A Letter from the Deacon of
the Rosary Shrine of Saint Jude:
Brother Aquinas Beale
M
ost mornings, I pay a visit to our Rosary
Shrine of Saint Jude after the community
finishes Morning Prayer. Once I get there, I go to
one of the kneelers to recite the novena prayer to
Saint Jude, calling to mind my personal intentions,
the intentions that have been physically mailed
to the Shrine, and all the intentions that come in
through the Shrine’s website and email.
I adopted this ritual as part of my daily routine
once I was assigned to assist the Shrine as part of
my duties during my last year of formation before
ordination to the priesthood. As a friar, I already
prayed a lot. So, I figured a few more minutes in
prayer would not have much of an effect on my day.
I was wrong.
Reading news headlines on at least a semi-regular
basis, anyone in today’s society is bound to be
aware of the amount of trial and suffering in the
world. I had read many of these headlines and
news stories; I was aware of these issues.
However, I was not completely prepared for the
experience of reading many of the petitions that
came into the Shrine. As I began to go through the
petitions, the pain and suffering that I knew was in
the world became more concrete, as I realized that
the person who had sent that particular envelope or
email was indeed struggling to face the trials that
I was reading about. Early on, it became almost
overwhelming for me.
But, then I recalled the ways that Saint Jude has
powerfully touched my own life, and I began to read
more of how he has worked in the lives of others.
ST. JUDE MESSENGER • VOLUME IV , ISSUE I
Moreover, it was not just St. Jude accomplishing these
things, but God working through the intercession
of his chosen saint, for while God desires to work
His wonders in our lives, sometimes He does so
through the intercession and instrumentality of
others.
“I realized, the resolution of these
trials and suffering that I was
reading about does not depend
upon me—it depends upon God.”
And so, I realized, the resolution of these trials
and suffering that I was reading about does not
depend upon me—it depends upon God. Yet, in
obedience to my student master and in assistance
to Fr. Gabriel, I was being called to participate in
that work.
Therefore, with a less heavy and more hopeful
heart, I make my visit to the Rosary Shrine of Saint
Jude each morning to honor him as our “special
and powerful patron.”
BROTHER AQUINAS BEALE, O.P. (LEFT),
AND FATHER MATTHEW RZECZKOWSKI, O.P.,
AT THE ROSARY SHRINE OF SAINT JUDE
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