Welcome to our newest member: Jude Michael!

First, I would like to thank my beautiful wife for bearing our little children, and honor her for her grace during pregnancy and during the actual births - she is a wonder. I also honor her for putting up with me - I do not show my love and appreciation for her enough.

Jude was born on Tuesday, August 18th at 9:15 am. He weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. at birth and is perfectly healthy, Deo gratias! (Below is a description of how we came up with his name.)

The birth went wonderfully and everyone is doing very well. We are very grateful and thank you for your continued prayers.

About Jude's name:
Jude
Origin: Hebrew, a form of "Judah". Adjective form of Judas and Judith. "Jude" is an English revision to differentiate St. Jude from Judas Iscariot. Meaning: praise, giver of joy, thanks, "praised one," "from Judah." St. Jude - Apostle, cousin of Jesus, and martyr - is in many ways the patron of my (Mike's) side of the family on my mother's Polish/Italian side. St. Jude is known as the patron for lost or difficult cases, and so his intercession was invoked for various needs, especially when keys or other important items were lost (sorry, St. Anthony)! The shortest book of the New Testament is attributed to him, the Epistle of Jude. He evangelized peoples throughout Mesopotamia, particularly in the region now known as Iraq. At Confirmation, I took the name St. Jude as I had heard about him so much during my youth. Later in life, I had a reversion to the faith of my Baptism and consequently St. Jude was a friend to me during that time. To me, St. Jude's intercession, among other things, was what guided me through complicated times during youth and my formation as a Christian. Cynthia and I invoked his intercession when we heard about a possible complication with this baby's kidneys; the common St. Jude prayer promises to promote devotion to his name... well, the baby's kidneys are fine and we are very grateful!

Michael
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: "Who is like God?", "Godliness", "one who is as God"
His middle name is in honor of St. Michael the Archangel, also one of my patron saints and invoked by Cynthia and I during our prayer times for the past year or so. St. Michael is known for his battling with evil, and "cast[ing] into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls" (from the St. Michael prayer). Jude Michael is also named after me, his father, in hopes that the honoring of his father's patrons will inspire him to be a better man than me, and that he will remember these namesakes as powerful intercessors before our Lord in Heaven during difficult times.






Look at how beautiful Cynthia looks in this photo with our babes!