Thank you so much for your donation to the Dominican Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus!
Let me be clear about how we use your donation. Your donation helps to maintain the physical Shrine which resides within St. Pius V Parish in Chicago, Illinois. It costs money to heat and light the Shrine in addition to repairing the normal wear and tear that comes with a well-used and well-loved space.
Your donation provides for my ministry on your behalf! It might surprise you to know how much time it takes to prepare all of the homilies I preach at the perpetual novena services, the annual solemn novena for the feast of St. Jude, and the mission services that accompany taking the relic on the road to visit parishes throughout the United States. It also takes time to read all of your correspondence and prayer intentions which you generously entrust to the Shrine. Thank you for making this ministry possible!
Your donation also generously provides for the needs of our young men in formation who are being prepared to become Dominican priests and brothers. From attending a Come and See weekend for men considering a vocation to the consecrated life, to spending their first year of formation in the Novitiate in Denver, to the five years of full time study in the Studium in St. Louis, to their summer training in hospital ministry, and to their pastoral year learning about how ministry occurs in real life outside of an academic environment you are supporting our men in formation. And lest we focus only on what our student brothers do, your support also enables them to spend significant time in prayer and contemplation so that they can hear that still small voice of God whispering His will for their lives to them. Thank you for supporting our men in initial formation so that we might continue the ministry which St. Dominic started 802 years ago.
Your donation also generously provides for the needs of our elderly friars who are no longer physically capable of engaging in full time ministry and who require a higher level of medical care. These brothers live next door to the Shrine and often supplement my ministry to you with that of their own prayers. Yet the reality is that they can no longer actively pursue ministry as they once did due to physical limitations. Fortunately, the Shrine is located a mere mile away from the Illinois Medical District where they have access to exceptional medical care. They are also provided with nursing staff to accompany them to their medical appointments and to manage their medication. All of these services could not be provided without your donations.
I bet you didn’t know your donation was quite so busy! Thank you and may God bless you for your care of the Shrine of St. Jude and the Dominican friars who sustain the Shrine’s ministry!
