Thoughts from our Chaplain - St John the Baptist

John the Baptist was at ease with his role in history. However, the Jews were confused so they sent priests and Levites to question John. They asked, "Who are you?" It was as if they couldn't figure out why the man could have such devotion to a cause they know nothing about. John simply told them, "I am not the Christ." When they asked him" Are you Elijah" and "Are you the prophet" he answered them simply: “I am not”.  In answer to their final question: “Well who are you?” he quoted the Isaiah message “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord." He was confident that he was on the right mission, that he was here ‘to make straight the way of the Lord.’ The one who is among you whom I am not worthy to serve.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were all like John the Baptist? He knew exactly why he was here.

During the season of Advent we all have a chance to become more like John the Baptist. This is a special time of the year; it's special because it is the anniversary of the coming of our Saviour. But are we aware that this is a special time of the year? Are we preparing to buy the trappings and tinsel of Christmas or are we preparing for His coming? John the Baptist knew it was a special time. He summed it all up when he said, "I baptise with water one is coming who will baptise with the Holy Spirit".

 Let us rejoice in this time of Advent, prepare ourselves to celebrate Christ’s birth; dedicated to "making straight the word of the Lord."

Fr Michael Manning, O.Carm.

Saint Jude Gift Shop - Christmas posting

The Saint Jude gift shop has a wide range of gifts for friends and family. With books, cards, and stocking-fillers, there is something for all friends of Saint Jude.

To be sure of delivery before Christmas please note the following dates (UK only):

2nd Class – Wednesday 17th December
1st Class & Courier – Friday 19th December

Please ensure that we have received your order by 2pm that day.

Orders can be placed online: http://tinyurl.com/perbzlo, or by phone on 01795 539214.

Photo of the month - December 2014

The door to the Shrine. Always open, and all are welcome.

St Andrew, Patron Saint of Scotland

As the National Shrine of Saint Jude, we often remember British saints at our daily Mass. Today is the Feast Day of St Andrew, Patron Saint of Scotland and fellow Apostle to Saint Jude. 

The New Testament states that Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter. He was born in the village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. Both he and his brother Peter were fishermen by trade, and Jesus called them to be his disciples by saying that he will make them "fishers of men". At the beginning of Jesus' public life, they occupied the same house at Capernaum.

Tradition states that Andrew was martyred by crucifixion at the city of Patras in Achaea, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese. A tradition developed that Andrew had been crucified on a cross of the form called Crux decussata (X-shaped cross, or "saltire"), now commonly known as a "Saint Andrew's Cross" — at his own request, as he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus had been.

About the middle of the 10th century, Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland. Several legends state that the relics of Andrew were brought by divine guidance from Constantinople to the place where the modern town of St Andrews stands today.

Like Saint Jude, Andrew was one of the first messengers of the Good News. At the Shrine, we thank him for that. 

St Andrew, pray for us. Saint Jude, pray for us.

We have a number of saints’ prayer cards that can be purchased from our Gift Shop.

With thanks to Wikipedia for some of the above information

Thoughts from our Chaplain - First Sunday of Advent

How often does someone lose concentration or doze off whilst driving and only just manage to get control of the car before a fatal accident occurs?  Our spiritual life is like driving a car. We can be going about our business, attempting to live our faith, but taking things for granted. Warning signs are often ignored. And suddenly, we fall spiritually asleep, missing the opportunities the Lord provides for us to experience His Presence, His Love and Compassion. Sometimes we get so involved in what we are doing that we forget why we are doing it. Or we can be so determined to reach out to Christ in strangers and experience His Presence in those whom we do not know, that we ignore His Presence in our brother and sister, our parents or our children, and of course ourselves.

“Stay awake” is the theme for this First Sunday of Advent. The Master of the house is the Lord. His coming is at the end of our lives to determine our capacity to receive an infinite share of His love. If He comes and finds us ready and waiting, the door of our life truly open to His Presence, then we have nothing to worry about.

And so, we watch. We watch for the signs of the spiritual in our lives. We watch for the presence of Christ. Without the spiritual, our lives would be self-destructive. Without the spiritual we wander like the people of the first reading from Isaiah. They wandered aimlessly. They got themselves into all sorts of trouble. Possessions, selfishness, arrogance, all dominated their lives and destroyed them. A main theme of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, is that left to their own devices, people can become self-destructive.

And so we stay awake, and we watch. We watch for the Divine Healer to come and lead us into His Love. We watch for the times when God extends His Love to us. We watch for the times when we serve His Love by serving others. We watch for the opportunities to unite ourselves closer to His Love through prayer and sacrifice. We wait. We watch.

We long for Jesus’ presence. If we deny this need, this necessity for God to be in our lives, then we chance becoming useless shells, Christians on the outside which people see, but not much on the inside.  Advent is the season of hope. The promises of the prophets will be fulfilled; that the Messiah will come to return the world to God’s original plan. Our thirst for the Messiah will be quenched not just on 25 December, but every day of our lives.

We wait. We watch. We stay awake.

Fr Michael Manning, O.Carm.

Canonisation of Kuriakose Elias Chavara

On 23 November 2014, the Feast of Christ the King, Pope Francis will canonise six blesseds and inscribe them in the roll call of Saints. One of these will be the Carmelite priest: Kuriakose Elias Chavara. The National Shrine of Saint Jude has a beautiful icon of this future Saint (pictured).

In 2004 a fire broke out in the Shrine Chapel destroying the murals which once hung there and damaging much of the other artwork. Happily, the windows and ceramics could be repaired, but the murals had to be replaced.

The decision was made to install icons depicting saints inspired by the Carmelite Rule of Saint Albert, in commemoration of the 8th centenary of the Carmelite Rule in 2007. The icons were written by Sister Petra Clare, a Benedictine hermit living in Scotland.

Fr Chavara was a priest and the founder of the Congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate. He is remembered for his solid leadership and is recognised for having saved the Church in Kerala from a schism in 1861.

Matt Betts

Thoughts from our Chaplain - Christ the King

This Sunday, we will be celebrating the Feast of Christ the King. What comes into our minds when we hear the word King?  I always imagine a palace, the fine robes and the crown jewels, a royal court peopled by the rich and the good. I suspect that most people would think the same or similar. What about Christ the King?  His palace was a stable in Bethlehem; his fine robes were a used cloak thrown round his shoulders as the soldiers mocked him; his crown jewels were a twisted wreath of thorns; his court was a gathering of fishermen and tax collectors - the outcasts of society.

This is hardly what the people of Israel expected of their Messiah, as they flocked to him full of hopes and anticipation for the downfall of the Roman authorities.  Unfortunately they had totally misunderstood what this kingship of the Messiah was to be.  He was to be the ‘servant king’, the suffering servant of Isaiah and his kingdom was to be ‘not of this world’ (Jn 18:36).  He is to be a Shepherd King caring for his flock. He is to be a healing king, a pastor who searches for and finds his lost sheep. This is to be a king who is filled with compassion who is even willing to die for the welfare of his flock.  Unlike the king they expect, He takes the cloak, wears the thorns and arrayed in the jewel-like blood of his scourging, he walks to his destiny carrying the instrument of his death.

As we celebrate this Feast, maybe we can ask ourselves, each and every one of us, how can I follow this King?  Well the way He teaches is to be like Him, to be compassionate, to care for the needy, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, support the outcasts and stand up for those deprived of justice.  These are steps we take towards his Kingdom, by becoming each day, a little more Christ-like.

Fr Michael Manning, O.Carm - Chaplain to the National Shrine of Saint Jude