POWERFUL NOVENA TO SAINT JUDE THADDEUS, PATRON OF HOPELESS AND DESPERATE CASES: DAY 6

(For material assistance)

O God, come to my aid+
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Hymn

Oh! Holy Jude, oh! Saint of love,
With grace bestowed by Heav’n above
To soothe man’s cares, his griefs allay,
Oh! Pray for us, oh! Pray.

Oh! Saintly Jude, of Christ’s dear kin
Who saved the Persian land from sin,
And drove the raging ghouls away,
Oh! Pray for us, oh! Pray.

Daily Prayer to St. Jude Thaddeus

Most holy Apostle Saint Jude Thaddeus, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered the beloved Master into the hands of His enemies, has caused you to be forgotten by many but the Church honours and invokes you universally as the patron of hopeless cases, of things despaired of. Pray for me who am so miserable; 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 succour of Heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings, particularly (here, make your special request) and that I may bless God with you and all the elect forever. I promise you, O Blessed Saint Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favour and I will never cease to honour you as my special and powerful patron and to do all in my power to encourage devotion to you. Amen.

Scriptural Meditation
(Introduction to the Epistle of St. Jude)

Jude verse 5–7

(The False teachers: the certainty of punishment)

I should like to remind you – though you have already learnt it once and for all – that the Lord rescued the nation from Egypt, but afterwards, he still destroyed the people who refused to believe him; and the angels who did not keep to the authority they had, but left their appointed sphere, he has kept in darkness in eternal bonds until the judgement of the great Day. Sodom and Gomorrah, too, and the neighbouring towns, who with the same sexual immorality pursued unnatural lusts, are put before us as an example since they are paying the penalty of eternal fire.

The Word of the Lord…

Exegesis:

In this section, Jude recalls many examples of the Old Testament of the perverse and depraved, in relation to the “false teachers” that had infiltrated into the Church at that time.

Verse 5 deals with the first example of divine punishment on those who had been saved but did not then keep faith, see also Nm 14:28–29. Verse 6 deals with the second example which draws on Gn 6:1–4 as elaborated in the apocryphal Book of Enoch in relation to Jude 14: heavenly beings came to earth and had sexual intercourse with women. In verse 7, Jude briefly points out the “unnatural vice” practised by the people of Sodom and Gomorrah literally (cf. Gn 19:1–25, especially 4–11). Here, the townsmen of Sodom violated both hospitality and morality by demanding that Lot’s two visitors (angels of Yahweh) be handed over to them so that they could abuse them sexually. This is known as “Unnatural vice,” that is, the desire for intimacies by human beings with angels (the reverse of the example in Jude 6. Thus, Sodom and Gomorrah became proverbial as object lessons for God’s punishment on sin (cf. Is 1:9; Jer 50:40; Am 4:11; Mt 10:15; 2 Pt 2:6).

This idea illustrated above would pave way for the message of Jude in the subsequent verses.

Point for reflection:

• What is your relationship with the celestial beings? Devotional or scornful by words and deeds?
• Do you violate the hospitality you offer to people and attempt to violate them sexually?
• Do you practise sodomy (homosexuality)?
• Ask God for forgiveness wherever you are failing in any of these above with a firm purpose of amendment.

Pause for a moment…

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

DAY 6 PRAYER

Honourable apostle and glorious martyr of Christ, St. Jude Thaddeus, Helper in difficult cases, hear our prayers and petitions for this day as we seek material assistance in our day-to-day contribution and tiling of the earth. Many of us are afflicted with unemployment, and those of us who are employed are sadly faced with low income to take care of ourselves, let alone our families. Deliver us from the temptation of going into dubious means or committing sins in order to acquire the means of taking care of ourselves, and grant us the grace to be favoured financially through the works of our hands, and through men and women of goodwill. Above all, do not grant this request if it would not better my loving relationship with God – my supreme and ultimate good, and my obligation to love my fellowmen. Amen

Our Father…3 Hail Marys…Glory be…

LITANY OF ST. JUDE

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us!

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us!

God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us!

Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us!

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!

All you heavenly powers and saints of God, pray for us!

St. Jude, relative of Jesus and Mary, pray for us!

St. Jude, raised to the dignity of an apostle, pray for us!

St. Jude, who had the honour of beholding the Divine Master humble Himself to wash his feet, pray for us!

St. Jude, who at the Last Supper received the Holy Eucharist from the hands of Jesus, pray for us!

St. Jude, who after the profound grief which the death of your beloved Master caused you, had the consolation of beholding Him risen from the dead and of assisting at His glorious Ascension, pray for us!

