Saint of Impossible or Hopeless Causes
St. Jude is my patron saint. For any non catholics who are stopping by, during the sacrament of confirmation (in short, being sealed with the Holy Spirit) most parishes will encourage you to research saints and choose a patron saint. I did not go through the sacrament of confirmation until I was 30. So when I started looking at saints to see who I might ask for intercession in times of need, I had a career, I had started a family, and I had a pretty good idea of who might be a good fit. If you grow up in the catholic church, you choose your patron saint as a teen. As I have been asking the ladies who are planning the retreat for their patron saints, even as teens, we seem to find those saints who fit.
St. Jude is the patron saint of impossible or hopeless causes. In my work I come across those who feel this way every single day. I liked the idea that I could ask St. Jude- my friend- to intercede for those I come across who might feel this way.
Last May, St. Rita started popping up everywhere in my life. I was curious. There are many saints throughout the ages. I’m not sure who they all are but I do like learning about people. As St. Rita appeared in an email, then a friend mentioned her, then another friend was kind enough to bring a gift back from Rome- St. Rita. Again, and again, and again. So I googled her. And…it seems like St. Rita is the female saint of Impossible and Hopeless causes. After the idea of rosaries and novena sprouted, the first two saint rosaries that were completed were St. Jude and St. Rita.
My Aunt who taught me how to make the mission rosaries came to visit. I was so excited to show her the few different rosaries that I had made. When she picked up the St. Jude rosary, she didn’t put it down. She was curious about how I had did some of the work with the cord. I gave her the St. Jude rosary because without her, I would never have been able to do any of this. AND I was able to teach her how I made it. It was a lovely afternoon that I will treasure.
Although you may have a patron saint, you may find that during certain times another saint starts appearing in your life. I encourage you to notice this and be curious. Be curious about how this person became a saint and how this particular saint may have gone through something that you are currently experiencing.
I recently watched an interview with a priest where he and his family choose a saint of the year. They put all different saint names into a jar and they each choose one at the beginning of the year. Over the year, they spend time reading and learning about that particular saint. This seems like a fun way to get to know a lot of different saints. For me, it seems like they find me. Over the past 3 years I have been found by St. Padre Pio, St. Rita, and St. Faustina. I’m excited to see if I will find the next saint to learn about or if they will find me.
