I’VE ALWAYS HAD a particular fondness for Saint Jude; the patron saint of lost causes or desperate cases. Many of us have almost certainly experienced these at some time in our lives, me included. As the mother of twins, life has always been fairly colourful and hectic, particularly as it would be difficult to find two greater dare-devils.

Although they are now adult, I still shudder to remember some of their past escapades, particularly my son’s. If there was a pond, lake or pool that could be fallen into, the result would be a dripping son. If there was a wall to be scaled – a fall and a broken bone was the usual result – and, if we came upon a climbable tree, my husband would usually have to hike up and rescue a stuck child! Nothing could stem his adventurous spirit and hospital visits were all too horribly frequent. Friends and relatives frequently told me that he was ‘a lost cause’. And yet at twenty-two years of age he is, by the grace of God, miraculously still going strong and in good spirits.

When we remember Saint Jude, it is usually as the patron who will aid us when we are in desperate situations. This is because his letter in the Bible emphasises that the faithful should continue to persevere in harsh, difficult circumstances.

However, every one of us, I am sure, realizes how difficult this can actually be. Yet we know that even without assistance from this saint, we can always be assured of God’s mercy, tenderness and love. As God’s own children, who have been created in his image and likeness, we are all people of value. God does not create rubbish.

And not a single one of us is ever a lost cause to the Lord. We may stray, sin and make mistakes, but we are always welcomed back into the arms of God.

Every so often we can find ourselves in difficult or desperate situations, but we know that we never face these alone. We can pray to Saint Jude for help in such troublesome times, but always with the assurance that the Lord walks besides us. On occasion we may encounter our own particular unclimbable wall, unassailable obstacle or we may shed a lake of tears, but we must remember that we are never, ever a lost cause to God. And neither are dare-devils. (ENDS – 409 words)