Hope in the Family, theme for St Jude’s feast

GOPENG: The feastday of Sts Simon and Jude at St Jude’s chapel on Oct 28, was simple yet touching since the homilies given at all the triduum and feastday Masses were uplifting and reviving for discouraged souls.

Its theme was Hope in the Family and each novena Mass carried a sub-theme drawn from the main theme.

All the Masses were celebrated by visiting priests, assisted by permanent deacon Sandnasamy Peter from Our Lady of Lourdes parish.

St Jude, recognised as the Saint for Hopeless cases, is a saint for those filled with anxiety, depression, and conflict, since he is full of hope, said Fr Dominic Santhiyagu, during his homily at the feastday Mass.

Touching on the sub-theme of The Family Finding Hope in Jesus, Fr Dominic said like Bartimaeus the blind man, we must know who we are, know what we want (to see), and focus on a specific thing in our prayer. Bartimaeus represents all of us, in our spiritual journey. He acknowledged Jesus, and without fear, asked Jesus to have mercy on him. He opens his heart to Jesus and regains his sight, and also follows Jesus with the light of faith.

“Most of all, we must encourage others to progress in their faith, and not be negative people who only discourage others.

“This is important to help others find God,” he said.

Fr Dominic also shared his experiences as a student while attending university in Manila, Philippines.

“I used to go to the small chapel after classes to pray to two saints – St Dominic for wisdom to understand my lessons, and to St Jude, as I was hopeless at Latin,” he said. After three and half years, he passed his exam.

Fr Michael Dass spoke on The Family Repenting in Hope in three languages.

The heart of his message was the need for families to repent (that is, return to God, to make a U-turn) since it is so relevant in present times. Repentence heal relationships, breaks the chains of anger and hatred and brings us back to the right way instead of losing hope in our family.

Msgr Henry Rajoo, based his homily on The Family Discerning in Hope.

Each marriage partner was chosen by God, and even their children were chosen for them by God.

“So spend time to understand and appreciate each other. It is rare to find families praying together nowadays, but shouldn’t husbands be able to discuss and share conversations with their wives instead of their friends?

“Parents must appreciate their children, since each is different. Your children are not your own, but will one day leave you to follow their own vocation,” he said.

“Only when we are sensitive and open to our family members will there be humility, respect and forgiveness towards each other.

“Our families will be filled with strength, encouragement and peace,” he said.

After the feastday Mass, there was a procession in the compound of the chapel, with Fr Dominic carrying the Blessed Sacrament followed by the people with the statue of St Jude. The rosary was recited in four languages.

There was benediction and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament after that.

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online