Saint Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, is taking on the cause of swine flu, it seems.
See this picture from Mexico of a St. Jude statue with its mouth covered with a surgical mask. Mexicans wanted to pray to St. Jude for protection, but a monthly blessing of a St. Jude statue was canceled due to public health concerns, the Associated Press reports.
The AP article also notes that the surgical masks may be the lost cause, likely ineffective in preventing the transmission of the disease. While they are widespread in Mexico, U.S. officials have not recommended the general public wear the masks. I have seen one person on Chicago's streets with a mask.
Hopefully we are not yet to the point of "lost cause," but to ask for St. Jude's intercession, visit the National Shrine of St. Jude, run by the Claretians, publishers of U.S. Catholic.
