If you're going through a difficult time, praying to a saint can help. The best one for difficult times is Saint Jude Thaddeus, which is the standard for difficult and desperate cases. Furthermore, praying to him is a good way to strengthen your bond with God and ask for help in extreme situations. With the novena to Saint Jude Thaddeus for difficult and desperate cases, you may find some relief.
So that you can pray it correctly, we will quote this prayer in its entirety. I hope it helps you!
How do you pray the novena to Saint Jude?
When praying the novena to San Judas Tadeo for difficult and desperate cases, we must do it for nine consecutive days. There is no predetermined date for it. It is best to carry out this task when we feel we need it. To pray the novena correctly, each day we must repeat this pattern in order:
- Opening Prayer / Act of Contrition (repeat every day)
- Prayer to San Judas Tadeo (repeat every day)
- Litanies to San Judas Tadeo (repeat every day)
- Prayer to God (repeat every day)
- Prayer to San Judas Tadeo of the corresponding day
- Final prayer (repeat every day)
Next we will quote the prayers that are the same every day. Remember to repeat them together with the prayer of the corresponding day! Later we will be able to see the prayers according to the days of the novena.
Opening Prayer / Act of Contrition
My Lord Jesus Christ, God and true man, Creator, Father and Redeemer of mine. Because you are who you are, infinite Goodness, and because I love you above all things, it weighs me down with all my heart to have offended you. It also weighs on me because you can punish me with the pains of hell. I offer you my sufferings as atonement for my sins, I propose to confess and fulfill the penance that is imposed on me. Helped by your grace, I firmly propose not to sin anymore and to avoid the next occasions of sin. Amen.
Prayer to Saint Jude Thaddeus
O most glorious Apostle Saint Jude! Faithful servant and friend of Jesus. The name of the traitor who delivered your beloved Master into the hands of his enemies has caused many to forget you, but the Church honors and invokes you universally as the patron saint of difficult and desperate cases. Pray for me, who am so miserable, and make use, I beg you, of that special privilege granted to you of providing visible and prompt help when all hope is almost lost. Come to my aid in this great need, that I may receive the consolations and help of heaven in all my needs, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (make each of your special prayers here), and that I may bless God with you and with all the elect for all eternity.
I promise you, glorious Saint Jude, to always remember this great favor and I will never stop honoring you as my special and powerful protector and do everything I can to foster your devotion. Amen.
Litanies to Saint Jude Thaddeus
Lord have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, hear us out.O God, heavenly Father, have mercy on us.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
Oh God, Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.Saint Jude, relative of Jesus and Mary (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, living on earth you were worthy of seeing Jesus and Mary and enjoying their company (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, elevated to the dignity of Apostle (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, who had the honor of contemplating your Divine Master humble himself to wash your feet (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, who at the last supper received the Holy Eucharist from the hands of Jesus (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, who after the deep pain caused by the death of your dear Master, you had the consolation of contemplating him risen from the dead and witnessing his glorious Ascension (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, who was filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, who preached the Gospel in Persia (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, who did great miracles with the power of the Holy Spirit (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, who returned the health of soul and body to an idolatrous king (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, who silenced the demons and confused their oracles (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, who predicted an honorable peace with his powerful enemy to a weak prince (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, who removed from deadly snakes the power to harm man (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, who, despising the threats of the wicked, courageously preached the doctrine of Christ (Pray for us).
Saint Jude, who gloriously suffered martyrdom for love of your divine Master (Pray for us).O Blessed Apostle, we confidently invoke you!
O Blessed Apostle, we confidently invoke you!
O Blessed Apostle, we confidently invoke you!Oh Saint Jude, hope of the desperate, help me in my affliction!
Oh Saint Jude, hope of the desperate, help me in my affliction!
Oh Saint Jude, hope of the desperate, help me in my affliction!That through your intercession, the priests as well as the faithful people of the Church receive a burning zeal for the Faith of Jesus Christ. (We beg you, listen to us).
May you defend the Sovereign Pontiff and achieve peace and unity for the Holy Church. (We beg you, hear us).
May the pagans and unbelievers convert to the true faith. (We beg you, hear us).
May faith, hope and charity increase in our hearts. (We beg you, hear us).
May we be free from all bad thoughts and all the stalking of the devil. (We beg you, hear us).
May you keep us from all sin and from every occasion to sin. (We beg you, hear us).
May you defend us at the hour of death against the fury of the devil and his evil spirits. (We beg you, hear us).Pray for us, so that before death we atone for all our sins with sincere repentance and the worthy reception of the Holy Sacraments.
Pray for us so that we reach a favorable judgement.
Pray for us so that we may be admitted to the company of the blessed to enjoy the presence of God forever.Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Forgive us Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Hear us, Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Have pity on us.Pray for us, San Judas Tadeo.
So that we are worthy of the promises of Jesus Christ.
