The St Jude Prayer

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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 hope. Please intercede on my behalf. Make use of that particular privilege given to you to bring hope, comfort, and help where they are needed most. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven as I work with my challenges, particularly (here make your request). I praise God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, 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.

Patron Saint of the Impossible

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Legend has it that St. Jude was born into a Jewish family in Paneas, a town in the Galilee region of ancient Palestine, the same area that Jesus grew up in.  He probably spoke Greek and Aramaic, like many people in that area, and he was a farmer by trade. Jude was described by St. Matthew (13:55) as being one of the “brethren” of Jesus, probably meaning a cousin since the Hebrew word for “brethren” indicates a blood relationship.  His mother, Mary, was referred to as a cousin of Jesus’ mother Mary, while his father, Cleophas, was the brother of St. Joseph.

Jude had several brothers, including St. James, who was another of the original Apostles. His own first name, “Jude”, means giver of joy, while “Thaddeus”, another name he was called, means generous and kind.

Jude was called to be one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ.  He began preaching the Good News of Jesus to Jews throughout Galilee, Samaria, and Judea.  Around 37 A.D., St. Jude went to Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) and became a leader of the Church of The East that St. Thomas established there.  St. Jude traveled throughout Mesopotamia, Libya, Turkey, and Persia with St. Simon, preaching and converting many people to Christianity.  He was credited with helping the early creation of the Armenian Church and other places beyond the borders of the Roman Empire.

Around the year 60 A.D., St. Jude wrote a Gospel letter to recent Christian converts in Eastern churches who were under persecution.  In it, he warned them against the pseudo-teachers of the day who were spreading false ideas about the early Christian faith.  He encouraged them to persevere in the face of the harsh, difficult circumstances they were in, just as their forefathers had done before them.  He exhorted them to keep their faith and to stay in the love of God as they had been taught.  His inspirational support of these early believers led to him becoming the patron saint of desperate causes.

St. Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand.  This depiction comes from a Biblical story in which King Abgar of Edessa (a city located in what is now southeast Turkey) asked Jesus to cure him of leprosy and sent an artist to bring him a drawing of Jesus.  Impressed with Abgar’s great faith, Jesus pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to St. Jude to take to Abgar.  Upon seeing Jesus’ image, The King was cured and he converted to Christianity along with most of the people under his rule.

In addition to the image of Christ, St. Jude is often shown in paintings with a flame around his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles.

St. Jude died a martyr of God in Persia or Syria around 65 A.D.  After his death, his body was brought back to Rome and was placed in a crypt beneath St. Peter’s Basilica.  His last mortal remains still lie there today.  After his martyrdom, pilgrims came to his grave to pray, and many of them experienced the powerful intercessions of St. Jude.  This is how he got the title, “The Saint for the Hopeless and the Despaired”.  St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Bernard had visions from God asking each to accept St. Jude as “The Patron Saint of the Impossible”.  St. Jude Shrine in Baltimore has arranged for a daily Mass to be celebrated on the altar above the tomb for the intentions of those whose names are registered at the Shrine.  Pope Paul III, in a brief dated September 22nd, 1543, granted a plenary indulgence to all who would visit his tomb on the day commemorating his death, October 28th, the day of his feast.

Today, more than ever before, the merit of Jude Thaddeus is being revived in people’s minds and hearts.  In return, he is proving himself to be more than an ordinary advocate, taking special delight in coming to the aid of persons in desperate need.  No petition seems too great for him. In response to the many requests and petitions received, the Pallottines offer daily prayers and bear witness to the many favors received through St. Jude’s intercession.

The St Jude Prayer

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Prayer to St. Jude

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Prayer to Saint Jude
(To be said when problems arise or when one seems to be deprived of all visible help, or for cases almost despaired of.)

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 despaired of. Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone; make use, I implore you, of this particular privilege accorded 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 consolations and succor of Heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings, particularly (here make your request), so that I may bless God with you and all the elect forever.
I promise you, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor you as my special and powerful patron and to do all in my power to encourage devotion to you. Amen.

