On Thursday, Sept. 14, the relics of St. Jude Thaddeus, one of the 12 Apostles, will be at St. Maria Goretti Parish here in Madison (5313 Flad Ave.) available for public veneration. The church will be open from 1 to 10 p.m. to pray to the Lord, seek the powerful intercession of St. Jude, and venerate his relics. I will be presiding at a special bilingual Mass at 7 p.m., to which everyone is invited.
Tradition tells us that St. Jude was a relative to Jesus Himself and bore a physical resemblance to the Master. Thus, he is often depicted holding a picture of Christ on his chest. He came from Galilee and was thought to have journeyed to Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) after Pentecost to preach the Gospel and establish the Church there. He was martyred around A.D. 67.
These scant details put a frame around a remarkable life of one who knew Jesus intimately, heard His preaching, experienced His miracles, and lived with Him for three years. Present in the Upper Room at the Last Supper, on Easter night when the risen Lord appeared, and on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended, St. Jude was well-equipped to evangelize the world.
Known as the patron of impossible cases and difficult situations, St. Jude is widely known and venerated throughout the world. He is particularly popular among Hispanic Catholics; many young people in the Hispanic community choose him for their Confirmation name.
A timely blessing
I find it fortuitous that St. Jude’s relics are blessing our diocese at this time.
As we continue to evangelize with Go Make Disciples and as we launch our strategic plan Into the Deep, we call on St. Jude to intercede for us, so that we may be bold, courageous, generous, and joyful in our practice of the faith.
St. Jude traveled a long distance, never looking back, to proclaim Jesus to a people who had never heard of Him and gave his life for Christ through martyrdom. We confidently call on this Apostle’s powerful intercession to help us at this significant moment, as we seek to spread the Gospel and make disciples.
We also are living in a remarkably anxious age.
Depression, anxiety, and suicide are all disturbingly on the rise. So many people struggle in their marriages, our young people live in a culture hostile to faith and health, and many folks are dealing with cancer or other illnesses.
In all of this suffering, we turn to St. Jude, invoking his prayers for our loved ones and those in need of healing and mercy. What appears impossible to us always has an answer and a solution in the wisdom and providence of God.
Venerating relics
People outside the Church and even some Catholics may find our practice of preserving and venerating the relics of saints to be odd or even macabre.
Why do we save and hold sacred chips of bone, bits of cloth, and even strands of hair of holy people?
The practice begins with the celebration of the Eucharist over the tombs of the first martyrs in the Roman catacombs.
Since every martyr is a sacrificial participant in the death of Christ, the early Christians found it fitting to offer the Mass on their tombs.
From this experience evolved the practice of placing the relics of saints in every altar in every Catholic Church.
Catholics also venerate relics outside of the Mass.
Reliquaries and sarcophagi throughout the world contain the bodies and the bones of the holy ones who have gone before us. By honoring their mortal remains, we pay tribute to belief in the Resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of our own bodies.
Relics also nourish the very human need to tangibly connect with the holy and with the Communion of Saints.
To honor relics is not to engage in superstition. We worship God alone; we pray to the saints for their intercession before the Lord; we assign no talismanic powers to relics.
But in honoring them, we honor the Lord’s best friends, and in honoring the friends of Christ, we are drawn to be a better friend to Him as well.
The example of the saints’ heroic lives and courageous deaths stirs a holy fire within us to imitate their example and to give our all for Jesus Christ.
Come join us
Come join us on September 14, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, at St. Maria Goretti Parish, as we honor both the saving power of Jesus’ death and the compassionate intercession of one of His Apostles: St. Jude, the patron of hopeless cases and impossible situations.
From his place of glory in the wonder of heaven, this holy man wants to help us, pray for us, and love us, so that one day we will join him and a countless host of apostles, virgins, confessors, martyrs, and saints before the blazing throne of the Most Holy Trinity.