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Prayer for the Friends of St. Jude
Dear God, I can get very caught up in my own problems. After all, they are real and cause me a lot of pain. But I remember that I am part of a large human family, your family, and we all have problems. I expand my awareness to include all people, especially the many others who approach Saint Jude with their concerns. I move out of myself to embrace them in prayer and ask that your grace may flow through every one of them.

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About us
The Dominican Friars, the Province of St. Albert the Great, are Roman Catholic priests and brothers. We are part of the global "Order of Preachers," the Dominican Family of priests, brothers, sisters, nuns and lay people, who live and pray today in a holy tradition that dates back to time of St. Dominic, the thirteenth century.

Our mission is to communicate the Word of God through preaching, theological education, and the promotion of justice and peace. This mission in the Body of Christ demands a vowed community life, liturgical prayer and life-long study.

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May 2005

Dear Friends of St. Jude,

Our shrine of St. Jude began in 1929, and from then until 1991, there have been seven directors of The Shrine – seven priests who gave themselves whole heartedly to serve “the friends of St. Jude”.

In 1991, I was asked to be the Director and I felt both honored and humbled to be asked to take over this important ministry for our Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great.

When I began as Director, I had no idea how rewarding these years would be. I have met many wonderful people – people who have shared their pain and their joy – people who continue to remind me of our basic human goodness – people who have taught me what power there is in hope!

Nor did I have any idea how much your example of prayer would change my life. Getting to know your stories of prayer has deepened my appreciation of prayer as a wonderful expression of confidence in the God who loves us beyond words. Your example of bringing everything to God in prayer has emboldened me to do the same!

But 1991 was a long time ago, and in the deep places of my heart I know it is time to move on. It was not an easy decision for me to reach, but believe me when I say that it is best for you to have a person with new ideas and best for me as I enter my 74 th year! I will not retire – but from now I will be on “limited service” – continuing in ministry but no longer full time.

So I use this “Message from Father Matt” to both tell you that I will be leaving this office June 30, 2005 and to introduce our new Director, Fr. Jim Spahn, O.P.

Fr. Spahn joined our Province in 1976 – the year I returned from Nigeria – and for the next two years we were assigned to our same Dominican community. I got to know him well and count him as one of my friends. When he begins to write this column, he will tell you about his experiences as a Dominican – I want only to say that I am sure that you will find him a true “friend of St. Jude”.

I will be forever grateful for these years.

I have always ended these messages with the word “peace”. This time I add a request – let us continue to pray for one another.

Peace,

Fr. Matt Walsh, OP

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