Daily prayer
to St. Jude

O kindSaint-Jude, our faithful intercessor to Jesus, receive the following special intentions : to present them to the Almighty Lord, Root of all good. Above all, grant us an increase of our faith in His love. May each day find us closer in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. KindSaint-Jude, you who has revived hope in our hearts, you whose model merits and life bring us the divine blessings and graces, be our advocate, and lead us to Jesus and Mary. With you, blessed apostle, we give thanks and praise God with all our heart for His innumerable kindnesses. Amen.

The Monthly Note

October 2005

Compassionate love for the absent

by Fr. Émery Désilets, OP

The Apostle Paul’s joyous certainty of belonging to Christ and being inhabited by His Spirit (Romans 8), cannot erase his suffering, his sadness, his constant sorrow: at the feast where Jesus, Lord and Christ is celebrated and sung, his race brothers are absent. He shows his compassionate love towards his race brothers in a striking way. « I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kin according to the flesh. » (Rom. 9, 2-3).

The Apostle Paul’s cry of the heart is the same as Moses’, after the Golden Calf’s event. « Ah, this people has indeed committed a grave sin in making a god of gold for themselves! If you would only forgive their sin! If you will not, then strike me out of the book that you have written. » (Exodus 32, 31-32).

This cry is a prayer of intercession. I cannot help but think of Saint Dominic, the founder of the ORDER OF THE PREACHERS. His biographers tell us that he would spend part of his nights in prayer. « Night and day he would wear away the church floor ». During these long nights of prayer and he would cry out and wail : « My God, my God, what will become of sinners » ? And he could not hold back his tears.

This cry expresses the mystery of Christ’s death who « For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him » (II Cor 5, 21).

Let us reflect on this message, on this mystery.

Just as the Apostle Paul, we have the joyous certainty of belonging to Christ and being inhabited by His Spirit. But, we have to admit that that we are surrounded by absentees: those who are closest to us by blood, history and culture, do not all share our faith. Do we have for them the same compassionate love that was in the Apostle Paul’s heart, in Saint Dominic’s heart, in Christ’s heart?

May our certainty of belonging to Christ show itself in a true compassionate love for our brothers and sisters.

Émery Désilets, o.p., Director

« Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine,
you did for me » (Mt 25, 40)