Ain't No Mountain High Enough

On May 9th, we witnessed an event that could be termed 'Full Circle'.

This story began on 11/11/05, as you all know. Word got out very quickly that we needed prayers. Lots of prayers -for strength to endure, for great trust in God, for understanding, for hope, and for Paul's life. What amazed us immediately was the response to our calls for prayers.
God blessed our family with a connection to Ave Maria University through our sons, Jon and James. The students and faculty immediately began praying and Masses were said for our intentions. We heard that friends of James made posters that were put up in doorways around the campus that said "Got 5 minutes? Pray for Paul Fidero's life" and "Pray for John Paul's intercession for a miracle. It will take a miracle to save Paul Fidero's life." There was a prayer that was written by some students and it was a prayer to Pope John Paul II, asking for his prayerful intercession. It was placed in the Adoration Chapel so that anyone who was there would be praying for Paul. These students also had a sign up sheet for anyone who could spend an hour in the Adoration Chapel, in prayer for Paul and we heard that it was filled up with names immediately. We had 24 hour prayers being said for Paul and our family. It was the knowledge of this outpouring of love through prayer, that held up our faith and trust in God. No matter what happened, we knew God would be there.

Fast forward to May 9th, 2008. Jon, Paul and I were sitting in the new church on the new campus of Ave Maria University. We were waiting for the Baccalaureate Mass to begin. We had arrived on campus about an hour early so we could see this beautiful town of Ave Maria. We made our way to the church and sat down to wait. (A real miracle was that we actually got there with so much time to spare. Anyone who knows us can vouch that we are always 10 minutes late to everything!) I was glad we got there early so that I could spend some quiet time in prayer. After about 15 minutes, a woman came up and asked us if we could help her put out the programs in the first section of pews, which were reserved for the students and faculty. She said she was running very late and really needed some help. After we were finished, she asked us our names and when we told her, she stepped back and looked up at Paul. She told him she knew who he was and that she knew his brothers, James and Jon. She said she was happy to meet him and glad to see he was doing so well.

We took our seats and continued to wait for the Mass to begin. About a half hour later, my son Jon, his wife Marie and our beautiful grandson came and sat by us. I had not seen them since Jon Augustine's Baptism in January, so of course, this was a joyous moment for me. I was so overwhelmed with the knowledge that all my family was around me and we were so blessed to be celebrating so many things in that weekend. It was my son Jon's birthday, James was graduating and it was also Mother's Day on Sunday. To say I was joyous would be an understatement! The graduating class processed in and Mass began. It was after I received the Body of Christ and I was praising God for all the gifts I was receiving, that the next thought came into my head. It was THIS graduating class, these friends of James, who put up all the posters for Paul, who got the message out to people all over the country and other countries through family and friends, who organized 24 hour prayers for our family! And on this day, Paul had been asked to place their programs on their pews - he was able to take a tiny part in helping to celebrate a very special day in their lives! Coincidence that we got to the church an hour early? Coincidence that Mercedes asked Paul, Jon and I to help? Coincidence that Paul touched the programs they would hold in their hands? As my daughter in law, Marie, said so long ago - "Coincidence? I think not. It is GODINCIDENCE!"

As this realization came to mind, the tears literally poured down my cheeks. I had brought some tissues, but it became clearly evident I did not bring enough! The boys were giving me funny looks, wondering what was wrong with me! I have tears in my eyes just remembering that day, as I sit here and write. I remember looking out at those bright young faces, at the parents who raised these incredible young men and women and the holy priests who had helped prepare my sons for this world and I wanted to shout out "I love you and I thank you." I know James and my family are greatly relieved that I did not do that..............smile.

BUT FOR EVERYONE WHO IS READING THIS BLOG -

I LOVE YOU AND I THANK YOU!!

We reached that milestone on the pathway of your prayers and through the Grace of God.

While we were at Ave Maria, I got to meet the parents of Racheal Dunleavy, who have written so many uplifting comments on the blog and Anne Shea. I was also very blessed to meet the Kilian Family. Their daughter Shannon and another young lady (I am sorry I don't know her name) drove up from Florida a few days after the accident, to pick up James and take him back to school so he could take his exams. It is a 9-10 hour drive and they drove up, then turned around and drove back. It was a great act of kindness and sacrifice. This also was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between James and Shannon. While they continue to discern God's will in their lives, they are pursuing their careers with the FBI (Shannon was accepted into an internship) and U.S. Marines (James begins Officer Candidate School 5/29).

We also got to speak with Fr. Fessio, who was a spiritual advisor to us through our son Jon. When we were being advised by the medical team to let Paul die peacefully and not put in the trach-tube, Jon had asked Fr. Fessio for his advice and he told us that it was way too soon to be making those kinds of decisions and to proceed with all the life supporting helps Paul needed. We were standing outside of the church, recounting how the doctor told us there was less than 1% chance of hope and how I had blessed and prayed for the doctor behind his back as I followed him into the room, asking Jesus to open his heart. I told Fr. Fessio that this was the very doctor who found Paul awake the day after Thanksgiving. It was exactly 2 weeks after his accident. The nurses told us the doctor was so surprised and he had had tears in his eyes when he realized Paul had come out of his coma. Fr. Fessio listened and as he looked at Paul, he too had to wipe tears away. We thanked him for his trust in God and his holy counsel to our family.

Interestingly, the gospel on the day of the Baccalaureate Mass was from the Gospel of John 21:15-19. I have remembered this scripture passage many times over after hearing Fr. Sudac (from Croatia) speak about it. It is where Jesus asks Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?' Simon Peter answered him, 'Yes, Lord, You know that I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my lambs." Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves him and 3 times, Peter answers, "Yes Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus does not reprimand Peter for denying Him 3 times before His Crucifixion. Instead, Jesus asks him 3 times if Peter loves Him.
In our of our failings and sinfulness, Jesus really wants to know, "Do you love me?" If we say yes, it means we understand we belong to Jesus and He in turn will say again, "Follow me". We are being asked to stay close to Him, to learn from Him. We cannot be perfect as He is perfect. But we can work hard to love Him, the Trust in Him, to FOLLOW HIM.
The Way of Jesus will take us to Calvary. It is through prayer that we have our hope that we will persevere and not deny Him. It is through prayer that when we fall, we will continue to get back up and Follow Him.

It is through the shared prayers we have for each other that we have the hope of seeing each other in heaven some day. It is through the shared prayers for each other that there is truly no mountain high enough, to keep us from Loving HIM.

God's great peace and blessing to all of you.
Love,
Jon and Rebecca

(It was taking too long to get the pictures downloaded for this posting - I have to get to work! I will get them on tonight. Thanks for your patience!)