St. Jude Thaddaeus

St. Jude Thaddaeus

Feastday: October 28

Patron of Desperate Cases

St. Jude, known as Thaddaeus, was a brother of St. James the Less, and a relative of Our Saviour. St. Jude was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus.

New Testament Jude is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, another disciple and later the betrayer of Jesus. Both "Jude" and "Judas" are translations of the name Ιούδας in the Greek original New Testament, which in turn is a Greek variant of Judah, a name which was common among Jews at the time. In most bibles in languages other than English and French, Jude and Judas are referred to by the same name.

"Jude of James" is only mentioned twice in the New Testament: in the lists of apostles in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13.

The name by which Luke calls the Apostle, "Jude of James" is ambiguous as to the relationship of Jude to this James. Though such a construction sometimes connotated a relationship of father and son, it has been traditionally interpreted as "Jude, brother of James" (Luke 6:16) though Protestants (for instance, the New International Version translation) usually identify him as "Jude son of James".

The Gospel of John also once mentions a disciple called "Judas not Iscariot" (John 14:22). This is often accepted to be the same person as the apostle Jude,[2] though some scholars see the identification as uncertain.[3] In some Latin manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, he is called Judas the Zealot.

Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem.

He is an author of an epistle (letter) to the Churches of the East, particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of the Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostics. This Apostle is said to have suffered martyrdom in Armenia, which was then subject to Persia. The final conversion of the Armenian nation to Christianity did not take place until the third century of our era.

Jude was the one who asked Jesus at the Last Supper why He would not manifest Himself to the whole world after His resurrection. Little else is known of his life. Legend claims that he visited Beirut and Edessa; possibly martyred with St. Simon in Persia.

Possible identity with Thaddeus St. Thaddeus, St. Sandukht and other Christians in Sanatruk's prison In the comparable apostle-lists of Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18, Jude is omitted, but there is a Thaddeus (or in some manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, "Lebbaeus who was surnamed Thaddaeus") listed in his place. This has led many Christians since early times to harmonize the lists by positing a "Jude Thaddeus", known by either name. This is made plausible by the fact that "Thaddeus" seems to be a nickname (see Thaddeus).

A further complication is the fact that the name "Judas" was tarnished by Judas Iscariot. It has been argued that for this reason it is unsurprising that Mark and Matthew refer to him by an alternate name.[4]

Some Biblical scholars reject this theory, however, holding that Jude and Thaddeus did not represent the same person.[5] Scholars have proposed alternate theories to explain the discrepancy: an unrecorded replacement of one for the other during the ministry of Jesus because of apostasy or death;[5] the possibility that "twelve" was a symbolic number and an estimation;[6] or simply that the names were not recorded perfectly by the early church.[7]

Thaddeus one of the twelve apostles is generally seen as a different person from Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy Disciples.[8]

Brother of Jesus Opinion is divided on whether Jude the apostle is the same as Jude, brother of Jesus, who is mentioned in Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55-57, and is the traditional author of the Epistle of Jude.[9] Some Catholics believe the two Judes are the same person,[10] while a number of Protestants do not.[11]

Tradition and legend Saint Thaddeus Armenian Monastery Tradition holds that Saint Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya.[12] He is also said to have visited Beirut and Edessa, though the emissary of latter mission is also identified as Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy. The 14th-century writer Nicephorus Callistus makes Jude the bridegroom at the wedding at Cana. The legend reports that St. Jude was born into a Jewish family in Paneas, a town in Galilee later rebuilt by the Romans and renamed Caesarea Philippi.

In all probability he spoke both Greek and Aramaic, like almost all of his contemporaries in that area, and was a farmer by trade. According to the legend, St. Jude was a son of Clopas and his wife Mary, a cousin of the Virgin Mary.[13] Tradition has it that Jude's father, Clopas, was martyred because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the risen Christ.

Although Saint Gregory the Illuminator is credited as the "Apostle to the Armenians", when he baptized King Tiridates III of Armenia in 301, converting the Armenians, the Apostles Jude and Bartholomew are traditionally believed to have been the first to bring Christianity to Armenia, and are therefore venerated as the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Linked to this tradition is the Saint Thaddeus Monastery (now in northern Iran) and Saint Bartholomew Monastery (now in southeastern Turkey) which were both constructed in what was then Armenia.

