and”Judas, son of James” (v.15-16). “

Simon the Zealot and Judas Thaddeus are the most silent apostles in the Gospels: they have no recorded words, no individual episodes. Their greatness is the greatness of the foundation: it is unseen, but it supports the entire building. Jesus’ prayer in the night before his election (Luke 6:12) is the source of all apostolic foundation; the foundation was chosen in prayer before being named.

III. The night of prayer and the eternal foundation

Eph 2 and Lk 6 describe the same foundation of two moments. Lk 6 describes the historical moment: a night of Jesus’ prayer generates the twelve who will be the foundation. Eph 2 describes the permanent theological reality: the Church is built upon this apostolic foundation in a definitive way. The foundation of Eph 2 is the result of the prayer in Lk 6.

Simon the Zealot and Judas Thaddeus, the quietest of the group, teach that the foundation need not be visible to be real. The strength of the foundation lies in supporting the building, not in its appearance.In whom all the structure… grows to become a temple(Eph 2:21): The growth of the temple glorifies the invisible foundations as much as the visible cornerstone.

IV. Mary: Mother of the Apostolic Church

Mary is the

Citizen of the saints and relative of God (Eph 2:19) in a more perfect sense. She was present when the apostles were chosen, accompanied the group of disciples. She was with them in the Cenacle while they waited for the Spirit (Acts 1:14), and received the Spirit at Pentecost as a member of the apostolic community. The «dwellings of God in the Spirit» (Eph 2:22) had in Mary their first fulfillment: the Spirit dwelt in her before dwelling in the temple of the Church.

The feast of Simon and Judas is the feast of the silent foundations, and Mary is the model for those who served silently in the building of the Church. She did not found any community, did not write any letter, did not preach in public squares. But the building of the Church rests on her «Fiat» as much as on the foundation of the apostles: without her consent, the cornerstone could not have been laid. The Wednesday of the 31st Week invites us to honor the silent foundations, Simon, Judas, and Mary, upon whom the temple of the Spirit continues to grow.