Oh, How we need Him!

As we anxiously await the news from the Supreme Court, I wanted to write a blog about our need for Jesus in this most discouraging battle to end abortion. We truly cannot do this without HIM! If the decision goes as we hope, and Roe vs. Wade ends…we will need to put our hope and trust in Jesus as we persevere through fierce persecution that is sure to come from angry pro-abortion activists. If the decision does not go our way, we will need to put all our trust in Jesus in order not to quit out of despondency. (By the way, Shawn Carney is asking that at NOON, on the day the decision is announced…that everyone who is able should go to their local abortion clinic to pray!)

We have always tried to put Jesus first in the pro-life movement. In Pittsburgh, we have been blessed to have many clergy and our dear bishops leading the way. Each 40 Days for Life campaign for the past many years has opened with a Eucharistic Procession to bring Jesus to Planned Parenthood, and each campaign has ended in the same way. We simply could not fight this battle against Satan without Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

To my dear Protestant brothers and sisters, I don’t want to cause any division by speaking so much of my Catholic belief in the very Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist…but I am afraid I just can’t help it. I want ALL Christian brothers and sisters to join in this holy battle against abortion…but I cannot be silent about such an important part of my faith, which drives my pro-life activity. The reason for this is that the pro-life activism that I began as an Evangelical Christian back in 2009 is what brought me to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist in 2013. It is very personal for me, and I will be forever grateful to Jesus and to His Mother, for bringing me into the Catholic Church. I have to say, that having come into the Church with a complete and total belief that Jesus is truly present in each and every Holy Communion…I was saddened to see that not many Catholics actually believe that. The most recent pew study concluded that only 30% of Catholics now believe that Jesus in really present (Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity) in the consecrated bread and wine. So I am very glad to see that the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) have declared that there is to be a Eucharistic Revival for the next three years…KICKING OFF THIS SUNDAY, JUNE 19TH!!! Please join us at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland for the Kick-off Mass with His Excellency, Bishop David Zubik, followed with a Eucharistic Procession through the streets of Oakland!

See the link below for details for Sunday’s Corpus Christi Mass & Eucharistic Procession in Oakland, including a short video by His Excellency, Bishop Waltersheid, about the importance of putting Jesus first in the Holy Eucharist:

Eucharistic Revival | Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA (diopitt.org)

A second event, which I am also very excited about is an event called “Pittsburgh Prays”, on Sunday, July 10th at Heinz Field! The goal is to FILL HEINZ FIELD WITH THE BODY OF CHRIST, praying for revival in Pittsburgh! This is a free event will feature worship bands from many local churches and welcomes Christians of all denominations to attend! Here is the link for more information:

Pittsburgh Prays – To Gather and Pray

With all this in the works, I can’t help but believe that God is moving here in Pittsburgh and that He has a spiritual revival in store for us! I hope and pray that we get good news soon from the Supreme Court…but even if we don’t, God is still on His Throne, He is still Good, He still loves us and we will still follow Him.

One last thing I want to leave you with…

For the last year or so, I have felt called to ask St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) to pray for our pro-life community here in Pittsburgh. Every day I ask her to pray that we would be Faithful, Fruitful and United! As I am on vacation at the beach right now, I have had time this past week to read her personal writings in a book entitled, “Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light“. Reading her writings has given me an idea that I would like to implement here in Pittsburgh. When Mother Teresa began her ministry to the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta…she was going into the darkest, dirtiest and most dangerous places, in order to bring the love of Christ to the most un-loved, forgotten and neglected people. The people that she ministered to were living without the dignity that was their right, as human beings created in the image of God. It was her passionate drive to raise them up out of the mud and bring them to a place of dignity…to at least let them die a dignified death. Isn’t that, in a way, an image of our ministry on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood?

So this is my idea: Mother Teresa had many sisters who were able in mind and body to do the physically demanding work in the slums. However, there were many people who wanted to join her work, but because of physical ailments (sickness, blindness, cancer…etc.)…could not. So Mother Teresa implemented a system of what she called, “Other Selves“. These “Other Selves” were just as much a part of the ministry of the Missionaries of Charity as the Sisters…in that they offered their physical suffering for the Sister that they were assigned to. The two missionaries would communicate with each other through letters, to encourage each other. The Sister would offer her good works in the slums for her “other self“, and her “other self” would offer her suffering for the sister.

What do you think? Can we do this in Pittsburgh? It seems to me a “win-win” scenario! Those of you who may want to be on the sidewalk but cannot, due to physical illness can offer your suffering for us who are able to go…and we can offer our works on the sidewalk to ask for grace and healing for you! Many times we lose our regular sidewalk volunteers because of discouragement. I think that if they had a relationship with an “Other Self“, who was praying especially for them, and they were communicating regularly, it would help them to realize that they are not fighting this battle alone.

So…if you are one of those people who, for reasons of physical illness or injury (or age), cannot come to the sidewalk…but would be willing to be an “Other Self” to one of our regular sidewalk volunteers, please contact me at nbruni@40daysforlifepgh.com.

Thank you and may God bless you!

In Christ,

Nikki