Burial Testimonials

Statue of St Jude – Helper of the Hopeless

The St Jude Statue is a central figure in most Christian homes where the saint is revered as the helper of the hopeless. It is estimated that the St Jude statue is the most common figurine in Catholic homes. It is believed that the praying to the saint for help usually bears fruit, thus giving St Jude the title “Helper of the Hopeless”. Accordingly, Christians believe that even in the most desperate of times, St Jude is able to intervene when they pray to him. He is also known as the “saint of Desperate Causes” due to his ability to intervene for the faithful in the most desperate of times. Due to the saint’s popularity, the St Jude Statues are available in most Christian accessory shops and stores. Home owners buy different sizes of the statue depending on where they want to place the statue. The most common position for the statue in homes is usually next to the outermost wall of the house, with his eyes facing inside the house. This gives the impression that the saint is looking over every ones and overseeing the activities in the house. More importantly, this position is adopted in most homes since it gives the impression that St Jude is protecting all occupants of the house. The St Jude Statue is easily differentiated from other statues by a metal pendant that the saint holds, his white and green clothes (biblical-ear clothing) and sometimes, a small flame placed on his head used to signify the baptism of the Holy Spirit that disciples received during Pentecost.

 Saint Jude – History

Saint Jude is one among the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. Bible scholars also identify him as Thaddaeus hence the various identification given to him in the Christian faith. Such include Jude Thaddaeus, Judas Lebbaeus or Jude of James. He was born to Cleophas and was a cousin of the Virgin Mary named Mary. The saint is especially honored together with Saint Bartholomew by the Apostolic Church in Armenia since the two are credited with having taken Christianity to the country. Serving as the Saint’s remembrance is the Saint Thaddeus Monastery, which has several of St Jude statues. The monastery stands in modern day Northern Iran. Jude’s mention in the bible is only made two times in the new times. This is in Acts 1:13 and Luke 6:16, where the apostles of Christ are listed. Another possible mention is in John’s Gospel, where a Judas-not Iscariot is mentioned. His association with Thaddeus comes in Mathew 10 and Mark 3 where Jude is omitted in the list of apostles and in his place the name Thaddeus is used. This, Bible scholars claim was is enough proof that Jude and Thaddeus was one and the same person. His history as a teacher of the gospel indicates that he preached in Samaria, Judea, Syria, Idumaea, Libya and Mesopotamia. His life ended through martyrdom in Persia. Having hailed from the tribe of Judah, many bible scholars believe St Jude was a farmer before becoming a disciple.

Tim Morris