Prayer often seems like this boring duty that we all have to attend to every Sunday at church. We usually don’t get any miraculous beams of light shining down from the heavens or any instantaneous answers to our requests. We all tend to mumble prayers under our breath and rarely concentrate on what we’re saying. Now, I was born and raised a Catholic, so I am no stranger to what prayer means because I’ve been practicing at it my whole life. I’ve often found comfort in prayer, but even though it has brought me peace in the past, I have still fallen into the trap of reciting the words like a robot, without putting my heart into the words. However, when I turned 15, I learned a valuable lesson about how I should approach spirituality, and that lesson has given me a fresh outlook on what prayer is really for.

When I turned 15, I desperately wanted a sleepover birthday party, but it never worked out that summer. My parents promised we’d have a sleepover around my half-birthday in February, that way I wouldn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. When February rolled around, we had several weekends of rainy, foggy weather, and my inner teen was screaming in rebellion at the prospect of never having that birthday party. Nevertheless, I had sent out the invites, organized everything, and planned the movies my friends and I could watch. When the weekend of my party came around, it started raining cats and dogs and there was water leaking in the basement. My parents were up all night using the wet-dry vacuum to soak up the water, and that also meant that my party was in serious jeopardy of being permanently canceled. She even told me to email all my friends to let them know that the whole thing might be a wash (literally and figuratively)! Mom said she’d give me her verdict in the morning, but I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Saint Jude Thaddeus is the patron saint of the impossible, and is also one of the 12 Apostles. It’s no coincidence that his name is the one chosen for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, an institution that helps children with cancer. Oftentimes, because their names are so similar, he is confused with Judas Iscariot, the former Apostle who betrayed Jesus to the Pharisees and the Romans. He went to many different places, spreading the Gospel of Christ, and was eventually martyred by being beaten to death with clubs. Naturally, this patron of desperate situations is the saint I chose to save that doomed birthday party. I remembered a novena prayer card I had and decided to put my prayers into action.

Just a small digression here……Now, a novena is a prayer that you pray for nine days, persisting in your request, and then you say a prayer of thanksgiving for another nine days, regardless of whether or not your request is granted. When people pray to a saint, it’s not because the saint is the one granting what you ask. Imagine if you wanted to ask your Mom or Dad about something that was really important to you. Isn’t it usually a little easier when you get your siblings on board? There’s strength in numbers, and that makes it more likely you’ll win your case. Now, obviously, God hears and listens to our requests, and praying to the saints is not some kind of spiritual bribery. The saints are there to be examples for us, to show us that it’s not impossible to be a holy and upright person. They are like spiritual mentors, telling us, “Hey don’t give up! I know how you feel right now because I went through something similar. You can do it!” Each saint is the patron of something based on part of their life story. For example, St. Michael drove the wicked angels out of Heaven, so he is the patron saint of policeman and soldiers. Plus, God is pleased when we ask for the help of the saints because they reflect all of the things that He is: good, strong, loyal, loving, kind-hearted, etc. We give God an indirect form of praise when we trust His saints, because, by extension, we are trusting Him.

My particular novena was a really lengthy one that had a bunch of Our Fathers and Hail Marys attached to it, and I had to promise the publication of the novena after I had said it. Sometimes novenas come with that kind of a codicil to encourage a more sincere form of gratitude. Remember what I said about lazy praying? There is usually some type of structure, otherwise, it’s far too easy to fall into the trap of being a robot-prayer-machine. Anyway, I thought that since I didn’t have nine days to say the novena, I’d just say it all in one day. That’s right, nine days total, all in one day, plus with all of those extra Our Fathers, etc.! And what the heck, let’s throw in the nine days of thanksgiving for good measure! I look back at that moment and say, “NO, 15-year-old me! Why are you doing this to yourself?” I was probably a walking case study for OCD. Typical me, I promised the publication of the prayer as well. I figured it couldn’t be that hard, and I really wanted that stupid birthday party.

As things turned out, St. Jude lived up to his title of patron of desperate situations, because I got that birthday party the next day, and my parents had no clue about the mega-novena I had said the night before. I enjoyed my sleepover, had fun with my friends, and made some fun memories, although I felt kind of guilty about begging my mom for party after she had just spent the entire night cleaning up the basement….. By the way, I’m really sorry about that Mom…..

Then came the task of trying to fulfill my promise to publish the prayer. When it came to this part, I had no idea what I bargained for. I made a nice detailed plan, but then I procrastinated about putting it into action. You all know how life gets in the way, so I’d forget, then remember, then procrastinate, then forget, the cycle goes on…… Well, here I am, at 21, finally publishing this prayer and the story attached to it, through the Odyssey! So I’d like to personally send a shout out to St. Jude: Thank you for being patient with me, for helping me obtain that birthday party I didn’t really deserve, and for helping me with the seemingly impossible task of publishing your own thank you note!!!

Below, you will all find the prayer that I used. I do not recommend completing the entire novena in one day, like my teenage self, but at least we know it worked when it came down to it! This whole experience taught me that instead of frantically praying as if that would tip the scales in my favor, and instead of praying like a robot and never really thinking about who I’m talking to (God), I have to pray with intention. Even when I don’t feel like it, one short prayer that is well-meant will benefit me more in the long run than 4 novenas poorly said. So I encourage all of you to start talking with God again but make it mean something. Talk to Him the way you’d speak with your best friend, and you may just start to hear some answers. Perhaps you’ll make a few new friends among the saints as well. St. Jude’s feast day is October 28, and if he can help me with a serious teenage case of FOMO, then just imagine what he can assist you with!

THANKSGIVING NOVENA TO ST. JUDE

O Holy St. Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsmen of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition. (Here make your request.) In return I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked. St. Jude pray for us and all who invoke your aid. Amen.

Say three Our Father, three Hail Marys, and three Glorias (Glory be to the Father, etc.)

Publication must be promised. This Novena has never been known to fail.