I love being surrounded by historic Catholic saints. They are a powerful resource helping us to become better Christians.
Saints are our heavenly example of how we should live our lives. To put it simply, we Catholics ask for their intercession. The great divide is this: Protestants believe we pray to them. We do not! We know who our Lord and Savior is, and we pray to Him directly.
Saint Jude Thaddeus
So who is St. Jude? And why is he one of the most popular saints in Catholic history? He is the apostle of the impossible. This is the saint you invoke when there is no hope.
He was a first cousin of Jesus and brother to James the Less. How did this saint, who wrote one of the shortest books in the Bible, become so popular? St. Jude, as an apostle of Christ, lived a life of holiness. Our Lord Jesus washed his feet on Holy Thursday. He was at the Last Supper and he was in the Upper Room when the power of the Holy Spirit came down from heaven. St. Jude witnessed the countless miracles of Christ and received the “Great Commission” to continue the work of our Lord.
Recently Christ Cathedral hosted the tour of the Relics of St. Jude. My neighbor Susan and I attended the Mass, followed by the veneration of St. Jude. We waited for nearly two hours to venerate the relic. Since this was part of St. Jude’s arm, it is considered a first- class relic. “First-class relic are the body or fragments of the body of the saint, such as a pieces of the bone or flesh. Second-class relics are something a saint personally owned, such as a shirt or book. Third-class relics are those items a saint touched or have been touched by a first, second, or another third-class relic of the saint.” The Apostle of the Impossible Saint Jude Thaddues, Fr. Carlos Martins
St. Jude, Pray For Us
There are only a handful of people that I can trust with my personal prayer intentions. Asking my friends to pray for me gives me great relief because I know that they will continue to intercede for me until they feel released by God.
Sometimes our problems weigh heavy on our hearts, and illnesses like cancer can send us to deep prayer or deep depression. These are grave concerns and, though we are praying, we need an army to come alongside us. St. Jude is the saint to invoke in these desperate situations.
Christ Cathedral
I experience great excitement when a saint comes into town, so when I heard that the relics of St. Jude were being venerated at Christ Cathedral I wanted to attend. I called my neighbor Susan and she gladly agreed to go with me. When we arrived the cathedral was packed out, so we had to go to the balcony. We attended the Mass, which was followed by the veneration of the relics.
It was a chilly evening and I had no idea that we would be in line outside of the church for over two hours. Because of the large crowd, we were instructed to venerate the relic for 10 seconds, but in reality it was more like three seconds. Of course I totally forgot what to pray for while I was being ushered away. In great dismay, I looked over at Susan and said, “I forgot to ask him to be my friend and what my gifts were!” Standing a few feet away I prayed. I did, however, place my wedding rings, holy cards and medals on the case for a special blessing.
I brought with me over 50 holy medals and hundreds of holy cards for the blessing, which would make them third-class relics. It’s a complicated scenario to explain the excitement we all shared that evening. It was indeed holy. One thing for certain is that my gift of dreams has been richly increased since I paid homage to the relics of St. Jude.
My Prayer
Dear Lord, I pray for all those who are stuck in impossible situations: cancer patients, the homeless, drug addicts and all manner of hopelessness. We ask for the intercession of St. Jude to come to their aid. Amen.
