This week on Saturday, October 28th, the Church celebrates the feast day of our patron, St. Jude (and fellow Apostle St. Simon). Our parish is truly blessed in every way thanks be to God and you, the church community. I believe St. Jude is forever interceding for each of our needs and, as he is known, we rise above those moments of despair or discouragement. He is the patron saint for hopeless causes and the impossible, interceding for us when we call upon him in prayer.
Our St. Jude Shrine receives many visitors every week, especially on weekends, from people all over the area, whether it be Long Island, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, or Manhattan. Every week the Statue of St. Jude is decorated with flowers and the Book of Intentions gets filled up and then prayed over at the end of the month. Many times people come back and write their words of gratitude and thank you to St. Jude and add words of praise to our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the New Testament there is a Letter from St. Jude which I would recommend to read, for although it is short it does speak words of encouragement, especially for us in today’s world and its climate of division. He begins his Letter with these words: “Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ: may mercy, peace, and love be your in abundance” (Jude 1:1-2). Yes, again, we are blessed and beloved, for we have been called out of darkness and born into the Light of Christ.
After admonishing those who have fallen away from the faith and have turned from the way of Christ our Savior he closes his Letter: “But you, beloved, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, for they told you, ‘In the last time there will be scoffers who will live according to their own godless desires’. These are the ones who cause divisions; they live on the natural plane, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, build yourselves up in yours most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. … To the one who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished and exultant, in the presence of his glory, to the only God, our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, power, and authority from ages past, now, and for ages to come. Amen.” (Jude 1:17-21,24,25).
Some of you may have heard that a First Class Relic of St. Jude is travelling from the Vatican to going on tour throughout the United States. Last week our Vicar General, Rev. Eric Fasano, called me with the exciting news that our parish has been chosen to host the Relic of St. Jude on November 27th! Yes, we will be the first parish of our diocese and then it will go to five other parishes on the island and close up on December 4th at St. Agnes Cathedral. This is truly wonderful and joyful news for us. We have a lot of preparation to do as the date gets closer. I will keep you informed. I want to thank the volunteers that will be needed for this event: the Knights of Columbus, the Rosarians, the Cleaning Crew, and all who be helping make this a truly special, sacred day
St. Jude, pray for us ~
Blessings,
Fr. Ryan