Luke 9:9 (Trying to see Jesus) by Doug Young

Welcome God now with this LIFE Group Devotion (FB), provided by LIFE Runners (FB). Guest Authors schedule. LIFE Minute radio.

"Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him." ~ Luke 9:9 (full readings)

Doug's Reflections: In today’s Gospel, Herod kept trying to see Jesus. In Truth, Jesus is present in the person next to me, the person behind me, in front of me, and in the persons with whom I live and work. A young woman came to Calcutta from the USA to work for Mother Teresa. She had sold all she had to buy the plane ticket, and wanted to work with the Sisters of Charity. Her faith was not firm but she was ready for a change in her relationship with God and wanted to make a difference. After several months, one day she bathed a man who was very frail and malnourished. He had sores on most of his body, and was very weak. After the bath, she lifted him into bed. The man smiled, and as she saw this, his face supernaturally turned into the face of Christ. Mother Teresa was standing nearby and saw the encounter. Mother Teresa said to her, “You saw Him too, didn’t you?” As faith always precedes miracles, this young woman was apparently ‘All In’ with her faith, and she was rewarded with the miracle of seeing the face of Christ. Where will we get the power to love Jesus in others in this way? Mother Teresa wrote, “To be able to love one another, we must pray much, for prayer gives a clean heart and a clean heart can see God in our neighbor. If now we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten how to see God in one another." This attitude means thinking in a new way and letting our minds be washed with the Gospel of Jesus. Through prayer we will receive the grace to see others with this new mind of Jesus.
* Doug Young has one daughter and is stationed at Little Rock AFB as a C-130 pilot. He previously taught physics at the AF Academy. He has experienced Cursillo, Beginning Experience and most recently Every Man's Battle.

Faith Challenge: See Jesus in one person today, and then do something loving for them. Pray for the courage to overcome the fear to love as Christ calls us to do.

Counter-Culture News: LSN, LifeNews, Priests for Life, Vatican, Project Rachel

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.

Feast Day: St. Thomas of Villanova.

Faith Quote: "Pray, trust and don't worry" Saint Padre Pio (feast day tomorrow). I visited his shrine in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy in June of 2009. It is the 2nd most visited shrine in the world (1st is Guadalupe), with 7 million visitors per year.

Through Christ our Lord,
Doug

* 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 (22% 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.