27 Apr Luke 24:15-16 (Sacrament of this Moment) by Jamie Gauer
“And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.” Luke 24:15-16 (full readings)
Jamie’s Reflections: We all know that the Emmaus story ends with Jesus breaking the bread and right when His disciples recognized Him, He disappeared and they said, “Were not our hearts burning within us!?” This happens so often when I look back at a situation and can see God’s hand in it! I wonder though, why don’t we recognize Him when we are in the situation? When we are directly at the base of a mountain, it’s difficult to recognize the mountain, until we back away from it. I think it’s that way when we encounter suffering. It’s hard to see that Jesus is in it, because we are so incredibly close to Him during those times. On March 25, 2008, Feast of the Annunciation, I found out that we were pregnant with baby #2. We had recently accepted a job with FOCUS ministries and knew that in a couple months, we would move anywhere the ministry needed us. At our 10 week ultrasound, it was amazing to see all of the limbs moving freely, but at 15 wks we were told there was hardly any amniotic fluid. We rushed to specialist 300 miles away only to find out that our baby didn’t have any kidneys, Potter’s Syndrome. I sat stoic, clutching my husband’s hand as we were given “options”. One minute I was making room for another child and the next, I was planning his funeral. We prayed for a miracle, but in the midst of that, we were given incredible strength to continue with our lives full of confidence in the Lord. Christ was drawing near to us and in prayer I came to know what a great privilege it was that He was asking us to undergo this kind of suffering. On November 16, 2008, I gave birth to Josef Paul Gauer by way of a c-section. He lived for 3 hours after birth and was able to meet his older brother Judah as well as aunts, uncles and grandparents. Josef was baptized and confirmed immediately after he was born. We held a saint.
* Jamie Gauer is a wife and a mother to 3 boys. Jamie and husband Glen are FOCUS missionaries at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD (family website).
Faith Challenge: Jesus is present to us in every moment. How are we prevented from recognizing Him?
Counter-Culture News: LSN, Vatican, AFA, Priests for Life, Live Action
Our Prayers: Prayer to end abortion, Spiritual Adoption, Alpha Center, Peters family (JP). Add Prayers on our website. Pray with meals, bedtime, wake up, LIFE Runners, etc. Consider mid-week Family Rosary (17 min). Let’s pray now.
* Come, Lord Jesus and open my eyes to what You have put directly in front of me and help me to embrace every moment because You are present there.
Feast Day: St. Zita
Faith Quote: “Trust the past to God’s mercy. Trust the future to God’s providence and live out your vocation in the present moment.” ~ St. Gianna Molla
Through Christ our Lord,
Jamie
John 11:4
* Pray/Fast: Prayer connects us with God’s will & His miracles, changing us & helping others. Fast from things that take your eyes off Jesus. Those who pray together stay together, and close to God!
* Save Unborn (& family): Abortion reality (images)…#1 death cause (23% pregnancies). Prov 24:11 & Jer 1:5. “A great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish.” Mother Teresa.
* Evangelize:Make room for unbelievers & re-evangelization of self, by way of prayer (relationship) and following Christ’s example of love (service/sacrifice/mercy). Matt 28:19.