Shrine Office upgrade

We have had a busy few days at the Shrine Office here at the National Shrine of Saint Jude with the creation of a new office and meeting room. This is only the beginning of the upgrades to some areas of the Shrine outer buildings, and we'll post more as and when they are completed.

Novena to Saint Joseph

The Catholic Church keeps the 19 March as the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the Husband of Mary and Foster Father of Jesus Christ each year. The scriptures refers to St Joseph being upright and honourable. Certainly his sensitivity towards Mary and his care for both Mary and Jesus shows him as a person of action and care.

The Carmelite Order has had a particular devotion to St. Joseph for many centuries, venerating him with the title "Principal Protector of the Carmelite Order". Since Joseph cared for Mary and Christ in a particular way, we believe that he also cares for the Carmelite Order which is devoted to Mary and Christ. St Teresa of Avila had great devotion to St Joseph and saw him as a protector of her new foundations.

Our novena to Saint Joseph is below and can be prayed over the next nine days. You can pray the novena in private, with your friends or family, or in a group:

God our Father,
creator and ruler of the universe,
in every age you call humanity
to develop and use our gifts
for the good of others.

With Saint Joseph as our example and guide,
help us to do the work you have asked
and come to the life you have promised.

We ask this through
our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Saint Joseph, National Shrine of Saint Jude

We have a number of prayer cards to Saint Joseph that can be purchased from our Gift Shop.

Photo of the Month - March 2015

We are continuing our celebration of sixty years of ministry at the National Shrine of Saint Jude with our photo of the month. This month, we are pleased to show a photo from the inner shrine - a panel with the names of the Apostles (including Jude).

For security reasons this area is enclosed by a wrought iron gate. This panel is therefore hidden from sight. It is the work of Adam Kossowski. Opposite is another with the Apostles Creed, both are embellished with early Christian symbols. The lettering and ornamentation are in red and black, and the effect is obtained by laying a foundation of red and black plaster, then covering it with an off-white plaster, and while the latter is still moist cutting away the lettering with a stylus to reveal the colours beneath.

If you would like to find out more about the origins of the Shrine, you can purchase a signed copy of Fr Wilfrid McGreal's book: Friar Beyond the Pale from our on-line shop, here. 

Prayer at the Shrine: March, April, May 2015

In 2015, our Shrine Chaplain will be celebrating Mass on various dates in the Shrine for specific feast days and for our Guild masses. All Masses take place at 11.30am in front of the statue of Saint Jude. Please contact the Shrine Office if you would like more information. All pilgrims and friends of Saint Jude are welcome to attend. 

March

Feast of St David, Patron Saint of Wales: 2 March
Feast of St Joseph, Principal Protector of the Carmelite Order: 19 March

April
Guild Mass (II): 20 April
Feast of St George, Patron Saint of England: 23 April

May
Feast of St James the Lesser, Apostle: 2 May
Feast of St Philip, Apostle: 4 May
Feast of St Matthias, Apostle: 14 May
Feast of St Simon Stock, Carmelite Saint: 16 May
Feast of St Dunstan of Canterbury, local Saint: 19 May
Feast of St Augustine of Canterbury, local Saint: 27 May
Guild Mass (III): 29 May
Summer Celebration – 2015: 30 May

Plus..
Praying the Novena of St Joseph: every day from 11 March until 19 March at 2.30pm

Chaplain Thoughts: Week Six

Every time I hear this Gospel, I wonder how awful it must have been for someone who had leprosy, especially in the time of Jesus, when they didn't have any type of cure for it.  As you know, lepers were shunned and ignored by everybody; and shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp. Imagine what it would be like to be ignored by people, by those in school for instance.  To have no one to talk to and play with; that's how it was for the leper who asked Jesus to cure him.

