Healing power is our Patron Saint’s “sweet spot.” St. Jude’s promises, even for what seem to be the most hopeless situations, are tied directly to his attentive listening, to his love of God and of us, and to our prayer. Devotional prayer to St. Jude inspires us to turn to him for healing.

St. Jude intertwines healing with hope. In choosing to channel our healing needs through prayer to St. Jude, we likewise make a choice for hope—trusting that good will come in its variety of life-giving forms. Hope begets optimism; when we suffer, or we are helping others through difficult times, there is a positive undercurrent to all of it that is rooted in our faith. We know when there is a need for healing there is also often frustration, anger, sorrow, and pain. Those can be transformed with hope. It is powerful and humbling to be on either side of the equation—the one providing help and comfort, or the one who is in pain and accepts the important connections with people who can help as they bring their prayers to the table.

Comfort is a beautiful, key aspect of healing. We can find deeply healing comfort in meditational and intercessory prayer to St. Jude. The very act of writing down a need or special intention and knowing it is laid at the altar of St. Jude for prayer is an act of healing, a grace that soothes and comforts and reminds us we are never alone.

A constant flow of prayer to St. Jude—right down to the simplest of our prayers,  St. Jude, pray for us—encourages a consistent stream of hope and optimism for our emotional, spiritual, and physical health.