Prayer to St. Jude

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Are you faced with a desperate situation? The prayers to St. Jude (pictured at left) printed below help remind us that nothing is impossible with God, even help when you’re at your wit’s end. Considering that thanksgiving notes appear in newspapers to this patron saint of desperate cases, praying to him must have some effect!

This prayer, courtesy of the Dominican Shrine of Saint Jude Dominican Friars, is wonderfully straightforward:

Most holy Apostle, Saint Jude Thaddeus, friend of Jesus, I place myself in your care at this difficult time. Help me know that I need not face my troubles alone. Please join me in my need, asking God to send me: consolation in my sorrow, courage in my fear, and healing in the midst of my suffering. Ask our loving Lord to fill me with the grace to accept whatever may lie ahead for me and my loved ones, and to strengthen my faith in God's healing powers. Thank you, Saint Jude Thaddeus, for the promise of hope you hold out to all who believe, and inspire me to give this gift of hope to others as it has been given to me.

V. Saint Jude, Apostle of Hope
R. Pray for us!

St. Jude was one of the twelve Apostles. Mark’s (3:18) and Matthew’s (10:3) gospels refer to him as Thaddeus (a surname meaning “amiable or “loving”), possibly in part to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot, our Lord’s betrayer! John’s gospel refers to him in the last supper as “Judas… not the Iscariot” (14:22).

The evangelist no doubt wanted to make sure that he would not be confused with the man Jesus Himself referred to as the “son of perdition” in John 17:11!

This prayer to St. Jude touches on that:

Oh glorious apostle St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered thy beloved Master into the hands of His enemies has caused thee to be forgotten by many, but the Church honors and invokes thee universally as the patron of hopeless cases--of things despaired of. Pray for me who am so miserable; make use, I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded thee of bringing visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need, that I may receive the consolations and succor of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings, particularly (mention your request), and that I may bless God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity. I promise thee, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor thee as my special and powerful patron, and to do all in my power to encourage devotion to thee. Amen

St. Jude is known as the brother of Saint James the Less. According to tradition, he wrote the epistle bearing his name in the New Testament as well, although this is not as certain.

In his letter he stressed having faith in apostolic teachings in the midst of heresies through fraternal charity, prayer, and loving obedience to God. According to the historian Eusebius he assisted in his brother St. Simeon’s election as Bishop of Jerusalem in 62 A.D.

St. Jude is said to have preached the gospel in such regions as Judea, Samaria, Libya, and Mesopotamia, before suffering martyrdom in Armenia, which was then part of Persia. According to one account, he is said to have cured the King of Edessa’s leprosy in Mesopotamia with an image of Jesus’s face that our Lord had pressed on a cloth.

The king was so impressed he converted to Christianity, along with much of his family and kingdom. Talk about a picture being worth a thousand words! St. Jude converted countless others to the faith as well.

He is often shown in drawings, like the one above, holding an image of Jesus in one hand and a club (a symbol of his martyrdom) in the other. Often the Holy Spirit is seen over his head as a tongue of fire (in remembrance of Pentecost when He came upon the apostles).

These two prayers to St. Jude, like the previous ones and some others listed here can be used as a novena (a prayer said for nine consecutive days).

O Holy St Jude!
Apostle and Martyr,
great in virtue and rich in miracles,
near kinsman of Jesus Christ,
faithful intercessor for all who invoke you,
special patron in time of need;
to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart,
and humbly beg you,
to whom God has given such great power,
to come to my assistance;
help me now in my urgent need and grant my earnest petition.
I will never forget thy graces and favors you obtain for me
and I will do my utmost to spread devotion to you. Amen.

St. Jude, pray for us and all who honor thee and invoke thy aid.
(Say 3 Our Father's, 3 Hail Mary’s, and 3 Glory Be’s after this.)

