Prayer For Hopeless Cases
Dear Saint Jude, you were one of the twelve that Jesus chose to teach and sanctify the people. You were in the upper room after Easter when the Holy Spirit came down and rested like tongues of fire on you and your companions. From then on, you and the rest of the apostles went out and preached with eloquence and bravery because of the mighty gift you received. I ask you to intercede for me so that the same Spirit may also come and fill me and grant me His gifts. Plead before the Throne of God for the wisdom of the Spirit that will always keep me on a sure path towards blessed eternity. Amen.
Lord Jesus, I am thankful for Your promises in the Gospel that we will not pray in vain. You said that if even an unjust judge will give in to the pleading widow if she keeps asking Him that justice be done, then should we not expect more from God, who loves us? In another place, You told us to keep asking, seeking and knocking. You give me a reason not to lose heart. I know that Your time is not my time, and Your thoughts are not my thoughts, and therefore I will not be too demanding and impatient. I thank You for Your reassurance that You hear me. Please help me in my present necessity. Amen.
O Mighty God, faith and faithfulness are the keys to a life pleasing in Your eyes. Saint Paul tells us many times that without faith, we cannot ever please You. If I am happy and fortunate on Earth while not consecrating all my gifts, goods, and talents to You, all my possessions and fortunes would be a curse! I read in the Bible that all of my spiritual predecessors praised You in captivity and praised You in freedom; when You gave and when You took away. Only if I am faithful do I deserve blessings; let me, therefore, learn how to fulfill all my duties, even in tears, that I may harvest the fruits of this work in song and joy. Amen.
Dear Saint Jude, in my time of difficulty, trouble, shame, and misfortune, I find myself turning to you, the great saint, responsible for so many blessings. I am inspired by your example and enlightened by your teaching. You put your trust in the Lord, and you were never put to shame. Now that you are in heaven, you know better than any of us how much the Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed in times of trouble; that He judges with justice and equity. I recommend myself to you: strengthen my faith first of all so that I may become worthy of heavenly favors. Amen.
Dear Saint Jude, I implore you for your intercession in my difficulties. You refused neither blessing nor toil from the Lord, receiving both your calling to follow Him and your eventual death for His sake with humility and joy. I want to be like you. I do not know what my future holds, and although I hope and pray for my current case of necessity to be relieved, I want you to pray for me so that I am blinded by neither wealth nor need, neither success nor failure. I just want to do what the Lord wants of me. Because you have already done that and have proved to be a generous patron for many who thought their situation was helpless, I entrust myself to your prayers and humbly submit myself to God's most holy will. Amen.
Dear Saint Jude, I ask you to pray for me for an increase in perseverance. You accepted poverty for the sake of the Gospel, were mocked, chased out of towns, and finally martyred. You did all this for our Lord's sake. I am sure my life has been more comfortable than yours, and I may never pay for the love of Christ with my own life. Why is it then that I find it hard to offer up my sufferings and to bear them patiently for a little while? O holy martyr, you who withstood all humiliations for the sake of the Lord, help me to stay strong for a little longer and come to my aid. Amen.
God, when the Lord Jesus came into this world and offered His sacrifice on the cross to the Father, He did so with Psalm 40 on His lips. He gave meaning to those words spoken by the prophet David a long time before Him: I come to do Your will. He was obedient for us even to death on the cross. This psalm applies to me too. God created me with a special purpose, and I am here to do His will on Earth that I may be happy with Him in heaven forever. Because of Your tender love and mercy, I dare to ask You, my God, to help me, but I ask You never to let me forget that I am first of all here to love and glorify You. Into Your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. I come to do Your will. Amen.
Blessed Mother Mary, to carry out the will of the Almighty requires the supernatural human effort is not nearly enough. We need holiness beyond all our abilities. We need to accept that call to cooperate with the Divine. In this, I have no better example than you, Mary, whose life I now contemplate. From your first yes to God's will at the Annunciation right to the foot of the cross, and after, you never failed in your strength to keep saying yes, because you knew that there is nothing sweeter or better than what the Lord wants of us. From the joys of holding the child Jesus in your arms to the heart-piercing sight of your Son on the cross, you fulfilled what you were required to do. Please pray for me in my tribulation that I may be able to do the same. Amen.