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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?
“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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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest.” On Tuesday, I read and thought about those words from Jesus as I sat in a waiting area at the Brockton Hospital. From my corner seat, I could see patients and loved ones, doctors and nurses, and technicians passing by. Some walked by with confidence and others like me with hesitation, not knowing the outcome of the day’s visit, and still others also needed the use of a cane or to be assisted in a wheelchair. What I learned from talking to both the people who work at the hospital and those who are accompanying loved ones or those there for examination or treatment is that everyone has something that falls under a labor or burden in their lives.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
This week Fr. Fred’s and Fr. Charlie’s homilies connected for me as I read and prayed over today’s readings. Fr. Fred spoke about our baptismal call to be build up the Kingdom of God, each in our own way as missionaries of Jesus. Yesterday, Fr. Charlie spoke of the work of God in a family that was ruptured by jealousy but reconnected in a time of adversity, when Joseph’s brothers unknowingly stood before him. Father Peyton no doubt knew many stories of families that were going through challenging times and would have encouraged them to pray together for God’s assistance. I am sure that he would have spoken about how the grace of God is at work even before we recognize it as was in the case of Joseph and his brothers.
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