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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
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For many years today’s feast day was simply the Memorial of Saint Martha. Pope Francis gave a beautiful gift to the Church by changing it to the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. In doing so, he changed today into a celebration of family.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
There are certain trails throughout the world that are famous for their long and demanding nature. Where I came from on the West Coast, the most notable is the Pacific Crest Trail, which -- just in the US portion -- stretches all the way from Mexico to Canada, and includes terrain rough and remote enough to challenge anyone’s fitness levels and survival skills. If one manages to complete the Pacific Crest Trail, it is an individual achievement greater than running the Boston marathon or scaling Mt Kilimanjaro.
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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 | Learn more about our faith
Sometimes our good experiences are the expected outcome of what we’ve been working for, the natural unfolding of our usual role. But sometimes they represent a pretty radical shift in our life’s trajectory, a startling revelation to our very self-understanding. A person in college or the working world feels an unexpected call to consider a religious vocation. A young man and a young woman who have been friends for a long time suddenly sense that perhaps there’s something more to their relationship. A newlywed couple, both focused until now on succeeding in their professional careers, discern that, unlike many of their friends and peers, they desire to have children early in their marriage.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.” “I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother…[so that] one’s enemies will be the members of one’s household.” ~ Matthew 10:34—11:1 These proclamations from our Lord can strike us particularly harshly here at Holy Cross Family Ministries, because Venerable Patrick Peyton dedicated his life to family unity through prayer and proclaimed that prayer brings peace. What do we make of this? First, we must understand that when Jesus speaks of peace in this passage, He means freedom from conflict, particularly oppression from one’s enemies. There was, in fact, an expectation that the Messiah would usher in an era where nations no longer engaged in conflict, and God’s people, especially, no longer suffered oppression. Jesus, instead, makes no such promises, at least not for His first coming upon the earth.
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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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