Note that in addition to saying a prayer to St. Jude, we can invoke his aid by offering Holy Masses and Communions in his honor. We can also engage in charitable works in his name.

As St. Leo once said “Prayer has the greatest efficacy to obtain favors from God when it is supported by works of mercy.” Don’t forget to help someone in need as part of your prayer to St. Jude.

Novena in Honor of Saint Jude Thaddeus

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October 28

Glorious Saint Jude Thaddeus, by those sublime privileges with which you were adorned in your lifetime, namely, your relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh, and your vocation to be an Apostle, and by that glory which now is yours in heaven as the reward of your apostolic labors and your martyrdom, obtain for me from the Giver of every good and perfect gift all the graces of which I stand in need: (Mention your request).

May I treasure up in my heart the divinely inspired doctrines that you have given us in your Epistle: to build my edifice of holiness upon our most holy faith, by praying for the grace of the Holy Spirit; to keep myself in the love of God, looking for the mercy of Jesus Christ unto eternal life; to strive by all means to help those who go astray.

May I thus praise the glory and majesty, the dominion and power of Him who is able to keep me without sin and to present me spotless with great joy at the coming of our Divine Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Consecration to Saint Jude

Saint Jude, Apostle of Christ and glorious martyr, I desire to honor you with a special devotion. I choose you as my patron and protector. To you I entrust my soul and my body, all my spiritual and temporal interests, as well as those of my family. To you I consecrate my mind so that in all things it may be enlightened by faith; my heart so that you may keep it pure and fill it with love for Jesus and Mary; my will so that, like yours, it may always be one with the Will of God.

I beg you to help me to master my evil inclinations and temptations and to avoid all occasions of sin. Obtain for me the grace of never offending God, of fulfilling faithfully all the duties of my state of life, and of practicing all those virtues that are needful for my salvation.

Pray for me, my holy patron and helper, so that, being inspired by your example and assisted by your prayers, I may live a holy life, die a happy death, and attain to the glory of heaven, there to love and thank God forever. Amen.

Prayer

O God, you made your Name known to us through the Apostles. By the intercession of Saint Jude, let your Church continue to grow with an increased number of believers. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Short Biography of St. Jude Thaddeus Patron Saint of Lost Causes and Desperate Cases

Source: A Short Biography of St. Jude Thaddeus Patron Saint of Lost Causes and Desperate Cases

Saint Jude is known as the patron of lost causes and desperate cases, and the patron saint of hospitals. Jude was one of Jesus’ twelve original apostles, though little specific information is known about his life. His lineage is documented as a direct relative of Jesus, a cousin. There are certainly many sources of shared personal history, for instance any reference in the New Testament to “the apostles” would presumably include him. Thus we can conclude he was in the boat, on the hillside, in Jerusalem, at the Last Supper, etc.

Saint Jude is actually a saint known by two names, Jude and/or Thaddeus. The name "Thaddeus" means sweetness and gentleness of character. He is not the traitor Judas Iscariot, and he faithfully followed Jesus until his crucifixion, and then later set out to evangelize.

October 28th is the Roman Catholic day of his feast. He is also venerated as a saint in the Anglican Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Coptic Christian Church.

Written history is not clear concerning Jude Thaddeus’ birth and early years, so modern knowledge is a by-product of legend. St. Jude was born in the northern region of Galilee which today is northern Israel. The town at the time was known as Paneas but the name was changed to Caesarea Philippi and today is named Banyas. His father was Clopas, brother of St. Joseph, and his mother Mary was a cousin of the Virgin Mary. This fact allows the conclusion that St. Jude was a contemporary of Jesus and most likely in roughly the same age group. He was a farmer by occupation and like most people in that time and that region probably bilingual, speaking Greek and Aramaic. St. Hegesippus, an historian of the early years of the church, tells of an incident involving two grandsons of St. Jude, so we know he was married and that he had at least one child. There are some biblical scholars that have stated St. Jude was the bridegroom at the Cana wedding, though this is not a proven fact.

