Saint Jude

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 2006

To let ourselves be cradled by «Ave»

by Fr. Jacques Lauzier, OP

«From my youthful years this prayer has held an important place in my spiritual life... The Rosary has accompanied me in moments of joy and in moments of difficulty. To it I have entrusted any number of concerns; in it I have always found comfort. » I am repeating these words from John Paul II. Even I, since my childhood, have found peace and joy in reciting this litany of «Ave», «Pater» and «Gloria». Never have I felt tired of reciting the Rosary. On the contrary, the Rosary has often invigorated me physically, psychologically and, of course, spiritually.

Most of all, what I love the most is the meditation that comes with it. Paul VI said that the Rosary without contemplation is like a body without a soul. The recitation of the Rosary is my evangelization. Before each decades, in my soul I contemplate the upcoming mystery and the let myself be cradled by the «Ave» while I meditate. In this way, each week, I visit 35 scenes of the Gospel. Each visit is different, even if the same mystery keeps on returning. As I have mentioned earlier, these visits evangelize me et make me discover aspects of the Word of God that I had never conceived before, even with all my theological studies. In this way, I see the joy, the light, the sorrow and the glory that were part of our Lord’s stay on Earth.

And in His shadow, the little one, His Mother, our Mother. The one who was jubilant at the sight of her pregnant cousin, who is distress when she loses sight of her child for a small period of time; who is alert to the smallest details (they have no more wine); the one who will follow Him at the foot of the Cross. The same one who continues to intercede for us from were she is and tells us: « Do as he says ». Her glory has multiplied her power of intercession for her children, entrusted to her by her Son, on the Cross. And, as a woman, she has not lost her practical sense and her attention to small details. I have experienced it more than once. She is a mother! She is my Mother!

Yes, I love to recite the Rosary. It gives me peace, it calms me and it allows me to see many problems in a different angle and to find solutions that I would not have thought about, if I did not stop to recite the Rosary. And what a remedy it is for the soul, torn by all sorts of temptations. It is an ointment that I recommend you to apply as often as possible, whatever the wound. And it is almost free. Only a dash of humility and a few beads of...»Ave».

Jacques Lauzier, Dominican

«My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my saviour.» (Lk 1, 46-47)