Death and remains Symbol of his martyrdom According to the tradition, Saint Jude suffered martyrdom about 65 AD in Beirut, in the Roman province of Syria, together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. The axe that he is often shown holding in pictures symbolizes the way in which he was killed.[14] Their acts and martyrdom were recorded in an Acts of Simon and Jude that was among the collection of passions and legends traditionally associated with the legendary Abdias, bishop of Babylon, and said to have been translated into Latin by his disciple Tropaeus Africanus, according to the Golden Legend account of the saints.[15][16]

Sometime after his death, Saint Jude's body was brought from Beirut to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica which was visited by many devotees. Now his bones are in the left transept of St. Peter's Basilica under the main altar of St. Joseph in one tomb with the remains of the apostle Simon the Zealot. According to another popular tradition, the remains of St. Jude were preserved in an Armenian monastery on an island in the northern part of Issyk-Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan at least until the mid-15th century. Later legends either deny that the remains are preserved there or claim that they were moved to a yet more desolate stronghold in the Pamir Mountains.

Iconography Church of Saints Simon and Jude Thaddeus in Rudno, Poland. Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand or close to his chest, betokening the legend of the Image of Edessa, recorded in apocryphal correspondence between Jesus and Abgar which is reproduced in Eusebius' History Ecclesiastica, I, xiii. Eusebius relates that King Abgar of Edessa (now Şanlıurfa in southeast Turkey) sent a letter to Jesus seeking a cure for an illness afflicting him. With the letter he sent his envoy Hannan, the keeper of the archives, offering his own home city to Jesus as a safe dwelling place. The envoy painted a likeness of Jesus with choice paints (or alternatively, impressed with Abgar's faith, Jesus pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to Hannan) to take to Abgar with his answer. Upon seeing Jesus' image, the king placed it with great honor in one of his palatial houses. After Christ's execution, Thomas the Apostle sent Jude to King Abgar and the king was cured. Astonished, he converted to Christianity, along with many of the people under his rule. Additionally, St. Jude is often depicted with a flame above his head, representing his presence at Pentecost, when he was said to have received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles.

Veneration Procession in Lima, Peru. According to tradition, after his martyrdom, pilgrims came to his grave to pray and many of them experienced the powerful intercessions of St. Jude. Thus the title, 'The Saint for the Hopeless and the Despaired'. St. Bridget of Sweden & St. Bernard had visions from God asking each to accept St. Jude as 'The Patron Saint of the Impossible'.[14][17]

The Order of Preachers (the Dominicans) began working in present day Armenia soon after their founding in 1216. There was a substantial devotion to St. Jude in this area at that time, by both Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. This lasted until persecution drove Christians from the area in the 18th century. Devotion to Saint Jude began again in earnest in the 19th century, starting in Italy and Spain, spreading to South America, and finally to the United States (starting in the area around Chicago) owing to the influence of the Claretians and the Dominicans in the 1920s.

Saint Jude is the patron saint of the Chicago Police Department and of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (a soccer team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). His other patronages include desperate situations and hospitals. One of his namesakes is St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which has helped many children with terminal illnesses and their families since its founding in 1962. His feast day is October 28 (Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Church) and June 19 (Eastern Orthodox Church).

Shrines/Churches Many countries venerate the Apostle Jude and have constructed either shrines or churches dedicated to his memory. Such sites include those in Australia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Puerto Rico and several sites in India, the Phillippines, and the United States.

