My family and I have been saying a novena – 9 days of prayers – to St. Jude. He was one of Jesus’ apostles – but not to be confused with Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. St. Jude is traditionally known as the patron saint of impossible causes. We all have asked St. Jude to intercede for us – to pray with us – to bring our petitions to God. Today is the feast day of St. Jude and I was happy to be able to go to Mass bright and early. One of the scripture readings was Ephesians 2:19-22. It talks about how we are part of the household of God with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and Jesus as the capstone that holds the whole structure together. The deacon spoke about this and explained that at the time the scripture was written, arches were commonly used in building and that the capstone is at the top. Without the capstone, or keystone, the structure would crumble. Then he told a story of a perfectly round, smooth rock in among a variety of jagged, misshapen rocks. The perfect rock felt it was better than the others and would certainly be chosen to have an important place in a structure. A builder came and chose the rock, but then he started chiseling it. This pained the rock and it was no longer perfect. When the builder had it to the shape he desired, he added it to the structure and placed one of the other rocks on it. The other rock that was jagged now fit perfectly into the jagged space created by the builder. The point was, even when I think I am perfect, God is still working on me, chiseling away, helping me  – and others – to fit perfectly into His plan and structure. Each of us needs to give another a boost. We need to hold each other up. And when I feel like I am too jagged and crooked to do any good at all, this scripture reminds me that our foundation has been set and I belong in God’s household just as much as the apostles and prophets. Now that is good news.

I Found God today in a reminder of how each of us has a part and purpose in God’s plan.