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Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Catholic Faith | Lent activities | Spiritual Life
What are the things that hold you back from having a fruitful Lent? Catholic Mom contributor Andrea Bear provides practical tips for finishing the season strong. We are well into Lent, and the chocolate bar looks tempting; you just gulped down a roast beef sandwich, then noticed the calendar says Friday. Or on the opposite end, you’re still trying to determine what to give up — and there’s only a couple of weeks left. Does this sound familiar? What happens when we can’t commit to our Lenten promises, or we just feel unenthusiastic about Lent? Unlike the Christmas and Easter seasons of celebration, Lent often has the stigma of being a gloomy period in our Church calendar. If we don’t prepare for Lent, it can seem like a depressing time, rather than a time of renewal.
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The-Rosary-In-Our-Hands | family prayer
My dad was the first person to teach me to pray. As a little girl, I remember him kneeling next to my bedside, showing me the Sign of the Cross, and reciting our prayers. As a child, I didn’t see him much; he worked a lot to provide for our family. In my early adulthood, we didn’t always get along due to his vocal opinions. I came to see him as this loud, rigid man. I loved him but didn’t always like him. Both headstrong and controlling, there were power clashes between us, yet his Catholic faith was strong and never shaken.
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Blessed Virgin Mary | Family Rosary | praying the Rosary
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. (Romans 8:18) I’d prayed the Rosary for two and a half years before I finally confessed to my friend, Father Joe, “Father, I don’t think it’s working. I feel more miserable than when I started.” Fr. Joe smiled at me and simply replied, “That’s a good thing … because it means you’re being purified.”
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celebrating Christmas | family life
Every year I find myself with an internal conflict over the celebration and preparation of Christmas. There seems to be this pressure to create the “perfect holiday season” and society certainly plays into this. The day after Thanksgiving my kids are eager to pull out all the Advent and Christmas decorations to bedazzle our home in colors of red and green, so we don’t wait till the last minute. The HOA urges the neighbors to compete in holiday light shows, while department store ads encourage the more decorated your homes and the more presents under the tree, will make you the most accomplished at pulling off the perfect season.
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Andrea Bear reflects on a teaching by St. Louis de Montfort about the Blessed Mother that inspired her to practice more humility.
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