Notice how Jesus reacts to this outcast, He doesn't react with revulsion, afraid that He'll be contaminated.  Although everyone else avoids him, Jesus has pity on him.   Although everyone thinks that that this man's situation is hopeless, Jesus doesn't.  Although everybody flees from this sick man in horror, Jesus doesn't.  Instead, Jesus does the unthinkable.  Jesus reaches out and actually touches the man and this leper is cured.  His life is changed dramatically for the better in one single moment.  He is restored to society, to his friends and family, and can now live a normal life.

This simple story has good news for us who are alive today.  It says that Jesus is a true friend of the outcast; that Jesus won't reject anybody who comes to Him; now, as then, Jesus' touch gives us hope. The Good News of our Gospel today is that our situations are not hopeless,  that God loves us just they way we are and not the way we think we ought to be.  He doesn't love us because we are 'good', because we're not good.  God doesn't love us because of what we can 'do' for Him because we can't do anything to earn His love.  God loves us because He is good and He wants to share His love and goodness with us.  And, this love is not the kind of love that says, "I will love you if…" or "I will love you when…".

For this love of God to bear fruit in our lives we need to do what the leper did.  He recognized the hopelessness of his situation and came to Jesus for help.  And, so must we.  So let us remember that if we think about it, all of us have our own form of leprosy, don't we?  Our leprosy might be gossiping. It might be that we are hard-hearted or mean or tell lies or are unforgiving.  Maybe we've become a sourpuss with an "I don't care attitude" toward life.  These kinds of things can eat away at us just as much as leprosy. Bring these to Our Lord and we too, will experience His healing touch. All we have to do is take that first step because Jesus is there just waiting for us, just as the Father waited for his prodigal son to return. 

So, the real question is "Do I want to be cured"? 

Fr Michael Manning, O.Carm.

Drawing by Rembrandt van Rijn:  Jesus Curing a leper (1656)

Thoughts from our Chaplain - Fifth Sunday

The Gospel reading from the 5th Sunday continues Saint Mark’s portrayal of the first days of Jesus’ public life. We are told how Jesus leaving the synagogue after expelling the demon from the possessed man went to the house of Simon Peter to visit along with Andrew James and John.  Peter’s mother in law was ill and when Jesus heard this he went into the sick woman and taking her hand cured her of the fever . She immediately got out of bed and began to serve Jesus as her way of showing how thankful she was for having been cured.  This immediately shows us two things about Jesus; firstly that he attended the synagogue and like any adult male started to preach on the reading; secondly, it introduces the ministry of Jesus healing the sick.

I would like to pick up on something I mentioned in my last entry.  As we read the gospel accounts of Jesus healing the sick there is one major theme that flows through most of them.  His healing ministry does not involve his sweeping a town and generally curing the people with a sweep of his hand.  The cures which the gospels writers take the trouble to write about  all show that the people had faith in Jesus and showed this in various ways; they touched his clothes, asked if he would cure them, and when he asked what they wanted they would answer, let us see or make us clean again or heal my daughter.  That was how Jesus’ miracles occurred.  He saw the faith of the people who wanted to be cured and he cured them.

As this reading continues we here that people came from the whole surrounding area bringing there sick to be cured; they had faith that he could and would do this.  This expression of faith is something which is at the very foundation of intercessory prayer and which is also a basic part of our ministry here at the National Shrine of Saint Jude.  Pilgrims undertake a journey to come here to ask Saint Jude to lay their intercessions before the heavenly throne of our loving Father.  If the faithful cannot make it here to Faversham then the same faith can be shown in letter/email and we will take care of seeing that your request is placed before Saint Jude.

Just a final note; at the end of this reading Jesus takes his disciples off to a quiet place to pray.  This is another side of Jesus – he is active in his ministry but also need time with his Father in prayer.  We need the same.

Fr Michael Manning, O.Carm.

Thoughts from our Chaplain - The Power of Faith

Presentation of Our Lord

This week has seen three liturgical memorials which have celebrated the power of faith.  The first, on Monday 2 February was the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord or, to give it its medieval name, Candlemas.  Marking that day on which Jesus was presented by his parents in the Temple, it is also an important point in the life of the Mary the mother of God and her husband Joseph.  It is to His parents that Simeon addresses his prophecies about Jesus and they are both surprised by his words; he says to Mary: “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed--and a sword will pierce your own soul too."(^{Lk 2:34-35)} However, amazed as they may have been Mary and Joseph took Jesus back to Nazareth and brought him up, watching as he “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him” ^{(Lk 2:40)}  These words stayed with Mary and only became clear to her as Jesus neared Jerusalem and the events of his Passion.  But still Mary kept by her son’s side in the certainty that God’s will and Simeon’s prophecy would be fulfilled showing a true faith in the destiny the child the angel had announced to her.

St Blaise

On Tuesday we had two saints to commemorate: St Blaise and St Lawrence of Canterbury.  Nothing was really known of the life of Blaise other than the fact he was Armenian. That was until the end of the 5th Century when he is mentioned in the writings of a court doctor with a reference to his legendary healing of the child choking on a fish bone. Although Blaise was obviously a well-known and reputable doctor he was chosen by popular acclamation to succeed to the See of Sebastia when the bishop died.  Saint Blaise soon fulfilled the hopes of the people of Sebastia and proved by his holiness and his miraculous cures to be a worthy Bishop. The end of his time as Bishop occured when the local governor came to Sebastia with orders from the Emperor to destroy the Christians; Blaise was arrested and sent to prison.  It was on his way to prison that he encountered a woman who was distraught because her son was choking thanks to a swallowed fish bone.  The woman threw herself at the feet of Blaise and through his intercession and the faith of the mother and son, the child was saved.  Despite this Blaise was taken to jail and there he was scourged and beaten, but he held strong in his faith.  Finally, though the governor gave orders for Blaise to be beheaded.  Soon after his martyrdom people began to ask for the intercession of Blaise and he became a popular saint, one of the fourteen holy helpers.  Churches were dedicated to him and a number of towns were named after him.  In Bromley in Kent there is a St Blaise’s well in the ruins of the bishop’s palace where the chalybeate (containing iron) waters were said to be healing waters.  Today, on St Blaise’s day throats are blessed with a pair of crossed candles and the blessing given; "May Almighty God at the intercession of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, preserve you from infections of the throat and from all other afflictions".   

St Lawrence

The third of our saints for this week is Saint Lawrence of Canterbury who died on 2^nd February 619.  Laurence, a Roman monk, was the second Archbishop of Canterbury from 604 to his death, having come to Britain with Saint Augustine whose successor he was.  His time as archbishop was not a happy one; he tried in vain to reconcile the Anglo-Saxon bishops with those of the Roman Mission despite many attempts to enter into discussion with them.  He also had difficulties in Kent when King Aethelberht died and his successor Eadbald returned to pagan worship. The result was that Mellitus, Bishop of London and Justus, Bishop of Rochester had to flee to Gaul to escape his anger, however rather than leave his Diocese, Laurence put his faith in God and remained at his post.  A legend says that when he was on the verge of giving up he had a vision of Saint Peter who whipped and chastised him for his weakness.  The next day the marks of the whip were still visible and after showing them to Eadbald, the King immediately converted back to Christianity.  And so through the influence of Saint Peter, Laurence continued in Canterbury and the bishops of Rochester and London returned to their Sees and continued their mission.

And so we have three examples of the power of faith in the lives of Mary, Mother of God: Saint Blaise and Saint Laurence.  But of course these examples remain only stories if they do not have a positive effect upon those who hear them.  A nice pious and warm feeling may be nice but it also needs to be followed by a strengthening of our faith in time of amazement (Mary), torture and execution (Saint Blaise) or a threat of a failed mission (Saint Laurence).  Just how much we can accomplish through the power of faith only God can say but whatever it is we know that with his help the possibilities are great; for us we can do little but for God everything is possible.

PS, we have a number of saints prayer cards at the Shrine that can be purchased from our Gift Shop.

Fr Michael Manning, O.Carm.