Prayer to God
Oh God, who granted us the grace to come to know your holy name, through the preaching of your Apostle Saint Jude Thaddeus, also grant us that we advance in virtue. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Final prayer
Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Let your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive our offenses as we also forgive those who offend us. Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, you are full of grace; the Lord is with you; blessed are you among all women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Glory to the Father, Glory to the Son and Glory to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, now and forever, for ever and ever. Amen.
Day 1: Vocation of Saint Jude
He who follows me does not walk in darkness, says the Lord. These words are from Christ, with which he exhorts us to imitate his life and customs, if we want to be freed from the blindness of the heart and truly enlightened. (Imitation of Christ, Chapter I).
How promptly and generously St. Jude followed and imitated Jesus Christ can be deduced from his life entirely devoted to the service of Jesus, especially since he was called to be one of his twelve Apostles. He was always faithful to Christ, of whom he was a relative and one of his most zealous apostles, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching freely, without anyone forbidding it, about Our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts, Chapters XXVII, 31).
You too, oh Christian, have a vocation here on earth, even if it is not as a preacher of the Gospel and to extend the kingdom of God as the priest, missionary and religious in distant missions; But you are called to be a good Christian, to set a good example for your neighbor with your patience, humility, obedience and all the other Christian virtues.
Day 2: Love of San Judas
Blessed is he who knows what it is to love Jesus and despise himself for Jesus. It is best to leave one love for another love, because Jesus wants to be loved, He alone above all things. The love of the creature is deceitful and changeable; the love of Jesus is faithful and constant. "Love and have as your friend the One who, though all forsake you, will not forsake you nor let you perish in the end" (Kempis, Book II, Chapter VII). Great was Saint Jude's love for Jesus, and he wanted everyone to love Him, as Our Lord made clear to them after the Last Supper when He told them (Gospel of Saint John, Chapter XIV, 21): "Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father; and I will love them, and I will manifest myself in them." Judas, not Iscariot, but our Saint, says: "Lord, what is the reason that you have manifested yourself clearly to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered him thus: "Anyone who loves me will keep my teaching, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." This great love of Saint Jude for Jesus is expressed in his letter when he tells us: "Be steadfast in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, enabling you to attain eternal life."
Let us ask that our hearts always be aflame with love for Jesus. You can also pray the Prayer to Saint Jude Thaddeus for love to strengthen your supplications.
Day 3: Jealousy of Saint Jude
True zeal is the clearest sign and the natural result of love for Jesus Christ. For Jesus desires nothing like the glory of his Father and the salvation of souls. Saint Jude manifested his love for Jesus and his great zeal for the salvation of souls, not only with the preaching of the Gospel to the most distant nations where for love of Jesus Christ he gave his blood and life, suffering glorious martyrdom in Persia; Rather, he wanted to leave us an eternal memory when he told us in his letter (17): «You, however, my dears, remember the words that were spoken to you before by the apostles of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which told you that in the last Times are about to come some impious, who will follow their passions full of impiety. These are those who separate themselves from the flock of Jesus Christ, sensual men, who do not have the spirit of God.
Do we imitate Saint Jude in his zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of our neighbor with the words and example of his life consecrated to the service of Jesus?
Day 4: Faith in Saint Jude
«Faith is required of you, and a straight life, says the Imitation of Christ (Book IV, Cap. XVIII), not elevated understanding, nor the deepening of the mysteries of God. If you do not understand or reach the things that are below you, how will you understand those that are above you? Submit yourself to God and humble your reason to faith. Saint Jude followed with fidelity and burning faith the call to the hard life of the apostolate made to him by his Holy Cousin Our Lord Jesus Christ and although he was such a close relative of Jesus Christ, he recognized him as his Master, Lord and Son of God, although made Man. Preaching the faith and doctrine of Jesus Christ was his constant occupation since he was called to the apostolate, and for that same faith he gave his life. "You, dear ones," he says in his letter, "raise yourselves like a spiritual edifice of most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit and remain constant in the love of God."
And he exhorts the faithful not to forget the warnings and teachings that the apostles had given them and to beware of the false prophets and impostors who were to come into the world. For such times, he prays the Prayer to Saint Jude Thaddeus for money.
Day 5: Fortress of San Judas Tadeo
"If, as strong men," says the Imitation of Christ (Lib. I, Ch. XI), "we tried to remain firm in combat, we would undoubtedly see the help of the Lord coming down on us from heaven."
For the one who gives us opportunities to fight so that we can be victorious is ready to help those who fight, trusting in his grace. Our Saint, Judas, as he calls himself and is called in the Acts of the Apostles, means confession, praise, that is, a man who confesses and announces the praises of the Lord, which requires courage and great strength.
Which virtue is manifested in a special way in his letter, which, although one of the shortest in the New Testament, is admirable for its strong language against heretics; and exhorts the faithful to remain firm in the faith and in the doctrine that they had received from the Apostles of the Lord. And with extraordinary strength he rebukes degenerate Christians, and calls them clouds without water, blown hither and thither by the winds; autumn trees, fruitless, twice dead, without roots, dispensing with the threats of those impious, courageously condemning error and defending with great strength the doctrine of Christ, suffering a glorious martyrdom to defend it. Let us ask this courageous Saint to give us that much-needed strength in these times of cowardice to clearly confess the holy doctrine of the Gospel.
