"Even though St. Columbanus or St. Frances of Rome are the patron saints of motorcyclists, you’re far more likely to see St. Jude riding a Harley – generally on a biker’s bicep. With the exception of Jesus himself and his Blessed Mother, St. Jude is the saint most likely to appear on tattoos. Maybe this has to do with St. Jude’s penchant for bling – he is usually depicted wearing or holding a huge medal bearing the image of Jesus. As the patron of 'hopeless cases,' of lost causes, of the impossible, many of us embrace devotion to St. Jude when we are most desperate, when we cannot outrun or out-ride reality's most dreadful grief. St. Jude offers hope to the hopeless, a ray of light to those most beset with darkness – he offers nothing less than Jesus himself.
"Yet why should only St. Jude be shown holding the image of Christ? Holding a medallion recalls the question he asked Jesus in the gospel: 'Lord, what has happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?' (John 14:22). Essentially, St. Jude asks Jesus why he is not manifesting himself to everyone in the world at once; why Jesus is choosing to allow the relatively small number of apostles to get to know him, and then rely on them to spread the word about who Jesus is. Indeed, it would seem that a simple media blitz, broadcast to everyone in the world would be the most efficient way to let everyone on earth know Jesus. Why shouldn't Jesus have come in the current millennium, at a time when he could broadcast the Beatitudes over Twitter or post a photo of his Transfiguration to Instagram so that everyone would get the point already?"
In a recent commentary, Brother Pier Giorgio Dengler, O.P., reflected on why individual contact is necessary in the evangelization process..
To access Br. Pier’s complete post, please visit:
Dominicana: Tatts and Talismans (28 OCT 14)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment