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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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Has anyone seen the commercial for a service that promises to clean up your online reputation? Having seen it multiple times and heard today’s first reading, can make any of us wonder, “What example, what legacy, will we leave behind for our family members?” In today’s first reading, we hear that Jehoiachin was only eighteen years old when he became king; can you remember being 18…there’s so much ahead and a sense of hopefulness, and yet Scripture gives a sobering assessment of the king’s reign: “He did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his forebears had done.”
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Today's message from Jesus comes at us right out of the gate without any metaphors. Jesus tells his disciples which also includes us "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them." At first hearing, that seems straightforward enough. But then something happened to me this past Saturday that made me think a little more deeply about those words. While I was waiting to have my oil changed, dressed in my finest Notre Dame T-shirt and cargo pants, blissfully thinking about World Cup soccer, one of the technicians came over to check me in and do a visual inspection of the car. A few minutes later, he returned with a broad smile and said, "Hey, man, I love your license plate!"
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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.
Elijah’s question from today’s first reading, “How long will you straddle the issue?” is a classic and ageless one! It reminds me of one evening at Symphony Hall in Boston, when I was out of earshot, my Mom asked our family friend, Fr. Bill Walsh, what he thought about my applying to the seminary. Without blinking an eye and with a smile, Fr. Walsh said, “I think God gave him a good kick in the pants and got him off the fence!” Whether it is in politics, family life, relationships—whether deciding about a friendship or a deeper commitment to marriage, priesthood or religious life—or in our moral and ethical lives, we’re all called to examine whether we are straddling issues or, as we'd say, where I come from: fence sitters.
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Can you remember when your parents started going to their family and friends' 25th wedding anniversaries? Well, time has a way of flying by, and this past Sunday, my friends and I concelebrated our friend, Fr. Sean Connor’s 25th anniversary of ordination at Sacred Heart in Weymouth, MA. Before becoming a priest, Fr. Sean was a policeman, an imposing figure, who sometimes worked undercover. But in a letter to his family, friends, and parishioners, Fr. Sean shared a revealing and moving message.
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Have you ever been driving somewhere with a tight schedule, feeling good about your trip, and then suddenly run into roadwork, see the orange-and-black sign, and a mystery detour? Yesterday morning, while driving to the audiologist’s office to drop off my Dad’s hearing aids, that’s what happened. At first, like all good Boston drivers, I was completely calm, well, not really! The detour increased my trip by about 5 minutes, but as I was speaking to the receptionist, the audiologist came out and asked if she could help. She told me she had just had a cancellation and could work on the hearing aids right away. Then she added something striking: “I heard your voice and remembered it.”
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I have a question for you…how does your family handle goodbyes? My family seems to have adopted the procrastination technique of being the last to leave a cookout or party, or even on phone calls, having one more story that rekindles the conversation…but parting and farewells, as much as we might want to avoid them, are a part of life.
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