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

November 2012

A saint. Me? Yes, you. A saint!

by Ovila Bélanger, OP

Sainthood, that’s the vocation of all Christ disciples.  Saint Paul states it explicitly in his first letter to the Thessalonians: «God wills you all to be holy» (1Th.4,3).  In this letter, Saint Paul does not speak only to a group of selected Christians, but to all the Thessalonian Christian community.

Such a statement from Saint Paul may leave us perplex.  In the past, we have long thought that Saints were Christians that had accomplished exceptional things like perform miracles or that received graces and special charisma: like Saint Vincent de Paul who spend all his life helping the poor and destitute; like Mother Teresa who welcomed the dying from Calcutta’s  poor neighbourhoods; like Pope John XXIII who, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, summoned the Vatican II council; likeSaint-Jude who had the privilege of living by Jesus’ side for three years.

Yes, these great Saints answered a special call from God.  But understand that all baptized, all Christian who allows a special place to Christ Jesus in his/her everyday life, who does his/her possible to live according to the Gospel IS A SAINT.  You the mothers and the fathers who raise your children the right way; you the workers who dutifully accomplish the work given to you; you the retirees who are happy helping others; you who do volunteer work; you the sick who live in serenity; you who each day take time to pray, you who please God, you are saints.  You who are righteous persons, who help others, who seek to live in God’s presence, you are in the right path to sainthood.  In the twilight of your life, the Lord Jesus will say to you what he has said to the canonized saints: Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world.

All Saints Day that we celebrated on November First is not only the feast of the Saints that are in Heaven; it is our feast, to all those who are Christ’s disciple, who are on Earth and live the Gospel. To all of you, my brothers and sisters the saints, happy All Saints Day!