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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
None of us likes being laughed at. It hurts our pride. So, we are usually careful not to take risks which could cause others to laugh at us. When it comes to our faith, we are especially careful not to risk ridicule. But today we see Jesus and two other people who dare to risk ridicule with regard to their faith.
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Healing the family | Learn more about our faith
Today’s Gospel story seems more fitting for the big-screen horror film than it does for a Scripture reading: a dramatic encounter between Jesus and an unclean spirit; a man with an unclean spirit who cannot be controlled, and even a flock of swine running into the sea and drowning.
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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.
In today’s parable, Jesus presents the farmer as a beholder of miracles. He would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. The farmer cannot manufacture a seed. He can only select the seed, plant it in the right conditions, irrigate it with water and give fertilizer when needed. The result is powerful. From one seed comes a plant that produces grain, fruit, or vegetables much more valuable than the original seed he planted.
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Healing the family | Why pray?
The parables Jesus used were excellent teaching tools. We may not understand them at first or second reading, but they engage our minds, are memorable, and invite us to discern meaning. They may speak to us of personality, the senses, the nature of light, the perception of things, or interpersonal relations.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Return to the Church
God has many ways of getting our attention. The angel appeared to Mary out of nowhere. Moses stumbled into a burning bush. Elijah heard whispers. Peter caught a boatload of fish. Saul of Tarsus hit the ground, stunned. Today we celebrate a knockdown.
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A priest who worked in Africa told me that he had once been invited to visit the family of one of his parishioners. He had been living in Africa as a missionary for more years than he liked to remember. He was returning to India, and the family had invited him for a farewell. When I asked what had touched him most during his missionary life there, he thought for a moment and answered, “They called me their ancestor.” They told him that he was to them as their father and mother.
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