Thank you Saint Jude.

Have you ever been looking through the classifieds and seen this? I have, but never knew what it meant. I now know.

Being raised Catholic, Saints are normal to me. If you aren’t familiar with them, they are people that performed miracles or were martyred while living and have performed miracles in death. They all have an area of “expertise”, if you will, and can be petitioned to help. It’s sort of like asking a friend to pray for you, but as a Saint, they will pray directly to God on your behalf... sort of like whispering in His ear!

Saint Jude helps out when all is hopeless. I will tell you that I know first hand, the power of prayer and St. Jude’s intercession.

I said this for Teagan's pregnancy and we were blessed with an Angel. 2 months later we went to New Orleans, to the police memorial, which used to be a Catholic church. There we visited the largest statue of St. Jude and in his shrine, like so many others, we slipped our written requests under his statue, and said a prayer for his assistance. Here in the City we've visited his shrine at St. Dominic's and lit a candle, and prayed for his assistance. At home we have a St. Jude candle that we burn for him and I'm sure more than a few prayers have been said over it. And then there's the Novena, a prayer to St. Jude asking for his help, followed by 3 Our Father, 3 Hail Mary, 3 Glory Be and 1 Sacred Heart...said 9 times per day for 9 days. With Teagan I prayed the Novena for more than 27 days (just to be sure.) With the twins I prayed the Novena 1 time (9 days).

For 36 weeks we've been blessed with the miracle of Life, watching the girls grow and develop literally from embryo to birth this Thursday. Do I believe St. Jude played a role in this blessing? Absolutely. So I give thanks to God for our daughters, all 3 of them, and a special thanks to St. Jude for his "whisper".

As part of seeking his assistance I am to make his name and works known, in the hopes others would seek his assistance should they find themselves in a truly hopeless situation.

I pray you should never need his help, but if you ever find yourself in such a situation don't be afraid to ask.

The prayer is known as a novena. It is said 9 times a day for 9 days. There are many versions which can easily be found on the web, I found these at www.stjudenovena.org. Being Catholic, Our Father, Hail Mary, and Gloria are also part of my novena. This is what I prayed:

“Holy Saint Jude, apostle and martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all Who seek your special patronage in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depths of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition, (insert what you are praying for). In return I will make your name known and cause you to be invoked. Saint Jude pray for me and all those who invoke your aid, amen."

Repeat the next 3 prayers 3 times. I did OF, HM, G, OF, HM, G, OF, HM, G

“Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kindom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as weforgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, amen.”

“Hail Mary, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary pray for us sinners now and in our hour of death, amen.”

“Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, now, and always will be, world without end, amen.”

And then closed each novena with this:

“May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved, and preserved throughout the world, now and forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us. Saint Jude, worker of miracles, pray for us. Saint Jude, helper of the hopeless, pray for us. Amen.”

Now repeat 8 more times.

Don't forget to give thanks for the many blessings in your life, and there are many if you take time to recognize them.