The Power of Jude
Spiritual Joy
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Fred Conrey, a semi-retired Unocal executive has been getting spiritual direction for more than four years and doesn't understand how he got along without it for over fifty.
Spiritual Joy is communication with the soul and the God that created it. As we communicate, certain truths are revealed to us. The truths come to different people in different doses at different times. These revelations are extremely personal. They appear to come through introspection, reflection, meditation, and prayer; elements necessary in order to believe. The brain doesn't understand that which is illogical. Clearly, revelations fall into that category.
A new day rose upon me. It was as if another sun had risen into the sky; the heavens were indescribably brighter, and the earth fairer; and that day has gone on brightening to the present hour. I have known the other joys of life, I suppose, as much as most men; I have known art and beauty, music and gladness; I have known friendship and love and family ties; but it is certain that till we see God in the world - God in the bright and boundless universe—we never know the highest joy. It is far more than if one were translated to a world a thousand times fairer than this; for that supreme and central Light of Infinite Love and Wisdom shining over this world and all worlds, alone can show us how noble and beautiful, how fair and glorious they are.
How else do we explain the phenomenon that invariably a discussion between two reasonable well intentioned people about their religion and spiritual truths will end unresolved and often unhappily?
They argue because they come from different positions of knowledge gained through different doses of revelations. It is the contention of some that nobody can convince anybody of the truth or falsity of matters spiritual. That's because such knowledge comes from the inside, through the soul; not from the outside, through the brain.
It is not unusual to learn through functions other than the brain. Parents attempt to teach their children, through the brain, that fire is hot. But that's not logical, so the brain won't accept it. Finally the child touches the fire. It's hot! Now the brain accepts that knowledge and stores it. The brain has great difficulty accepting illogical truths. The brain may believe that fire is hot, but it doesn't know it's hot until the finger burns.
The same can be said for spiritual truths. The brain believes the truths because it believes the source, like Jesus, but the brain doesn't know there's a Power until it's been revealed to the soul.
St. Jude will help us know the Power and access the Power. If you ask, he will help as you introspect, reflect, contemplate, meditate, and/or pray. As Fr. Maloney points out, it's not just for holy men, this communication with the soul. It's for all of us because that's how we discover our goals, get in sync with our destiny, and know what to ask for from St. Jude so we can live a happy, joyous and fulfilling life.
Eternal Joy is the end of the ways of God. The message of all religions is that the Kingdom of God is peace and joy. And it is the message of Christianity. But eternal joy is not to be reached by living on the surface, (but?) by penetrating the deep things of our selves, of our world, and of God. The moment in which we can experience the joy that has eternity within it, the hope that cannot be destroyed, and the truth on which life and earth are built. For in the depth is truth; and in the depth; and in the depth is joy.
The stories of St. Jude helping are legion. We could fill this book with story after story of how St. Jude cured the sick, brought money to the distressed, solved problem after problem. The Power of Jude is world-wide. His devotees are everywhere. Anyone who believes his Power is not actual is foolhardy.
The Power of Jude is for you, and it works, and it will work for you just as it has worked for countless others. In the following section we have set out just a few stories of people who were wonderfully touched by the incredible Power of Jude. We very much hope that, when you need it, you will be, too.
October 28th is the Feast of St. Jude. In the nine days prior to the feast, more than 1000 people flock to St. Michael's Catholic Church in Trenton, New Jersey, to make their special petitions to this saint who is known to intercede on behalf of the faithful in hopeless causes.
Father James Innocenzi is pastor at St. Michael's, where thousands have attended the Thursday night St. Jude Novena Devotions since 1939. He has had to renovate the church because the smoke from the thousands of candles lighted by St. Jude devotees charred and blackened the original walls. Crutches and leg braces hung on the walls where people had left them after being healed of their afflictions.
Appeals to St. Jude are strictly personal matters, and the spread of the devotion follows a similar pattern. For example, when one person has successfully implored help from St. Jude in some intimate problem which apparently defied solution, that person passes the wonderful news on to a friend who has let it be known that he or she also has a serious problem. The recipient of St. Jude's help in turn relates his/her experience, tells someone else of the blessings received, asking, "Why don't you take your problem to St. Jude? You won't believe the results until you talk to the Man yourself." Thus, the story of St. Jude's powerful intercession and his help in the most difficult cases spreads by personal recommendation-a most effective way of popularizing devotion to him.
The letters of gratitude and the petitions made public through the various shrines, churches, and newspapers, all share a common bond, they express a strong belief in the Power of Jude. Petitions ask for his intercession for intentions such as a happy marriage, success in business or finding a job, reconciliation with a spouse, cure of alcoholism, peace of mind, a happy death, a safe pregnancy, or return of an absent member to the family.
Another distinctive feature of devotion to St. Jude has been the constancy with which his clients have thanked him. Nearly every regular reader of the classified ad section of newspapers or magazines will find tucked away in the Personals or Card of Thanks section, a little ad that says: "Thank You, St. Jude."
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