References

1. ^ St. Jude Shrine, Yoodhapuram
2. ^ Commentary on John 14:22, Expositor's Bible Commentary CDROM, Zondervan, 1978
3. ^ Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to Saint John volume 2, p. 641.
4. ^ For instance Otto Harpan, in "The Apostle" (Sands, 1962), quoted at 12apostlesofthecatholicchurch.com
5. ^ a b John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew volume 3, pp 130-133, 200 ("Christian imagination was quick to harmonize and produce Jude Thaddeus, a conflation that has no basis in reality."); Rudolf Pesch, "Simon-Petrus. Geschichte und geschichtliche Bedeutung der ersten Juengers Jesu Christ", Paepste und Papsttum 15, Hiersmann, 1980. p.36.
6. ^ E. P. Sanders, Jesus and Judaism, Fortress Press, 1985. ISBN 0-334-02091-3. p.102
7. ^ Joseph Fitzmyer, The Gospel according to Luke: Introduction, translation, and notes, Volume 2, The Anchor Bible, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981-1985. ISBN 0-385-00515-6. p.619-620
8. ^ Kutash, V. Rev. Ihor, "Thaddeus, Apostle of the Seventy", Ukrainian Orthodoxy
9. ^ Jerome H. Neyrey, 2 Peter, Jude, Anchor Bible Reference Library, Doubleday, 1993. p.44-45.
10. ^ The Brethren of the Lord, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907
11. ^ The situation is similar with James: Catholics tend to identify James the brother of Jesus with the apostle James, son of Alphaeus, but Protestants and Orthodox generally do not.
12. ^ "About Saint Jude", Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus, San Francisco, Ca.
13. ^ "Who is St. Jude?", International Shrine of St. Jude, New Orleans, La.
14. ^ a b "St.Jude the Apostle", St. Jude Shrine, Koothattukulam
15. ^ Golden Legend: Lives of Saints Simon and Jude
16. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Apocrypha
17. ^ "Biography of St. Jude Thaddeus", St. Jude's Pigrim Shrine, Travandrum, India

• Catherine Fournier, Saint Simon and Saint Jude

from Wikipedia

Jude is invoked in desperate situations because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before them. Therefore, he is the patron saint of desperate cases and his feast day is October 28. Saint Jude is not the same person as Judas Iscariot who betrayed Our Lord and despaired because of his great sin and lack of trust in God's mercy.

St. Jude never sleeps. Any prayer to him that you offer will be repeated to God even when you sleep, or while you are busy at work, or while you are watching TV. We know from Revelation 5:8 that our prayers are presented to God by the saints in the form of incense:

A common Roman Catholic prayer to St Jude is:

"O most holy apostle, Saint Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honoureth and invoketh thee universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, and of things almost despaired of. Pray for me, who am so miserable. Make use, I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded to thee, to bring visible and speedy help where help was almost despaired of. Come to mine assistance in this great need, that I may receive the consolation and succor of Heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may praise God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity. I promise thee, O blessed Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favour, to always honour thee as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to thee. Amen."

Another common prayer to St Jude is

St. Jude, glorious apostle, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered your beloved Master to His enemies has caused you to be forgotten by many. But the Church honors 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 that 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 consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings, particularly (make your request) and that I may praise God with you and all the elect throughout all eternity.

I promise you, 0 blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor. I will honor you as my special and powerful patron and encourage devotion to you.

St. Jude, pray for us and for all who honor and invoke your aid. AMEN

Another alternative prayer:

"May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved and preserved now and forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on us, Saint Jude worker of Miracles, pray for us, Saint Jude helper and keeper of the hopeless, pray for us, Thank you Saint Jude." In some daily newspapers people will place classified ads seeking the aid of St. Jude or thanking him for his intercession. It is also common to post prayer requests to St Jude on Catholic prayer request websites.

In Jude 1:5-10, St. Jude warns us all about what will happen to the unbelievers, who revile God:

"Now I desire to remind you, though you were once for all fully informed, that he who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until the judgment of the great day; But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you." But these men revile whatever they do not understand, and by those things that they know by instinct as irrational animals do, they are destroyed." just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. Yet in like manner these men in their dreamings defile the flesh, reject authority, and revile the glorious ones.

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SHORT VIDEO ON THE LIFE OF ST. JUDE

Novena To St.Jude

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, And of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Blessed be the Holy and Undivided Trinity now and forever.
Amen.


We fly to your patronage, O Holy Mother Of God. Despise not our petition in our necessities,
but deliver us from all dangers, O ever Glorious and Blessed Virgin.
Amen.

Prayer in Trials

Most Holy Apostle, St.Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered your 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. O' St. Jude, pray for me who am so miserable; make use, I implore you of that 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 consolation and encouragement of Heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings and that I may thank God along with you and all the saints forever. I promise you, O blessed St.Jude to be ever mindful of this great favour and I will never cease to honour you as my special and powerful patron & to do all in my power to encourage devotion to you.

Amen.

