Saint Jude, apostle and . . . Hollywood success story? Indeed! Beyond Simon’s being a “ Zealot” for Israel’s liberation and Jude’s question about Jesus revealing himself (John 14:22), no historic facts are known about either saint.
But Saint Jude’s well-known patronage of lost causes and hopeless cases is largely due to a desperate vow made just before World War II by a struggling entertainer, the son of Arab-American immigrants, Danny Thomas. Unemployed, his wife about to give birth, Danny, attending Mass, impulsively donated his last seven dollars to the collection, promising: “Saint Jude, if you help me find my way in life, I will build a shrine in your honor!”
Older Americans remember well Danny’s long, successful movie and television career. Grateful parents worldwide know the miracles that have taken place for fifty years at his Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where needy children are cared for regardless of race, religion, or financial resources, and monumental advances continue in healing and preventing pediatric cancers and catastrophic childhood diseases.
A living, life-giving partnership is this “Communion of Saints”: Simon, Jude, Danny Thomas—us! (Feast Day: October 28) —Peter Scagnelli, © J. S. Paluch Co.