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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
On April 15, 2019, the world watched as flames tore through Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. For hours it seemed nothing could survive. Yet amid the smoke, firefighters and few daring cathedral staff formed a human chain to rescue what could not be replaced: the Crown of Thorns, relics of saints, the Blessed Sacrament. Reuters, the newspaer later reported that 90 percent of the cathedral’s treasures were saved because, in the moment of crisis, people knew instinctively what mattered most. When the fire subsided, a golden cross still hung above the altar, gleaming through the ashes. That image is what Paul is talking about in Colossians in the first reading today. “Seek what is above, not what is on earth.” Not because the earth is worthless, but because in the fire, we learn to recognize what endures.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Every week on a Monday I visit Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton or what is now known as Boston Medicals South. The hospital chaplain once in our conversation told me something striking. He said, “You can always tell when a great experienced doctor has walked into the room. It’s not just the white coat, it’s the atmosphere. Patients sit up straighter, nurses move with more confidence, and even the families waiting outside breathe easier. It’s not that the illness disappears instantly. It’s that the presence of authority that changes the air.”
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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.
When I visited Niagara last winter, my friends and me took a tour of a vineyard close by. If you’ve ever been to the Niagara region in January, you know it’s not exactly vacation weather. The wind cuts through your coat, your toes start questioning your life choices, and your nose runs like it signed up for a marathon. You wonder why anyone lives there at all. And yet, in those freezing days and nights, you’ll see workers in the vineyards harvesting grapes that look more like raisins than fruit.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
A friend once told me about his cousin’s wedding. Everything was perfect, flowers, music, the bride glowing with joy, until the best man fainted halfway down the aisle. He had been out partying late the previous night and hadn’t eaten breakfast, figured he’d be fine, but toppled in front of the altar like a tree in slow motion. The photographer caught the bride’s gasp, the priest’s outstretched arms, and the groom trying to decide whether to help or keep smiling for the pictures. Everyone laughed later, but the lesson was simple: you don’t show up to a big event unprepared.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Love thy Neighbor
The book of Judges, from where we have the first reading today, covers a turbulent period in Israel’s history, after the death of Joshua and before the rise of kings. Without a central ruler, the tribes often drifted into moral and spiritual chaos.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
There’s an old Irish saying, which goes; “The most beautiful road is the one that leads you home.” We are on a journey, with a destination in mind. But if we’re honest, most of us pack for life as if this world were the final destination, extra baggage, emergency snacks, a few “just in case” projects. We live as if we are settling in for good, when in reality, we are all just passing through the departure lounge. And speaking of travel, let me share with you a story my friend forwarded to me. There is this couple from Minnesota, they were experiencing a freezing and severe winter. And so they decided, well, why don't we go down to Florida to experience some good weather? And they said, well, why don't we see if we can stay at the same hotel where they honeymooned 20 years earlier? So they made the arrangements. With the last-minute bookings, the only little hiccup was that they couldn't get on the same flight. And so they agreed that the husband will fly down on Thursday; the wife was coming on Friday. And the husband arrives safely at Florida.
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