Requests answered by St. Jude...so far (reverse chronological order)
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Miraculous passing score on
Master's Degree Examination |
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Married someone who is not
only the love of my life, but also a terrific partner |
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Miraculous recuperation and
rebirth of Uncle following life-threatening complications of a liver
transplant. |
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Miraculous recuperation of
Aunt following serious illness. |
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Family friend's successful
surgery for stage III colon cancer, and subsequent rapid healing,
improvement, and highly positive prognosis. |
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Family friend's speedy recuperation
from a heart attack and open-heart surgery. |
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Family friend's rapid improvement
in condition despite pancreatic cancer and grossly negligent bungling
of hospital personnel. (2003) |
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Amicability of family member's divorce. (2003) |
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Succesful launch of new family business. (2003) |
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Very important petition made in secret --- came true within 1-1/2 weeks! |
Update 2.11.03: Baby Jane is going to be ok!
On February 5, 2004, after several years attempting to conceive, our daughter was born. Due to complications, she was forced to come into the world a little early, resulting in respiratory problems. She has been in the neonatal ICU unit since then, undergoing treatment for TTN, or "Wet Lung."
This morning marks 24 hours respirator-free. She has been breathing on her own for an entire day, and is expected to improve. What a relief it was to speak in terms of "when" she comes home instead of "if." How wonderful for the doctor to discuss immunization schedules and well-baby checkups instead of the next possible extubation attempt!
Jane will come home this Sunday at the earliest. At the very latest, we'll have her by this time next week.
Thank you, St. Jude, St. Christopher, Jesus, Mary, and all saints and angels who have been watching over our little girl!
Baby Jane, born 2/5/2004
About St. Jude
St. Jude Thaddeus is the patron saint of Lost Causes and Hopeless Cases --- he's also the patron saint of my family. Even though there are only a few professing Catholics among us, many of us have called on him for help, and have not been let down.
Jude Thaddeus was a relative of Jesus, and one of the two Judes among the Apostles. The other was Judas Iscariot. To avoid confusion between the two, Matthew and Mark refer to St. Jude Thaddeus simply as Thaddeus. You can read more about his life here.
To ask St. Jude for help, it is recommended to pray a novena, followed by three Our Fathers, three Hail Marys, and three Glorias. Some believe that it's best to say a prayer to St. Jude nine times per day for nine days. Others believe a simple heartfelt request will suffice. My family burns St. Jude candles, which can be found in most grocery stores for about a dollar.
However you choose to structure your request, you must not pray out of greed, or ask for misfortune to befall someone else. And you must promise to publish your devotion to St. Jude, and share how he helped you.
Is
praying to saints idolatry or polytheism?
No. Prayer to
saints is not worship. The Gospels are full of examples of Jesus delegating
authority to others to fulfill requests. The saints are not gods in a
pantheon, but rather instruments through which the one God works. Read
more.
I'm
not Catholic. Will St. Jude still help me?
Yes! St. Jude
listens patiently to all petitions, and will pray with you and for you.
What
if I don't believe in God?
Even if you
don't expect a divine being to answer your prayers, the act of prayer
focuses your intention. Being mindful of your need, whether it's in the
front of your consciousness, or running in the background like a screen
saver, can help you to work out a solution to your problem. Simply verbalizing
your desire can help you to form concrete and logical conclusions about
what you need to do. This can be a great comfort, even if you have no
religious beliefs. In my opinion, this is one of the great benefits of
prayer.
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