Novena to Saint Jude Thaddeus

Nine days of prayer. Each day: an opening prayer, a reflection and the prayer of the day, a resolution and a common closing prayer. The site will remember which day you have reached.

Choose a day of the novena:

Opening prayer (every day)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in them the fire of Your love.

Holy Apostle Jude Thaddeus, faithful servant and friend of Jesus! I come to you with trust in my need. You know how hard things are for me now. Accept my prayer during these nine days, purify it of everything vain and bring it to the Heart of Jesus, whom you loved so much on earth. Help me to pray not only with my lips, but with my whole heart. Amen.

Day 1. Trust

Reflection. When Jesus called Jude, he left everything and followed Him, without knowing where the road would lead. He had no guarantees — he had only Christ. Trust begins where we stop clinging to our own plans and let God lead.

Prayer. Saint Jude Thaddeus, you heard the voice of the Master and followed Him without hesitation. But I am so often afraid to let my life out of my hands. It seems to me that if I stop controlling everything, everything will fall apart. Teach me the trust by which you lived. I give the Lord my cause — (name it) — and my fear of the future. May I do what I can and entrust the rest to God. Obtain for me the grace of a peaceful heart, even when I cannot yet see a way out. Amen.

Resolution for today: whenever anxiety comes, say quietly: “Jesus, I trust in You.”

Day 2. A faith that is not afraid to ask

Reflection. At the Last Supper Saint Jude asked the Lord: “Why will You reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?” He was not ashamed of not understanding. And Christ answered him with words about love: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

Prayer. Saint Jude, there are many questions in my heart: why did this happen to me, why is there no answer for so long, where is God in my pain. You were not afraid to ask Jesus — help me, too, to speak to God sincerely, without a mask, with everything that is on my soul. Do not let my questions turn into bitterness or despair. May they become a road to deeper faith. And may the Lord, as He promised, come and make His home in my heart. Amen.

Resolution for today: find five minutes of silence and tell God, in your own words, everything that hurts.

Day 3. Healing

Reflection. Tradition tells that the Apostle Thaddeus came to Edessa, where King Abgar lay gravely ill. He brought the king the Image of Christ not made by human hands, prayed — and the king recovered, and the whole city came to believe with him. God heals not only the body, but also the heart, the family, a whole people.

Prayer. Saint Jude Thaddeus, you brought healing to a sick king. I pray to you for all the sick, especially for (name). You see their pain, their sleepless nights, their fear of the diagnosis and of tomorrow. Ask the Lord for the healing of the body and, above all, for peace of soul. Guide the hands and minds of the doctors, give strength to those who care for the sick and patience to those who wait. And help me to accept God's will and not stop hoping. Amen.

Resolution for today: visit, call or write to someone who is ill.

Day 4. When there is no hope left

Reflection. For centuries few people turned to Saint Jude: they were afraid of his name, because it sounded the same as the traitor's. That, they say, is exactly why he is so willing to help the forgotten and those who no longer hope for anything. There is no one whom God has forgotten.

Prayer. Saint Jude, patron of hopeless cases, you know what it means to be forgotten. Today I come to you with what seems to me a situation with no way out: (name your cause). I am tired, I am afraid, and I cannot see how anything can change. Do not leave me. Come with that speedy and visible help which God allows you to bring where it is no longer expected. And if the answer is different from what I ask, give me the strength to accept it and not to lose faith. Amen.

Resolution for today: do not say or think “nothing will help any more”.

Day 5. Family

Reflection. Saint Jude was a relative of the Lord. He knew the house in Nazareth, Joseph's work, Mary's care. Holy Scripture does not hide that even in the Holy Family there were misunderstandings — but love overcame them.

Prayer. Saint Jude Thaddeus, kinsman of Jesus and Mary, I pray to you for my family: (names). You see our quarrels, our tiredness, our silences and the wounds we have caused one another. Obtain for us the gift of forgiveness and patience. Protect those who are far from home, especially those at war or in a foreign land. Bring back to God those who have drifted away from Him, and bring them back to our table. May our home become a place of peace, where Christ is the Master. Amen.

Resolution for today: be the first to ask forgiveness, or say a kind word to someone close to you.

Day 6. The wronged and the falsely accused

Reflection. The Apostle preached the truth regardless of threats, and tradition has preserved stories of how he defended the innocently accused. Christ Himself was condemned unjustly — that is why He is close to everyone who has been wronged.

Prayer. Saint Jude, defender of the wronged, you see where I have been treated unjustly: (tell him). It hurts, and resentment and a desire for revenge rise in my heart. Do not let evil defeat me from within. Help me to defend the truth with dignity and not with hatred, and to entrust justice to God. Protect all who have been deceived, cheated or imprisoned though innocent. And let those who do wrong see their evil and repent. Amen.

Resolution for today: pray for the person who has wronged you.

Day 7. Peace for our land

Reflection. The Apostle Thaddeus carried the Gospel through many lands — Mesopotamia, Persia, Armenia — and wherever he went, he brought the peace of Christ. The Armenian people still honour him as their enlightener. The saints do not forget the peoples among whom they laboured and for whom they pray.

Prayer. Saint Jude Thaddeus, pray for Ukraine and for every land wounded by war. You see our pain: destroyed homes, mothers' tears, the wounded and the dead, prisoners and the missing. Protect those who defend their homeland, bring the prisoners home, comfort those who have lost their loved ones and their homes. Obtain for our land a just peace, and for us steadfastness, unity and a heart that does not harden with hatred. May the day come when children can sleep peacefully again. Amen.

Resolution for today: do a good deed for soldiers or for people who have lost their homes.

Day 8. The hour of death and our departed

Reflection. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux honoured Saint Jude so much that to the end of his life he carried a relic of him and asked for it to be placed with him in his grave. He knew that in the most important hour of life a person needs a faithful friend in heaven.

Prayer. Saint Jude, patron at the hour of death, I pray to you for our departed and for those who were killed: (names). May the Lord receive them into His Kingdom, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sighing. Comfort those who mourn them. And when my last hour comes, be with me. Do not let me be afraid, but help me to depart in peace, with repentance and with trust in God's mercy. Amen.

Resolution for today: remember your departed in prayer by name.

Day 9. Thanksgiving

Reflection. After the Ascension the apostles returned to Jerusalem “with great joy” and were continually in the temple praising God. Thanksgiving is faith that looks ahead: we give thanks not only for what we have received, but also for what God is already doing, even though we cannot see it yet.

Prayer. Saint Jude Thaddeus, thank you for these nine days, for every minute of prayer and for your intercession. Whatever happens next, I believe that the Lord has heard me. I thank God for everything good in my life — and for not leaving me in my trouble. I promise to remember your help, to tell others about your intercession and to spread devotion to you. Do not leave me in the future either. Amen.

Resolution for today: share a testimony, or tell someone about Saint Jude.

Closing prayer (every day)

Saint Jude Thaddeus, patron of hopeless cases, present my request to the Lord: (name it). May God's will be done, not mine — but I ask: if it is for the good of my soul, obtain this grace for me.

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory Be…

Saint Jude Thaddeus, pray for us. (three times)

May the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus be glorified, loved and honoured throughout the whole world, now and for ever. Amen.