St. Jude who was one of the first disciples to join Jesus and was his true believer through the Crucifixion and afterward, until his own death.

Who was St. Jude Saint Jude the Apostle

The apostles, Saint Jude Thaddeus and Apostle Bartholomew were the first to bring Christianity to the present day nation of Armenia.

St. Thomas, acting under divine guidance, dispatched St. Jude to the city of Edessa, Turkey to preach on the teachings of Jesus Christ. He also preached and taught in Turkey, Syria, Libya, Samaria, Judea and Palestine.

We know of one incident and one written document from St. Jude. Together, these two constitute the foundation of Christianity. St. Jude is the apostle at the Last Supper who asked Jesus why he chose to reveal himself only to his disciples. Jesus’ reply, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."

There is one written document from this saint, The Letter of St. Jude. The importance and impact of this letter cannot be overstated, it is one of the seven letters of the Catholic faith. Using a direct no nonsense approach, he warns Christians against the unbelievers with clear charges such as licentiousness, perversion, sexual immorality, unnatural lust, slanderers of holy men, rejection of authority and denial of Jesus Christ.

St. Jude was murdered by an angry pagan mob in Beirut, Lebanon in 65 A.D.

Why is St. Jude the apostle the one to whom we pray in time of hopeless causes?

Source: Why is St. Jude the apostle the one to whom we pray in time of hopeless causes?

Before delving into the question at hand, let us first investigate what we know about St. Jude. Unfortunately, Sacred Scripture does not provide many details about the life of St. Jude.  Most importantly, he is listed as one of the twelve apostles called by our Lord, Jesus: “At daybreak, He called His disciples and selected twelve of them to be His apostles: Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter, and Andrew, his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who turned traitor” (Luke 6:13-16; confer also Acts 1:13).  In both the Gospel of St. Matthew (10:2-4) and Mark (3:16-19), the name “Judas” (i.e. Jude) does not appear in the list of the apostles, but rather the name “Thaddaeus.”; some speculate that Thaddaeus was used to distinguish Jude from the betrayer Judas Iscariot.  (Please note too that “Judas” is the Greek form for the English “Jude.”) Nevertheless, both names, Jude and Thaddaeus, refer to the same person, and oftentimes one will hear St. Jude Thaddaeus.  Our liturgical tradition also reflects this point: The Latin text of Eucharistic Prayer I in the Mass uses the name Thaddaeus, while the English text uses the word Jude in the listing of the apostles.

Traditionally, St. Jude was the author of “The Epistle of Jude,” found in the New Testament.  Some scholars in recent times have disputed whether the Apostle St. Jude was in fact the author Jude of this letter.  Rather the plunge into all of those arguments, let’s recount briefly the traditional evidence supporting St. Jude as the author.  The Muratorian Fragment (c. AD 155) provides one of the earliest listings of those writings which could be read at Mass because they were of apostolic authorship and free of heresy or error.  These works would later be included in the canon of the New Testament.  The Muratorian fragment lists The Epistle of Jude as one of those accepted writings, thereby attesting to the authorship of the Apostle St. Jude.

However to accept this point stirs up another question: Why then does the author of the epistle identify himself as the “brother of James” (Jude 1), referring to the Apostle, St. James the Lesser?  In the listing of the Twelve Apostles cited above, Jude is identified as “the son of James,” and St. James the Lesser is identified as “the son of Alphaeus.”  The problem lies in the translation from the Greek text of the gospel into English.  Returning to the original Greek text of the Gospel of St. Luke, one does not find the word son either in reference to “James son of Alphaeus” or “Judas son of James”; rather, the literal translation would be “James of Alphaeus,” and “Judas of James.”  (The same is true of the Latin Vulgate text.)  So what are the actual relationships?

