Fr. James Pierce Cavanaugh, OP
In the wake of the first full nine-day novena at the Shrine of St. Jude in several decades, the two thoughts that most come to mind are gratitude for all of the provincial office staff, parish employees, volunteers, musicians, and friars who made this event possible, and awe at the visible and tangible faith of so many faithful who came together to make this such a beautiful set of days.
It would be hard to name all the ways that St. Jude showed himself to be guiding and strengthening the events of the Novena as the days progressed. From the bus full of students that arrived at the Shrine from a high school in Champaign, Illinois, on the first day of the Novena, to the publicity that came from a local news reporter who discovered St. Jude's presence in the Shrine and shared through his social media channels, there were too many little things that took place for these happenings to be ignored as merely coincidental.
The Novena culminated in a beautiful and vibrant Feast Day Mass, where a crowd roughly estimated at 450 people filled the church, leaving standing room only in the space around the Shrine. When the time came to venerate the Arm Relic of St. Jude, the crowds of people gathered around Fr. Louis Morrone, OP, our Prior Provincial who preached and led the veneration of the Relic, called to mind the Gospel stories of the crowds who gathered around Jesus that they might be healed.
Even long-time devotees of the Shrine categorized the celebration as unique, as the bilingual liturgy brought together different populations devoted to St. Jude and united them in a single joyful evening. As attendees left the church, they were surrounded by tables filled with food being given away by devotees of St. Jude, in celebration of his feast, and in thanksgiving for favors they'd been granted; the visiting Deacon said that he had never seen so many statues of St. Jude in one place.
We pray for St. Jude's continued intercession to help our Order to preach Hope in all places where we can spread that good news - especially through the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary! --and ask his help and the help of all the saints to be fruitful in our mission.
St. Jude, Apostle of Hope, pray for us!