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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
In the past, but even currently there has been debates as to whether God who is full of compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness ever set up a place where to eternally banish those considered evil and sinful. Some sections of people believe and preach that everyone goes to heaven, no matter what one does. This would suggest that it doesn’t matter if one prays or doesn’t, if one keeps or breaks promises, if one steals or doesn’t, if one is faithful to his/her spouse or cheats. Yet, in today’s gospel, Jesus presents the parable of the dragnet cast into the sea and once it is brought ashore there will be a separation of good fish from bad one. In otherwards there will come a time, when those who have lived a faithful life and those who did not, will be clearly distinguished and separated from each other.
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I’m certain that Venerable Patrick Peyton would see it as fitting that the Church now celebrates Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus together as a family. It was in 2021, Pope Francis expanded this memorial to honor the entire family of Bethany, reminding us that together they reveal the beauty of Christian family life—faith in Christ, loving service, attentive prayer, and the hope of the Resurrection all lived under one roof.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
A few years ago, scientists placed sensitive, sophisticated microphones near tomato plants. They discovered something astonishing: plants under severe thirst or injury emit rapid ultrasonic popping sounds. Human ears cannot hear them, but the plants are not silent. A thirsty plant may look perfectly respectable in its pot while quietly producing distress signals beyond our range of hearing. This explains many houseplants. They were not dying peacefully. They were screaming for weeks while we stood beside them saying, “That is strange. What's wrong with it, I watered it sometime around last Easter.”
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Most of us become interested in stitching only when a button falls off ten minutes before we plan to get out of the house for a reception. Then we discover that the sewing kit contains twelve colors of thread, none of which matches with the outfit I am wearing now, and a needle whose eye appears to have been designed only for angels. After several attempts, some people sew the button back. Others decide the jacket over it looks more contemporary and stylish. Yet one of the greatest achievements in human history depended upon women who knew exactly how to guide a needle. When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969, the world saw the astronaut, the rocket, and the American flag. Almost no one saw Hazel Fellows and the other women who helped construct the Apollo spacesuits. These women came from the International Latex Corporation, associated with Playtex, a company better known at the time for manufacturing ordinary clothes than spacecraft.
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catholic devotions | pray the rosary | prayer life
Many people have written on how powerful the Rosary is as a method of intercessory prayer and a way to honor our Blessed Mother in imitation of our Lord Jesus, but not as many are aware of the great efficacy of praying the Rosary in a novena form for 54 consecutive days.
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Parenthood | Summer Vacation | catholic family life | summer activities
Wondering how to keep the kids busy this summer without being overwhelmed? Catholic Mom writer Holly Dodd shares the joy of creating an intentional, simple summer with your family. Summers can be packed full of camps, lessons, sports games, and lots of fun family extras. But if you cram too much into your summer plans, it starts to not feel like a summer break at all. Whether you have some plans for traveling or you are just staying home, try to stay focused on having a simple summer.
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