Prayer in Times of Emergency

O' St.Jude, the friend and relative of Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour, the trusted patron of the devotees, the powerful protector of the suffering, glorious martyr adorned with rare virtues and miraculous power, gentle apostle, relying on your extraordinary power of coming to the help of the helpless, I turn to you with confidence ( here mention your need ). I most humbly entreat you to help me, for I am unable to do anything worth by myself. I promise that I will honor you as my special patron and powerful protector throughout my life and that I will do everything possible within my ability to spread your devotion among others. I sadly realize the fact that because of the resemblance of your holy name with that of the traitor, Judas Iscariot, you are not properly loved and venerated by many. But still thousands around the world accept you as their powerful helper in their most desperate needs and hopeless cases.

O St.Jude,grant me peace and solace; hasten to help me in my dire needs; and above all procure for me the grace of final perserverence with which I may join you and with multitude of the elected to sing the praises of God for all eternity.

Amen.


Prayer for Impossible things

O' St.Jude, the close relative of the Holy Family, beloved son of the Holy Trinity, prompt succour of the devotees, unfailing supporter of the desperate, I turn to you for help with confidence. Make haste to help me. Remember, O powerful Apostle, that God has adorned you with the rare gift of coming to the help of the most abandoned and the desperate cases. Turn your eyes of pity and love towards me. My life has become a continous 'way of the cross', and my days have become sorrowful, my heart has become a deep ocean of tears and all the paths of life, I see full of thorns. There is hardly every moment in my life which does not give me pain and agony. I have reached the verge of utter despair, my heart is numb within me. Fear and anxiety have filled my heart. I now approach you in deep agony and I will not leave you until you come downto help me.

O! Powerful Apostle! hasten to come to my aid.

Help me to proclaim your goodness and power and to sing your praises. I promise that all the days of my life here on earth, I will ever sing your wondrous deep until I join you to sing unceasingly the infinite mercy of God in Heaven.

Amen.


Praise and Thanksgiving

O' most sweet Lord Jesus Christ in union with the unutterable heavenly praise with which the most Holy Trinity extols itself and which thence flows upon your sacred humanity, upon Mary, upon all the angels and saints I praise, glorify and bless you for all the graces and privelages you have bestowed upon your and the intimate friend, Jude Thaddeus; I pray to you for the sake of His merits, grant me your grace and through his intercession, come to my aid in all my needs, but especially at the hour of my death strenghten me.

St.Jude, model of humility, mirror of patience, lily of chastity, fame of divine love, intercede for us !


St.Jude, comfort of the sorrowing refuge of sinners, helper of the distressed, special patron in hopeless
cases, intercede for us !


Our Father.........Hail Mary.........Glorybe.


Litany to 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!

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

St. Jude, while on earth deemed worthy to see Jesus and Mary and to enjoy their company, pray for us !

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

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

St. Jude who at the last Supper received Holy Communion 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 conolation 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 by the power of the Holy Spirit, pray for us!

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

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

St. Jude, who disregarding the threats 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 us in our distress!

St. Jude, help of the hopeless, aid us in our distress!

St. Jude, Help of the hopeless, aid us in our distress !

That by your intercession both priests and people of the Church may obtain an ardent zeal for the Faith of Jesus Christ, we beseech you, hear us!

That you would defend our Sovereign Pontiff and obtain peace and unity for the Holy Church,
we beseech you, hear us!

That all unbelievers may be converted to the Faith, we beseech you, hear us!

That faith, hope and Charity may increase in our hearts, we beseech you ,hear us!

That we may be delivered from all evil thoughts and from all the snares of the devil,
we beseech you, hear us!

That you would preserve us from all sin and from all occasions of sin, we beseech you ,hear us!

That you would deign to aid and protect all those who honour you, we beseech you, hear us!

That you would defend us at the hour of death, we beseech you, hear us!

Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the work, spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.


V) Pray for us, blessed Jude.

R) That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.


Let us Pray,

O God, who through your blessed apostle Jude has brought us unto the knowledge of your name; grant us both to celebrate his eternal glory by making progress in virtue, and by celebrating his glory advance in virtue. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord.

Amen.


Prayer for the Sick Grant, almighty and eternal God, everlasting health to those who believe: Hear us, for the sick, for whom we implore the aid of your tender mercy, that being restored to bodily health, they may give thanks to you in your Church, through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

May Jesus, the Son of Mary, the Lord and Redeemer of the world, through the merits and intercession
of his Holy Apostle St. Jude, and all his saints, show us favour and mercy.

Amen.

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