How to pray it
Say the opening prayers first. Make your special request where the Prayer in Trials says so. Then say the prayer for the day. The opening prayers are the same every day. The daily prayer changes.
Opening
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Blessed be the Holy and Undivided Trinity now and forever. Amen.
We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God. Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers, O ever Glorious and Blessed Virgin.
Prayer in Trials
Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, — faithful servant and friend of Jesus, — the name of the traitor who delivered thy beloved Master into the hands of His enemies — has caused thee to be forgotten by many — but the Church honors and invokes thee universally as the patron of hopeless cases of things despaired of. Pray for me who am so miserable; — make use I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded to thee — to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. — Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolations and succor of Heaven — in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings — particularly (here make your request) and that I may bless God with thee and all the elect for ever.
I promise thee, O blessed St. Jude, — to be ever mindful of this great favor — and I will never cease to honor thee as my special and powerful patron — and to do all in my power to encourage devotion to thee. Amen.
May the most just, most high, and most adorable will of God be in all things done, praised and magnified, forever and ever. Amen.
Praise and Thanksgiving
O most sweet Lord Jesus Christ, — in union with the unutterable heavenly praise — with which the Most Holy Trinity extols itself — and which thence flows upon Thy Sacred Humanity, — upon Mary, — upon all the angels and saints, — I praise, glorify and bless Thee — for all the graces and privileges Thou hast bestowed upon Thy chosen apostle — and intimate friend, Jude Thaddeus; — I pray Thee for the sake of his merits; — grant me Thy grace, — and through his intercession come to my aid in all my needs, — but especially at the hour of my death — deign to strengthen me against the rage of my enemies. Amen.
St. Jude, Model of Humility, Mirror of Patience, Lily of Chastity, Flame of Divine Love, intercede for us!
St. Jude, Comfort of the Sorrowing, Refuge of Sinners, Helper of the Distressed, Special Patron in Hopeless Cases, intercede for us!
Day 1
St. Jude and the Christ Child
O Blessed Saint Jude Thaddeus, because of thy relationship to Christ, thou wert privileged in thine own tender years to share intimately in the Blessed Childhood of Christ. Thou knowest, therefore, how dearly His Sacred Heart loved the Innocence and Simplicity of Childhood; for He has said “Unless you become as little children, you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Constant yielding to temptations down thru the years has deprived me of my early Innocence; daily contact with the world has dulled my Simplicity. During the course of this Novena, I wish to regain these virtues. Dear Saint, obtain for me this return to the Innocence and Simplicity of Childhood so that I may share more intimately in the Love of Jesus.
Day 2
Mary, Thy Mother and Mine
O happy Cousin of our Saviour, thou hadst the ineffable joy of seeing the intimate bond of love that joined Mary to Jesus. To you it was given to see Him perform His first public miracle at her request; a sure sign of her great influence with Him. O Great Saint, you experienced her great Mother Love and saw it extended to all mankind by Jesus Himself from the cross. Exercise your power of intercession with her in my behalf, so that despite my many faults and failings, she may constantly enfold me with her mantle of love and protection, to the end that I may obtain my special request, and above all, eternal happiness.
Day 3
Thy Calling and Mine
O Glorious Apostle, thine was the inestimable honor of having Jesus call thee personally to be one of His chosen followers. There could be no doubt in thy heart or mind about thy vocation because thou wert face to face with Christ when He called thee to be an Apostle. What joy was thine over this selection! What zeal arose in thy heart to do His every bidding, even though it led to death! Dear Apostle, share thy joy with me; and by that zeal with which thou didst follow Christ in His journeys about Palestine, obtain for me a like zeal for Christ’s interests; that I may do His Will in all things.
Day 4
Thy Faith and Mine
O Saintly Follower of Christ, thou rememberest thy bewilderment when the people left Jesus after His promise to give all men His Flesh to eat and His Blood to drink. Thou couldst not understand, but thy faith remained firm. Thy faith was rewarded by receiving His Body and Blood in First Holy Communion from His Own Sacred Hands. With this in mind, I beseech thee to obtain for me a deeper faith in the Word of God, and a more fervent and active love of Jesus in the most Holy Eucharist. May His Body and Blood be my salvation and not my condemnation.
Day 5
Thy Suffering and Mine
O Forgotten Saint! Deep was the anguish that overwhelmed thee during the passion of thy beloved Master! Thou hadst seen Him lavish His love and His gifts on men; thou hadst seen Him give sight to the blind, heal the lame and raise the dead to life. And when the selfish cruelty of men raised Him on the Cross of Suffering, and then laid Him away from thee in the tomb — thy anguish knew no bounds. By the bitter sorrow which thou didst experience then, have pity on me now, in my hour of trial. Come to my assistance and ask thy beloved Master to grant me the grace and consolation I seek in this bitter moment.
Day 6
Thy Source of Inspiration and Mine
O Inspired Saint! To thee it was given to receive the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Ghost, under the visible form of a fiery Tongue. Thou didst know what it meant to hide in fear and trembling from the wrath of men, until the Holy Ghost came with His gifts. Obtain for me those same gifts, that under the inspiration of God the Holy Ghost, I may understand God’s Will in my particular trial, that I may act prudently in all things, and that I may persevere in the service of God despite trials, temptations and persecutions.
Day 7
Thy Apostolate and Mine
O Zealous Apostle! Having received from Christ, thy Master, the commission to teach all nations, thou didst spread the doctrines of Thy Divine Cousin far and wide. No distance was too great; no labor too difficult; no persecution too strong to keep thee from the fulfillment of thy vocation. Thou didst teach not by word alone, but also by thy example. O Beloved Apostle! intercede for me that I too, by cooperating with God’s Grace, may be able to bring the knowledge and love of God into the lives of others by my words and my manner of living.
Day 8
Thy Power and My Weakness
O Beloved Servant of God, because of thy zeal in God’s service, and because of thy holiness of life, thou didst receive visible assistance from God in fulfilling thy holy calling. To thee God gave the power of performing miracles to soften the obdurate hearts and lead them back to Him. Thy power was used to show forth the glory and splendor of thy Creator. Invoke that power once again, I beseech thee, in my behalf. Ask God to grant my petition if it be His Holy Will; and I will never again stray from His service.
Day 9
Thy Life and Mine
O Happy Martyr! God gave thee the exceptional privilege of closing thy holy and useful life at the hands of bloody executioners. During thy life thou didst imitate Jesus in preaching, teaching and leading souls to salvation. Like Him, thou didst endure sufferings and persecutions; and finally, like Him, thou didst offer thy life as final proof of thy faith. Plead for me with Jesus who was martyred for my sins, that I too, may have the grace to fight against all trials and temptations that might lead me away from Him; that I may persevere in my faith, and if needs be, to die for it.