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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?
“Are you envious because I am generous? (Matthew 21:16) Today’s gospel parable from Jesus definitely elicits a strong reaction not just from those who had worked hard all day in the vineyard but also from most of us. Anyone who has either worked or even volunteered in service of others can relate to a sense of “fairness” in how we look at being rewarded for our labors in relation to others. And it happens at home too…just think back to when you had to clean the house or weed the garden or paint the porch and one of your family members showed up conveniently late!
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
Where do we find peace in our lives—and where do our families find it? If you’ve ever wrestled with that question individually or as a family, today’s saint, Jane Frances de Chantal offers us great hope. Most of us think of the saints as superhuman, but in fact they are real people, as regular as you and me…what brought them to sainthood--to heroic virtue and sanctity of life was how they handled the ups and downs of life by turning to God.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
“I will follow you…wherever you go.” As Luke's Gospel says, those words were spoken to Jesus by an unnamed “…someone.” The fact that the person isn’t named allows us to see ourselves as that person. Each of us, whether using those words or simply by our actions, such as being at this Mass, has communicated our willingness to follow Jesus. As we know, this is a lot easier in a church, a seminary, or a retreat than once we walk out into the other realities and responsibilities of the world. Jesus intimates this when He says, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” But He doesn’t stop there, He says to another person present, “Follow me.”
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Yesterday, as I rode in an Uber, after sharing part of his life story, my driver told me in college he’d had a class that talked about determinism vs. free will. So, he said, Father which do you think it is…is everything predetermined or is everything open and up to our decisions? Pretty good stuff for an Uber ride….
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Celebrating family life | Strengthening family unity
This week we’ve been on the road with Moses and the Israelites--and today they’ve hit the three-month mark of their exodus from Egypt. Three months doesn’t sound like a long time, but I have to imagine it felt like it to the Israelites. Just imagine, you’ve left wherever you live…and for the past three months you’ve been following your local pastor--trudging through a hot and seemingly endless desert!
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
How much do we trust God in adversity? I guess it all depends. Moses’ people trusted God when given the chance to flee slavery in Egypt, but then, when Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his whole army after them, they doubted God. Their fear and frustration were vented upon Moses as they sarcastically asked, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt…it’s far better to be slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert.” Two points came to mind. The first was, do we ever find ourselves making the calculations that the Jewish people did when faced with impending loss? Do we rationalize and settle for something wrong to keep afloat or not to upset the apple cart of life and family?
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