World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
This past weekend, I came upon a soccer game on the field behind the Father Peyton Center. From a distance, I couldn’t tell who was playing, whether they were high school or college players, so I walked closer and asked a man standing behind the net intently watching the game. Often, we see or hear things that we’re not sure about, then seek answers. Today’s saint, Justin, the martyr, was searching for how a human being could come to know God. For to love and serve God, first must know Him.
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Last Sunday, a newly ordained transitional Deacon, Brian Connors began his homily by quoting Jesus’ words, "Peace be with you." Deacon Brian said that anyone who knew him would understand how much he needed Jesus’ reassurance as he gave his first homily at his home parish.
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How do we do our best to listen to Jesus and to follow Him? Today’s saint, Damien de Veuster, known by many as St. Damien of Molokai, might help us with this question. Saint Damien of Molokai was born in Belgium in 1840, and was sent to the Hawaiian Islands after joining the Congregation of the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Today, most people would consider this an excellent assignment … and it was as he served as a parish priest for nine years. But the course of his life and countless others would forever change when he volunteered to become a chaplain, serving people on the remote island of Molokai, which was home to a leper colony.
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Just as in yesterday’s gospel, where Jesus proclaims that He is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, today’s gospel of John is often heard at Funeral Masses in the form of the hymn titled: "I Am the Bread of Life." In the hymn, there is a reassurance from Jesus that if we come to Him, we will not hunger, and we will not thirst and that He will raise us up on the last day. Why is it, that so often in life, we can satisfy our physical hunger and thirst, and yet not our deeper needs?
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In today’s gospel, we heard Philip say, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." In reading and praying over this gospel, what struck me was Philip’s request to see the Father, to prove that Jesus is who He claims to be - and that will be enough…he even uses the word "us" to show he’s speaking for the group.
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Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes an incredibly cohesive and charitable way of living, including selflessly not claiming any possession of one's own. It all begins with the foundation that the "Apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all." The result: there was no needy person among them. Imagine a parish, town, city, or nation like that!
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