Why We Ask St. Jude and the Saints to Pray for Us
If you are new to praying with the saints, it can feel strange at first. Why ask Saint Jude, when you can go straight to God? The short answer is that we do go to God. We just do not go alone.
The same thing you do for a friend
When you are in trouble, you ask the people who love you to pray for you. Scripture tells us that "the continual prayer of a just man availeth much" (James 5:16). The saints are not gone. They are alive in Christ, closer to God than ever. Asking Saint Jude to pray for you is like asking a faithful friend to pray for you, only this friend stands before the throne of God.
The Church calls this the communion of saints: the family of God in heaven and on earth, united in Christ. The Catechism teaches that the saints "do not cease to intercede with the Father for us" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 956), and that they "constantly care for those whom they have left on earth" (2683).
Honoring is not worshiping
Worship belongs to God alone. We honor the saints the way a family honors a beloved grandparent, by remembering them, keeping their picture close and learning from their lives. Every grace comes from God. Saint Jude does not answer prayers by his own power. He asks God on our behalf, and the glory goes to God.
That is why the novena prayer asks Saint Jude to "intercede with God for me," and ends by praising God "with you and all the saints forever."
A great cloud of witnesses
Scripture describes the faithful who have gone before us as "so great a cloud of witnesses over our head" (Hebrews 12:1), and pictures the prayers of the saints rising before God like incense (Apocalypse 5:8). We are surrounded by friends.
Where the nine days come from
A novena is a prayer offered for nine days in a row. The word comes from the Latin for nine. The pattern goes back to the very first days of the Church. After Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles gathered in the upper room with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and "persevering with one mind in prayer" (Acts 1:14) waited for the Holy Spirit. Pentecost came on the tenth day.
Saint Jude is named in that very passage (Acts 1:13). When you pray his novena, you are doing what he did.
Keeping the promise
The traditional novena prayer ends with a promise to be grateful and to "encourage devotion" to Saint Jude. For generations, people whose prayers were answered have kept that promise by telling others, in church bulletins, newspapers and now online. That is why this site exists.
A few gentle suggestions
Pray at the same time each day if you can. Bring your intention honestly, without worrying about perfect words. Pair the novena with the other ways the Church prays: Mass, the Rosary, Confession and quiet time before the Blessed Sacrament. And remember that God's answer does not always look like the one we asked for. Saint Jude's own question at the Last Supper led to a promise of something greater: God Himself making His home with us (John 14:23).
Begin the novena · Back to Who Is Saint Jude?
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 956, 957 and 2683
- Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims version (Project Gutenberg): James 5:16, Hebrews 12:1, Apocalypse 5:8, Acts 1:13-14