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The St. Jude Novena


Dear friends of St. Jude,

LENT: A TIME OF SOWING

The traditional view of Lent is a period of fasting and abstinence, a time of almsgiving and deepening of our prayer life. It is often seen as a time of giving up one thing or the other for a greater good which is primarily for a deeper spiritual life. It has however been observed that people only give up their sinful life styles and bad habits only to pick them up again after the Lenten season. This has made a mockery of the entire exercise, so that there is nothing so special to look forward to during the Lenten season, rather, it is just like any other event which comes and goes every year! The Lenten season of 2008, however will be different, insofar as we will make this Lenten season a time of sowing.

To sow a seed means to let go of the grain; which will fall down and die (Jn 12:24). It also means to bury the seed in the ground to allow it receive moisture and nutrients from the soil. On no account does a farmer uproot the seed from the soil and expect a rich harvest, he must wait patiently for the seed to take its own time of maturity to grow. The growth of the seed into a tree comes in stages: First, the roots take a firm hold in the soil, and then it sprouts and a stem holds out the branches which gives rise to leaves and flowers.

Imagine our spiritual journey of Lent to a seed sown on Ash Wednesday, our lives become the seed which must be buried under the earth, the earth of immorality and selfishness, to remain in the soil of prayer and penance, taking roots through a process of inner conversion of the person and budding into flowers of new life in Christ (2 Cor 5:17) through a life of grace and charity.

If we sow good seeds we shall reap a harvest of joy and renewal of Easter, but when we sow scarcely and take no time to water our seeds then our harvest will be poor and unrewarding. Make up your mind therefore that Lent 2008 will be a fruitful one so as to reap bountifully at Easter. When we begin to see Lent not simply a period to avoid and abstain, a period to count the “Do nots” of Christian vocation rather than seeing it as a time to highlight, in a deeper and more profound manner, the “Dos” of Charity. Lent will then become more of a period to leave the old ways not for forty (40) days but forever and for good!

The Lenten season begins very early this year but this nearness does not remove anything significantly, rather, it should prepare us with greater eagerness to meet the Risen Lord Jesus Christ at Easter.

We therefore encourage you to submit your petitions online to the Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus, so they may be placed on the altar during these nine days of novena and special New Year prayer.

May God continue to bless our path and make our plans succeed in the New Year 2008 through the special intercession of St. Jude Thaddeus. Amen.

Sincerely in St. Jude,
Rev. Bro. Stephen Lucas, O.P.
SHRINE DIRECTOR

Copyright, 2006. St Jude Apostolate, Yaba. All rights reserved.