A generous benefit of Jesus’ miracles is the lasting role they continue to have in blessing and enriching our lives now. The Apostles, including St. Jude, were directed to go forward and carry Jesus’ message of faith and hope to everyone they met. They would work to continue Jesus’ personal focus on individuals hearing His Word and giving Him their faith. St. Jude, and his intercession on behalf of our petitions, gives us a special, individualized focus because we reach out to him in our love of God and in our faith.
As one of Jesus’ trusted friends, St. Jude looked forward with faith and hope to the reign of divine grace that was beginning with Jesus’ journey on earth. He came to recognize that his own role was not limited to his life on earth, but like Christ he would remain connected to any living person who turns to him in prayer.
The letter of Jude reveals a great love of God and a tender devotion toward Jesus Christ. The letter urges the faithful to lead a fully Christian life by holding to the faith as the foundation of all, and praying in the Spirit. The prayer that is so elemental to our devotion to St. Jude (often our simple but powerful words: “St. Jude, pray for us”) is always the work of the Spirit, who dwells in our hearts. We pray in the Spirit whenever we allow ourselves to be shaped and led by our faith.
In our desire to enlarge our sense of Christ within us, we turn with prayerful energy to St. Jude who, in his closeness with Christ, is an eager intercessor. St. Jude is anxious to help prepare us for a closer union with Jesus, a union that will begin here on earth and find its ultimate fulfillment in eternity.