St. Jude, who was filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, pray for us!

St. Jude, who preached the Gospel in Persia, pray for us!

St. Jude, who converted many people to the Faith, pray for us!

St. Jude, who performed wonderful miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit, pray for us!

St. Jude, who restored an idolatrous king to health, both of soul and body, pray for us!

St. Jude, who imposed silence on demons, and confounded their oracles, pray for us!

St. Jude, who foretold to a weak prince an honourable peace with his powerful enemy, pray for us!

St. Jude, who took from deadly serpents, the power of injuring men, pray for us!

St. Jude, who, disregarding the threats of the impious, courageously preached the doctrine of Christ, pray for us!

St. Jude, who gloriously suffered martyrdom for the love of your Divine Master, pray for us!

Blessed Apostle, with confidence, we invoke you!

Blessed Apostle, with confidence, we invoke you!

Blessed Apostle, with confidence, we invoke you!

St. Jude, help of the hopeless, aid me in my distress!

St. Jude, help of the hopeless, aid me in my distress!

St. Jude, help of the hopeless, aid me in my distress!

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us!

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord!

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace!

Pray for us o most gracious St. Jude, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY:

O, Saint Jude Thaddeus, cousin of Jesus Christ, glorious apostle and martyr, renowned for virtues and miracles, faithful and prompt intercessor of all who honour you and trust in you. You are a powerful patron and helper in grievous afflictions. I come to you and entreat you from the depths of my heart to come to my aid with your powerful intercession, for you have received from God the privilege to assist those who almost despair of all hope. Look down upon me, my life is a life of crosses; my days are days of tribulation; my paths are strewn with thorns, and scarcely one moment passes but is a witness of my tears and sighs.

Overwhelmed by these thoughts, I see myself surrounded by a dark cloud. You cannot forsake me in this sad plight. I will not depart from you until you have heard me. O hasten to my aid. I will be grateful to you all my life. I will honour you as my special and powerful patron, I will thank God for the graces bestowed upon you and will propagate your honour and devotion according to my power. Amen.

PRAYER TO SAINT JUDE THADDEUS FOR URGENT FINANCIAL HELP (Optional)

Saint Jude Thaddeus, Apostle of Christ and glorious Martyr, great intercessor in all difficult problems. Today I turn to you with great faith to ask for your generous assistance for I am afflicted and tormented by the lack of economic means. You who are my beloved saint, my blessed patron and noble protector welcome my soul and my body, my mind, and heart; I humbly prostrate before you, ask by the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, that you cast me a compassionate glance and despise not my heartfelt prayer, so my confidence be not in vain. You who, in addition to a singular love, were united with links of kinship to the Divine Redeemer Jesus Christ, source of all good, and are a powerful aid of the desperate. Pray for me my patron saint, my aid, so that, assisted by your precious intercession, I may receive a prompt and efficacious solution for my overwhelming needs. Make it so that I can obtain urgently, needed cash to meet all my expenses, payments, debts, and have peace of mind and tranquillity. Make it so, I beg you, with the certainty of being heard, that I obtain what I need so much: (Ask for everything that you want to attain) Blessed Saint Jude, I honour you with special affection and devotion, hand me the presence and strength of God. Protect me in all circumstances, may your help and consolation never cease. Obtain for me by the grace of the Lord Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, the grace to embrace the cross and challenges when they come inasmuch as we pray for deliverance, prosperity, work, and health; make it so that well-being is installed in my home. As an expression of my affection and gratitude, I promise you I will promote an authentic devotion to you, and already from this moment, I infinitely give you thanks for all your favours. So be it. Amen.

Concluding Prayer

O admirable St. Jude Thaddeus, teach us today the way of solid faith, confidence without reservations. May we believe in the miracle of love present in our lives at every moment, in the smallest things on a daily basis. Show us the way of good works in response to our faith. Grant that as we go to bed tonight, we may be filled with joy and peace of one who has already received favours from God through your intercession. I promise you, O blessed Saint Judas Thaddeus, to always remember this grace and never fail to praise and honour you. I will do everything to spread through my life and my testimony the love taught by Jesus and lived by you. Amen.

(If possible, kindly accompany this novena with the Holy Rosary at any hour of the day, either 5 or 10 or 15 or 20 decades…)

May the Divine assistance remain always with us, and may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Blessing+
Through the intercession of the holy Apostle and martyr, St. Jude Thaddeus, may the Lord bless + us, keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Great job praying Day 6! Click here for Day 7 Prayers

_____________________________________________