I hope this letter finds you well and healthy!
I have to share with you something that happened to me last week when I was on a train heading back to New York City from Siena College, which is a school the Friars operate just outside of Albany, NY. I was reading an article about the tragedies occurring in Ukraine when I suddenly heard a young man, about 20 years old, on the other side of the aisle yell out:
“Dad, look at the clouds! They are all running with us!”
The young man’s father simply smiled at him. A young couple sitting nearby the man and his son, looked at the young man’s childish comment with annoyance.
Suddenly, the young man yelled again.
“Dad, look at the clouds! They are all running with us!”
The young couple couldn’t resist and said to the young man’s father, “Why don’t you take your son to a good psychiatrist? Get him some help!”
The young man’s father smiled and said, “We did. We went to two places and received help at both. First, we went to the Shrine of St. Jude and prayed to the Miracle Worker and our friend!
Then we went to the hospital, and we just came from there. You see, my son was blind from birth and, with the help of St. Jude and great doctors, he just got the gift of vision today. I’m sorry his joy at seeing trees and clouds for the first time disturbed you.”
Every person in the world has a life story which is filled with joy, sadness, illness, and tragedy. This is part of life and we know that Christ understands our suffering because he suffered just like each of us. But sometimes we forget the suffering of others and often focus only on our own trials and pain. And, oftentimes when we are in pain or frustrated, we may not be able to understand or enjoy the happiness of others. We may even resent it. We must remember never to judge people before you truly know them, or the circumstances in which they are in. The truth might surprise you. Many people are suffering far more than we realize and need our patience and understanding.
Our beloved St. Jude speaks about this in his New Testament letter entitled the “Epistle of St. Jude.” In his letter to all of us, St. Jude speaks of having mercy and patience with others, and of showing them the Gospel way of life – “rejoicing their joys and consoling them in their sorrows.” That young man on the train may not have been acting his age, but he was overjoyed the first time he saw clouds and trees and – imagine how it was for him to look upon his father’s face for the first time in his life! These are the joys that we should rejoice in and help to make those joyful moments in another’s life even more meaningful and vibrant. As those devoted to St. Jude, as members of his family of prayer, we need to be the ones who support others by rejoicing with them in joy and consoling them in their sorrows.
As you join with the Friars and pray this Spring Novena to St. Jude, the Saint of the Impossible, the Worker of Miracles, please know that your generous gift will bring joy and make miracles happen in the lives of the elderly and dying Friars, in the young men studying for ministry, and in the hearts and lives of the poor and desperate whom we serve. As we join our prayers with yours, may the great St. Jude bring miracles into all our lives and into the lives of those we love.
Executive Director,
The National Shrines of St. Anthony & St. Jude