Day 6: Humility of San Judas Tadeo
«God has brought down the mighty from their thrones», exclaims Mary in her canticle of the Magnificat, «and exalts the lowly; and because he has set his eyes on the humility of his slave, behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed ». God protects and delivers the humble, the humble loves and after his despondency, elevates him to glory. «The humble discovers his secrets: he gently draws him to himself», says Kempis (Lib. II, Ch. 2). The profound humility of Saint Jude shines in a very special way in his Letter, because instead of beginning it by calling himself a close relative of the Redeemer of the world Christ Jesus and of Mary Queen of heaven and earth, he calls himself Judas, servant of Jesus Christ and Santiago's brother; For this reason, fulfilling the sentence of the Savior, that whoever humbles himself will be exalted, it is not surprising that Saint Jude shines in heaven as a star of the first magnitude together with the other apostles, and that on earth, due to his profound humility, God has given him great power to quickly and effectively help the devotees who with confidence and humility invoke him.
Do we consider ourselves like Saint Jude, humble servants of Jesus? Then we can turn to the precious protection of Saint Jude, who will look upon our smallness with eyes of mercy and help us in our needs. It is also advisable to pray the prayer to San Judas Tadeo for impossible love.
Day 7: Meekness of San Judas Tadeo
Daughter of humility is the meekness of Tadeo. Saint Jude, as such a humble apostle, could not help but closely imitate his cousin and Master Jesus, who tells us: «Learn from me to be meek and humble of heart. Behold, I send you as lambs among wolves. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him; and whoever wants to sue you to take your tunic, also extend your cloak. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." All that doctrine of the Savior about the need we have to show ourselves meek and kind to our fellow men, was practiced by Saint Jude Thaddeus in a special way, not only in the kindness of his face, in the kindness of his sight and words, in the joyful even in the greatest contempt and contradictions that he suffered through Jesus Christ, but rather shining like the sun in the presence of Agábaro, gladly admitting the prisons, and flattering the beasts that the magicians threw at him, for revenge of the victory that of them, with only the sign from the cross, he obtained. Let us ask San Judas Tadeo to be what his name means: sweet, merciful, benign, kind and meek so that after having possessed the land of hearts, promised by Our Lord to the meek, we will happily reach the promised land of the Glory.
Day 8: Wisdom of San Judas Tadeo
"Blessed is he whom the truth teaches by itself, not by means of fleeting figures and words," says the Imitation of Christ. What shall we say, then, of the wisdom of Saint Jude Thaddeus, since he who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, illuminated him with the rays of his divine wisdom? And his very name of Lebeo, which is given in the Greek text of Saint Matthew, means, according to Saint Jerome, a man of wisdom and intelligence, which he demonstrated to heretics with strong epithets and similes, calling them wandering meteors that seem to dazzle the world for a few moments and then they end up in eternal darkness.
It teaches us the great obligation we have to always grow in the love of God and to lead our brothers along the true path of heavenly wisdom, enlightening everyone, especially those who are still sitting in the shadows of death, of ignorance of the saving truths, of the true religion of Jesus Christ, the Catholic Apostolic Church, guided by the successor of the prince of the Apostles, the Vicar of Christ on earth, the Pontiff of Rome, and that of the sun of the Gospel that Saint Judas Tadeo took him through such distant regions, show him again in these times of so much disbelief and religious ignorance.
Day 9: Power of San Judas Tadeo
Saint Mark says that the apostles of Jesus went and preached everywhere, cooperating with the Lord, and confirming his doctrine with the miracles that accompanied it. When Saint Jude Thaddeus preached the Gospel through the remote regions of Persia that had been his lot, he converted innumerable people to the Faith, among them Agábaro, King of Edessa, healed by Saint Jude in body and soul, confusing his enemies, magicians and impostors, removing the deadly poison from the snakes that could do no harm to our Saint, this miraculous power of Saint Jude seems that Our Lord has wanted in these times to make him revive, undoubtedly due to the oblivion in which the faithful they have had him because of his name, common with that of the Betrayer of Jesus Christ.
Saint Jude Thaddeus manifests his special help and protection in assisting his devotees in those cases where all human hope seems lacking, and for this reason the faithful acclaim him as the Special Advocate in difficult and desperate cases. To be convinced that our Holy Apostle also grants all kinds of graces to those who implore his protection, even those that seem insignificant, it is enough to ask someone who professes particular devotion to him, and to experience it, it is enough to turn to the Holy Apostle himself. Countless devotees, recognizing his favors, send letters of gratitude to the National Shrine of Saint Jude Thaddeus, where a statue and relic of the Holy Apostle are venerated with singular devotion. If, then, we desire his protection, let us turn with faith and trust to Saint Jude Thaddeus, who, after having helped us in this world, will help us attain eternal glory.