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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
In the world of marketing, the biggest thing you sell to potential consumers or buyers is how life is going to be easier for them after they buy your product. You persuade buyers that the product you are proposing to them is the best thing that has ever happened in their lives! We hear the message coming through that says “If you buy this lawn mower, you will never have to work the rest of your life!” “If you call this law firm your case is almost won!” “If you buy this car, you will barely have to pay for gas or maintenance!” Essentially, marketers sell to their would-be customers, convenience, comfort, ease, enjoyment, and winning!
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
This Jubilee year reminds us that we are pilgrims of Hope on a journey to encounter God. In joyful anticipation, we trust in God’s promise of salvation. We walk through life with the hope of heaven, a hope that comes from the Lord through the Holy Spirit. In his first letter to early Christians, Saint Peter urged them to remain faithful despite threats of suffering, encouraging them: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (1 Peter 3:15).
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Brief and contemporary inspiration focused on hope and family prayer will be delivered to your inbox! Articles include live video, written word, and links to resources that will lead you and your family deeper into faith.
Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
This week Fr. Fred’s and Fr. Charlie’s homilies connected for me as I read and prayed over today’s readings. Fr. Fred spoke about our baptismal call to be build up the Kingdom of God, each in our own way as missionaries of Jesus. Yesterday, Fr. Charlie spoke of the work of God in a family that was ruptured by jealousy but reconnected in a time of adversity, when Joseph’s brothers unknowingly stood before him. Father Peyton no doubt knew many stories of families that were going through challenging times and would have encouraged them to pray together for God’s assistance. I am sure that he would have spoken about how the grace of God is at work even before we recognize it as was in the case of Joseph and his brothers.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
Pope John Paul II introduced the Luminous Mysteries to the world with the publication of Rosarium Virginis Mariae in 2002. It changed my life in many ways, and the foundation for that change was praying the Holy Rosary. I’d like to say that I took up the Rosary on my own, but it was an invitation to pray that I could not deny. My daughter came home from a retreat on fire for the Rosary and invited me to join her. My family life and professional demands created an undercurrent of chaos. I can look back on that time with a certain measure of nostalgia. It was the typical chaos one would expect from three teenagers in the house and two working adults. But chaos often picks away at the spirit, and while I wasn’t feeling hopeless, I didn’t have the experience in my faith to understand that the emptiness and yearning I was feeling would be ameliorated with hope in Jesus Christ. First, I had to get to that place of understanding that would lead to trust. The Rosary became the bridge to hope. I couldn’t remember the last time I had prayed the Rosary,
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
Today’s first reading from Genesis is a crucial moment in the story of Joseph and his brothers, the sons of Jacob. This whole narrative, which stretches over fourteen chapters, is one of the true gems in the Bible. Even people who aren’t believers can appreciate its artistry. After all, they didn’t make a smash Broadway musical out of it for nothing! But it’s only as believers, with the eyes of faith, that we can appreciate the story’s deepest meanings.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
I was barely a teenager when I became chronically ill. It was just before my 13th birthday, lining up in the school hall, completely oblivious that my world was about to change and all my hopes and dreams were about to vaporize. Within 20 minutes, I was experiencing symptoms that gradually became worse, and I was eventually bedridden. I missed about three months of school, and although I ultimately returned to school, I continued to struggle with attending full-time. My friends informed me that the school had held a meeting with the entire Year 7 grade, during which the school counsellor explained that I was unwell and that when I returned, everyone was to treat me with kindness and say hello.
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