Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Jude, who carried Jesus’ image and message to the far corners of the Earth. We are grateful for you and the thousands of others who have sent their petitions to be joined together in the Feast of St. Jude Prayer Banner.
Prayer to St. Jude:
Most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Make use I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever. I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. Amen.
The nature of love is to want to always be with the people we care for, and separations can be very painful. That is one reason why death has such an impact on us. But physical death is simply a journey to a better place. We trust the word of God, which reveals that he sent his only Son, who died so that we all may have life. We have faith that death cannot be the end, since we have seen Christ’s resurrection.
Many devotees of St. Jude write to the National Shrine recounting how St. Jude has come through for them, their family and loved ones. Their confidence in the power of St. Jude to intercede for them ennoble their trust in what God is able to do in their lives. One Devotee wrote to the Shrine thanking God and St. Jude for a miracle in the life of their son who was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in his teens. Throughout his teenage life, his family’s life was defined by his illness. They made many trips to the hospital and specialists seeking to provide him the best medicine available, and to restore him to full health.
The culture in which we live promotes radical individualism. We are told to think of ourselves first, and to act always in our own best interest. But Jesus’ message of solidarity challenges the individualism of our day. We are to think not of ourselves first, but God, and after Him, we are to think of our neighbor. Only when this order is kept intact in our lives do we experience the blessings the Lord has in store for us.
