Director’s Letter
Director’s Letter
Dear Friends,
Catholic novelist and essayist Léon Bloy once wrote, “the only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint.” Bloy’s words are not mere sentiment, they are a wake-up call. If we desire to enjoy heaven, then our goal is sainthood. How we live our life here on earth figures into our life eternally. We have been given this life to know God, to love God, and to serve God. And the way we know, love, and serve God is to stay close to Him in the sacraments and in prayer.
The sacraments have been given to us so we can stay closely united to God throughout our lives and so that He can live His life in and through us. A life imbued with the sacraments is, after all, the Christian life—life conformed to Christ. The sacraments are the font of grace we drink from— particularly, the Eucharist—during this sojourn on earth. The Eucharist is Jesus Himself—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. He gave Himself to us on the Cross and He gives Himself to us here and now at every Mass, in every Eucharist.
In addition to the sacraments, God asks us to pray to Him. Prayer is simply spending time with God, and we can spend time every day reading God’s word and listening to Him speaking to our hearts. Even if we have very busy lives and can’t spend a lot of time in prayer, we can send up short prayers to God throughout the day, thus a habit of prayer takes root, always turning our minds and hearts to God.
In this month of November, we especially honor and pray to all saints, asking for their intercession that with God’s help we can follow their example according to the path the Lord has laid out for each of us. And in this month of November we also remember to pray for all souls—for our loved ones who have gone before us, and for those souls who have no one to pray for them, asking for God’s mercy so that they may quickly be united with Jesus, Mary, and all the saints in heaven.
I encourage you to choose sainthood and choose heaven every day by how you live your life today. And, when you fall short, do not be discouraged, do not be afraid, but go to the Lord right away and ask for His mercy in the Sacrament of Confession. The Lord has given us everything we need to be a saint here on earth— the Sacraments, Scripture, His Church. The only real tragedy is when we don’t see and accept what He has given us—an invitation to share in His divine life here on earth by grace and eternally in the glory of heaven.
Let us continue to pray for one another, asking for the intercession of St. Jude and Our Lady, as we strive to follow in the footsteps of the saints and faithfully follow God on earth as we journey toward heaven.
In Christ, Our Lady, and St. Jude,
Father John Paul Kern, O.P.
Director, Rosary Shrine of Saint Jude