The “James” referred to in the Letter of Jude is St. James the Lesser (not the brother of St. John), who was a cousin of Jesus (Matthew 13:55, noting brother used as an all-encompassing term for any male blood relation).  Since in the listing of the Apostles in the Gospels of St. Matthew and Mark, the name Thaddaeus follows immediately that of “James, of Alphaeus,” the traditional conclusion is that Thaddaeus and James are related.  Thaddaeus remember is the other name for St. Jude.  Therefore, the author of the epistle is the same Jude who is the brother of James the Lesser.  For good reason then, the Douay Rheims Bible correctly translated the listing in Luke 6:13-16 as follows: “James, the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who is called Zelotes, and Jude, the brother of James.”   Another reason St. Jude identified himself as “the brother of James” at the beginning of his epistle may be because the Apostle St. James the Lesser was the well-known Bishop of Jerusalem; therefore, the relationship attests to the apostolic authorship of the epistle and dispels any confusion with Judas Iscariot.

Now that the reader probably knows more than he ever wanted to about why St. Jude is the Apostle, the brother of St. James the Less, the cousin of Jesus, and the author of the New Testament Epistle of Jude, we can continue with answering the question.

St. Jude does have one recorded spoken verse in the Gospel of St. John.  At the Last Supper, he asked Jesus, “Lord, why is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” (John 14:22).  Our Lord then spoke of how anyone who loves Him will be true to His word, in turn His Heavenly Father will love him, and together they will send the Holy Spirit.

The Epistle of Jude is similar to the Second Epistle of Peter.  Some scholars date the letter to about AD 70.  St. Jude encourages the community to “fight hard for the faith,” and warns against false teachers.  He challenges the early faithful: “Grow strong in your holy faith through prayer in the Holy Spirit.  Persevere in God’s love, and welcome the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ which leads to life eternal.  Correct those are confused; the others you must rescue, snatching them from the fire” (v. 20-22).

There is a tradition which holds that after the resurrection, St. Jude Thaddaeus retrieved our Lord’s burial cloth, which many believe to be the Shroud of Turin.  He eventually brought it to Edessa in present day Turkey. From there, he traveled into the area of Armenia.  The Armenian Rite traces its origins to St. Jude Thaddaeus.

St. Jude then preached the gospel in Mesopotamia where he was joined by St. Simon.  From there, they did missionary work in Persia, where they suffered martyrdom.  St. Jude was beaten to death with a club; St. Simon was sawed into pieces.  Their feast day is October 28th.

So why is St. Jude Thaddaeus the patron saint of desperate causes?  The traditional reason is rather simple: When one hears the name Judas (Latin and Greek) or even Jude (English), one immediately thinks of Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord.  Therefore, a person had to be desperate to invoke his name.  Being so seldom invoked and reverenced, St. Jude is ready and waiting to hear the prayers of those who call upon him.  Ironically, he is probably the Apostle who is invoked the most in prayer, and the most memorialized in churches with statues or other artwork.

A prayer distributed by the National Shrine of St. Jude in Chicago reads as follows:

“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 us 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, tribulation, and sufferings, particularly (state 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.”

Article: The Prayer Jesus Taught Us

The Prayer Jesus Taught Us by Victor Hoagland, C.P., based on the New Catholic Catechism 2759-2865 (source link here)

"Teach us how to pray," the disciples said to Jesus. (Luke 11, 1) He answered by teaching them the prayer we call the Our Father or The Lord's Prayer.

The Lord's Prayer is a basic Christian prayer. As a model of prayer, every Christian learns it by heart. It appears everywhere in the church's life: in its liturgy and sacraments, in public and private prayer. It 's a prayer Christians treasure.

Though we memorize it as a set formula, the Lord's Prayer shouldn't be repeated mechanically or without thought. Its purpose is to awaken and stimulate our faith. Through this prayer Jesus invites us to approach God as Father. Indeed, the Lord's Prayer has been called a summary of the gospel.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.

God and MosesWhen Moses approached God on Mount Sinai, he heard a voice saying, "Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." An infinite chasm separates us from the transcendent God.

In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus invites us to draw near to God who is beyond human understanding, who dwells in mystery, who is all holy. We can call God "our Father".

Calling God "Father" does not mean that God is masculine. God is beyond the categories of gender, of masculine or feminine. None of our descriptions of God is adequate. God, who is "in heaven", whose name is holy, cannot be fully known by us.

By calling God "Father" we are more rightly describing ourselves and our relationship with God. Jesus teaches that we have a filial relationship with God; God sees us as if we were a daughter or a son. And we, on our part, can approach God in the familiar confident way a child approaches a loving parent. What is more, we approach God through God's only Son, Jesus Christ, who unites us to himself .

Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

God's kingdom. Jesus often said that God's power would appear and renew all creation. God like a mighty king would rule over the earth according to a plan that unfolds from the beginning of the world. God's kingdom would be marked by peace and justice. Good would be rewarded and evil punished. The kingdom, according to Jesus, is not far off, but already present in our midst, though not yet revealed.

In the Lord's prayer we pray that God's kingdom come, that God's will, which is for our good, be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

We are God's children. What can be more childlike than this petition in which we pray for our daily bread, a word that describes all those physical, human and spiritual gifts we need to live. With the confidence of children we say: "Give us this day what we need."

Forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.

This petition of the Lord's Prayer is a demanding one. Not only do we ask God's forgiveness for our daily offenses, but we link God's forgiveness of us with our forgiveness of others. Forgiving others is not always easy to do. We need God's help to do it. But it must be done or we ourselves cannot receive God's mercy.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Life is not easy. It is a daily battle. Trials like sickness and failure can crush our spirits. False values and easy promises can entice us and even destroy our souls. And so we ask God to keep us from failing when we are tested, to help us to know the right thing to do, to deliver us from the evil which awaits us in life.

The Lord's Prayer sums up the teaching of Jesus. It is also a prayer that offers the grace of Jesus: his reverence for God, his childlike confidence in his Father, and his power to go bravely through life no matter what comes. When we pray his prayer, his spirit becomes our own.

St. Jude Thaddeus by Georges de La Tour

It is important to see how art is applied to religious or historical icons. The perspectives of artists tells us much about how these figures are viewed in and over time. Last week, I presented a painting of St. Jude by Sir Anthony van Dyck, a Flemish Baroque artist.

This week, I present a painting of the saint by Georges de La Tour (1593–1652), a painter who spent most of his working life in the Duchy of Lorraine, which became part of France the year before his death. He painted mostly religious scenes lit by candlelight, and after centuries of posthumous obscurity became one of the most highly regarded of French 17th century artists in the 20th century.

San Giuda Taddeo by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (also called Giambattista Piazzetta or Giambattista Valentino Piazzetta) (1682 or 1683–1754) was an Italian rococo painter of religious subjects and genre scenes.

Leave Your Message to or Special Intention for St. Jude Thaddeus Here

Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus,  the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of difficult  cases, of things almost despaired of, Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. 

Intercede with God for me that He 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 -

(make your request here)

- and that I may praise  God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, O Blessed St. Jude, to be  ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as  my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. 

Amen

Leave Your Message to or Special Intention for St. Jude Thaddeus Here

Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus,  the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of difficult  cases, of things almost despaired of, Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. 

Intercede with God for me that He 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 -

(make your request here)

- and that I may praise  God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, O Blessed St. Jude, to be  ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as  my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you. 

Amen

Danny Thomas and St. Jude

The following is taken from the website of The National Shrine of St. Jude (Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.), where it was compiled from How St. Jude Came to Chicago by Jack Kuenster. Click here to read the original information.

"Perhaps the most nationally recognized devotee of Saint Jude during the last half of the 20th century was Danny Thomas, once a little known nightclub entertainer who soared to countrywide popularity as the star of the television show “Make Room for Daddy” from 1953 to 1964.

Thomas never hid his attachment to Saint Jude, and origins of that devotion date back to the spring of 1940 when Thomas first heard of Saint Jude from a stagehand in Detroit. The stagehand told him his wife had made a seemingly miraculous recovery from cancer, and that recovery, he insisted, came through his prayers to Saint Jude.

