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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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Years back, my home country struggled with the debate about the death penalty. One side argued it should be on our law books and regularly be carried out and another side argued that we should get rid of it altogether. The people who ended up shaping and tilting the final stand of the country on the matter were prison guards and officers. For some reason, many of them happen to be practicing Catholics.
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I would like to invite you to reflect with me on the First Reading (1 Kings 11:29-32;12:19) and the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 81). In both texts, the Lord cautions us about the risks of a "divided heart” - one that tries to worship Him and to worship idols at the same time. As a sophomore and freshman in high school, I read all the Old Testament books, just the way one reads a story book. Part of it was that I did not have any other books to read! It was fascinating to read about the Judges and the Kings of Israel. This whole week we have been reflecting on the Kings of Israel especially King Solomon. We heard that with all the blessings he got from God through the foundation his father David laid for him, Solomon made other choices in life that had severe consequences on his household and the Kingdom of Israel. We heard that he married many foreign wives and he allowed them to come with their religions and their “gods” and he also allowed them to set up altars in his palace. He was a firm believer in the unbridled freedom of religion for all in his household, but it didn’t go down well.
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We are in snow season here on the East Coast. Having grown up in the African tropics where the sun comes out almost every day, snow season is something to behold! From the abundance of snow, people created snowball games. From the snowball, people created the analogy of a “snowball effect.” Out of the snow one can create snowballs, and when you throw a snowball downhill, it rolls and picks up a lot more snow, becoming big and bigger, and gaining even higher momentum as it rolls downhill. The “snowball effect” is an analogy about something that starts small and speed yet grows larger and its speed accelerates.
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Whereas today’s gospel speaks about the Lord calling his first disciples, I invite you to focus on the relational matters that existed between David and King Saul that we have been reflecting on throughout the week. We have been hearing readings from the Book of Genesis specifically telling us about the complex dynamic that developed between David and King Saul. In our first reading today, David who was a loyal servant to King Saul, is on the run because the King thinks David had become too popular and the King feared David would take over his Kingdom. The complex relationship was borne out of jealousy and insecurity around power. We heard today that David, who had suffered so much harassment and persecution by David, got an opportunity to get revenge and destroy King Saul, but he restrained himself.
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Learn more about our faith | Strengthening family unity
Today our First Reading from Isaiah and the Gospel from Matthew provide so much comfort and assurance in God’s unfailing help. The Prophet Isaiah writes that, “They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagle’s wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.” The Lord says in the Gospel that “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” We human beings are not like God! We are limited. We are weak. We grow weary, get exhausted by life’s circumstances. Both readings underscore the important fact that when we abandon ourselves to God, He will provide the strength and the renewal we need to positively journey throughout life! We don’t have to carry our own burdens.
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Learn more about our faith | Strengthening family unity
Our gospel today invites us to reflect on the critical difference between a superficial faith marked by mere words, rituals, and gestures; and an authentic faith marked by love for the Lord, obedience to him, and a faith demonstrated through actions. Our Church is full of examples of individuals who gave us concrete examples of what it means to live an integrated faith that cares about the profession of faith but cares about the concrete living out of the faith. Think of Mother Teresa, think of Dorothy Day, think of Damien of Molokai, think of Mother Cabrini! These provide a blueprint for discipleship and what it means to concretely live out faith.
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