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Novena to Saint Jude

For difficult and desperate needs

Next prayed Oct 19-Oct 27, 2027, ending the day before Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles.You may begin on any day.

9 days
once daily

Saint Jude, also called Thaddeus, was one of the Twelve Apostles. Matthew and Mark list him as Thaddeus, and Luke as Jude. At the Last Supper he asked the Lord why He would show Himself to the disciples and not to the world, and the Church's tradition attributes to him the Letter of Jude in the New Testament. The Church keeps his feast with Saint Simon on October 28, and Catholics often ask his help in desperate cases. In 1929 the Dominican Fathers in Chicago printed these novena prayers for their Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus.

Optional. You can begin without one.

The novena prayer

Pray it on each of the nine days.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. O glorious apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus, true relative of Jesus and Mary I salute thee through the most Sacred Heart of Jesus! Through this Heart I praise and thank God for all the graces He has bestowed upon thee. Humbly prostrate before thee, I implore thee through this Heart to look down upon me with compassion. Oh, despise not my poor prayer; let not my trust be confounded! To thee God has granted the privilege of aiding mankind in the most desperate cases. Oh, come to my aid, that I may praise the mercies of God! All my life I will be grateful to thee and will be thy faithful client until I can thank thee in heaven. Amen. Priest: “Blessed Apostle, with confidence we invoke thee!” People: “Blessed Apostle, with confidence we invoke thee!” Priest: “St. Jude, help of the hopeless, aid me in my distress.” People: “St. Jude, help of the hopeless, aid me in my distress.” Pray for us, that we before death may expiate all our sins by sincere repentance and the worthy reception of the holy sacraments. Pray for us, that we may appease the Divine Justice and obtain a favorable judgment. Pray for us, that we may be admitted into the company of the blessed to rejoice in the presence of our God forever. The following prayer to be recited by both priest and people, the latter repeating the words after him. Most holy apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered thy beloved Master into the hands of his enemies has caused thee to be forgotten by many, but the Church honors and invokes thee universally as the patron of hopeless cases and of things 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 is almost despaired. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolations and succor of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may bless God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity. I promise thee, O blessed Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor thee as my special and powerful patron and to do all in my power to encourage devotion to thee. Amen. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, etc., three times. St. Jude Thaddeus, pray for us. And for all who invoke thy aid.

Source

Wm. A. Marchant, O.P., Life of St. Jude Thaddeus, 'Helper in Despaired of Cases': Devotional Exercises and Novena Prayers (Chicago: Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus, Dominican Fathers, 1909 South Ashland Avenue, copyright 1929), 'Novena Prayers (First Form),' pp. 19-21. Imprimatur: George Cardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago, Oct. 5, 1929. Scan from Boston College Libraries, Internet Archive.

The nine days

  1. Day 1Oct 19
  2. Day 2Oct 20
  3. Day 3Oct 21
  4. Day 4Oct 22
  5. Day 5Oct 23
  6. Day 6Oct 24
  7. Day 7Oct 25
  8. Day 8Oct 26
  9. Day 9Oct 27