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St. Jude Thaddaeus - Feastday: October 28

Patron of Desparate Cases

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

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.

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.

Click Here for the NOVENA TO SAINT JUDE

Use this prayer to invoke the great powers of the Lord through the intercession of St. Jude.

The Catholic Epistle of St. Jude the Apostle

Chapter 1

1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James: to them that are beloved in God the

Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.

2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and charity be fulfilled.

3 Dearly beloved, taking all care to write unto you concerning your common salvation, I was under

a necessity to write unto you: to beseech you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered

to the saints.

4 For certain men are secretly entered in, (who were written of long ago unto this judgment,)

ungodly men, turning the grace of our Lord God into riotousness, and denying the only sovereign

Ruler, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

5 I will therefore admonish you, though ye once knew all things, that Jesus, having saved the

people out of the land of Egypt, did afterwards destroy them that believed not:

6 And the angels who kept not their principality, but forsook their own habitation, he hath reserved

under darkness in everlasting chains, unto the judgment of the great day.

7 As Sodom and Gomorrha, and the neighbouring cities, in like manner, having given themselves to fornication, and going after other flesh, were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

8 In like manner these men also defile the flesh, and despise dominion, and blaspheme majesty.

9 When Michael the archangel, disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses, he

durst not bring against him the judgment of railing speech, but said: The Lord command thee.

10 But these men blaspheme whatever things they know not: and what things soever they naturally

know, like dumb beasts, in these they are corrupted.

11 Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain: and after the error of Balaam they have

for reward poured out themselves, and have perished in the contradiction of Core.

12 These are spots in their banquets, feasting together without fear, feeding themselves, clouds

without water, which are carried about by winds, trees of the autumn, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked

up by the roots,

13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own confusion; wandering stars, to whom the storm

of darkness is reserved for ever.

14 Now of these Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying: Behold, the Lord cometh

with thousands of his saints,

15 To execute judgment upon all, and to reprove all the ungodly for all the works of their ungodliness, whereby they have done ungodly, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken

against God.

16 These are murmurers, full of complaints, walking according to their own desires, and their mouth speaketh proud things, admiring persons for gain's sake.

17 But you, my dearly beloved, be mindful of the words which have been spoken before by the

apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,

18 Who told you, that in the last time there should come mockers, walking according to their own

desires in ungodlinesses.

19 These are they, who separate themselves, sensual men, having not the Spirit.

20 But you, my beloved, building yourselves upon you most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto life

everlasting.

22 And some indeed reprove, being judged:

23 But others save, pulling them out of the fire. And on others have mercy, in fear, hating also the

spotted garment which is carnal.

24 Now to him who is able to preserve you without sin, and to present you spotless before the

presence of his glory with exceeding joy, in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,

25 To the only God our Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory and magnificence, empire

and power, before all ages, and now, and for all ages of ages. Amen.

It is difficult to state the exact time at which St. Jude wrote his Epistle. But the doctrines against

which he inveighs, and the looseness of morals or the so-called antinomismus, seem to indicate the

end of the Apostolic age. Jude seems on the other hand to have written before A.D. 70; otherwise

in vv. 5-7 he would have spoken of the destruction of Jerusalem. In those verses St. Jude mentions

the different punishments of prevaricators, and therefore in this exhortation to Hebrew Christians

he could not have passed over in silence so dire a calamity. Moreover we have shown that the

Epistle of St. Jude was written before II Peter, which latter was probably written A.D. 64 (65).

Therefore St. Jude must have written shortly before 64 (65). We can only guess, but we prefer

the opinion that the Epistle was written in Palestine, and probably in Jerusalem.

Other Interesting Links...

The Vatican - A neat site for Catholics and non-Catholics alike!

Saint Theresa - Another famous Saint with strong intercessional powers!

The Padre Pio Foundation of America

Click on the link below to visit the fascinating site about the famous, Italian priest who the world came to know as Padre Pio. He was born, in 1887, in Pietrelcina, to a very humble family and christened as Francesco Forgione. After his long and well documented life as a stigmatic, he passed away on 23 September 1968 at the Capuchin monestary at San Giovanni Rotondo. Padre Pio is now up for cannonization.... the Papal declaration of Sainthood!!!

Click on the The Padre Pio Foundation of America

(Fr. Robert McQueeney, Director)

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This site was created February 14th 1998