At the time, Thomas was struggling to make a go of it in show business. He had done some radio and nightclub work, having gone to Detroit from Toledo, Ohio, where he had grown up in a large family and had changed his name from Muzyad Amos Yakhoob to Amos Jacobs. He was averaging about $45 a week, and when his wife, Rose Marie, delivered the first of their three children, he knew he needed help. So, remembering the stagehand’s profession of faith, he began making short prayers to Saint Jude, asking for the saint’s intercession “to show me my way in life.” He prayed for strength to succeed in his profession and promised he would “do something big” in Jude’s name if he managed to gain a measure of economic security.Before long he traveled to Chicago, where he landed a $50-a-week job doing radio commercials. Shortly thereafter, talent agent Leo Salkin booked him into the 5100 Club on the city’s north side for $75 a week. At that juncture, he again changed his name from Amos Jacobs to Danny Thomas. He soon became a nightclub sensation, earning $500 a week and drawing customers from all over the city to listen to his outrageously funny stories, which he told in different dialects while deftly skewering human vanity and stupidity. And, although he had his audience laughing uproariously, he never resorted to using vulgar language.His lengthy night shows on Saturdays ran far into the morning hours, and when he was finished, he went to 6 a.m. Mass at St. Clement Church on his way home. It was at the church one day that he noticed a leaflet on a pew. He read the leaflet and learned about a solemn novena to Saint Jude that was then held four times every year at the National Shrine of St. Jude at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on the far southeast side of Chicago.

It was the first he knew that St. Jude’s home was in Chicago. In reading about the Shrine he realized, in the midst of his newly-found professional success, he had completely forgotten his earlier prayers and promises to Saint Jude. While renewing his devotion to the “forgotten apostle,” he planned on somehow showing the church appreciation for his prayers being answered.

Thomas’ life changed dramatically again a few weeks after that. His agent persuaded him to take his comedy routine to New York City, where he was booked into the Club Martinique. From that point on, he moved into the entertainment world’s big time. After USO tours in both Europe and the Pacific, Thomas was engaged to perform at New York’s Roxy Theater at $3,750 a week. He later performed in the most popular nightclubs from coast to coast, broke into movies, playing in “I’ll See You in My Dreams” and “The Jazz Singer” and finally, starting in 1953, he achieved his greatest fame through his starring role in the long-running television comedy series “Make Room for Daddy.”

Thomas’ “big gift” to St. Jude included devotion through the National Shrine of St. Jude and the Claretians in Chicago, and ultimately the world-famous St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Thomas died in California of a heart attack at age 78 in 1991."

May 2013: Messages of Thanks

Publish your messages of thanks (and special intentions) to St. Jude for May here.

San Giuda Taddeo by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (also called Giambattista Piazzetta or Giambattista Valentino Piazzetta) (1682 or 1683–1754) was an Italian rococo painter of religious subjects and genre scenes.

June 2012 Messages of Thanks

Publish your messages of thanks (and special intentions) to St. Jude for June here.

St. Jude Thaddeus by Georges de La Tour

It is important to see how art is applied to religious or historical icons. The perspectives of artists tells us much about how these figures are viewed in and over time. Last week, I presented a painting of St. Jude by Sir Anthony van Dyck, a Flemish Baroque artist.

This week, I present a painting of the saint by Georges de La Tour (1593–1652), a painter who spent most of his working life in the Duchy of Lorraine, which became part of France the year before his death. He painted mostly religious scenes lit by candlelight, and after centuries of posthumous obscurity became one of the most highly regarded of French 17th century artists in the 20th century.

St. Jude (Thaddeus) by Anthony van Dyck

Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of King Charles I of England and Scotland and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next 150 years. He also painted biblical and mythological subjects, displayed outstanding facility as a draftsman, and was an important innovator in watercolor and etching.