World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Blessed Virgin Mary | Celebrating Marian feasts
One of the ill effects of the breakdown of marriage and family life is the erosion of our ability to trust. The development of this muscle of the heart, which God intended to be exercised within the sanctuary of the family, is stunted when the word “vow” no longer implies permanence, and we are bombarded with private and public examples of infidelity. Trust is necessary if any relationship is to progress beyond superficiality, and this is no less true in our relationship with God.
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Sixteen centuries after Saint John rested near the Heart of Jesus at the Last Supper (cf. Jn. 13:23), Our Lord extended the same invitation to a simple nun of the Visitation Convent of Paray-le-Monial, France. On December 27, 1673, Jesus appeared to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque and invited her to repose upon His breast. Opening His Heart to her, He revealed His deeply personal love, giving Margaret Mary, like Saint John, a new name: “the beloved disciple of My Sacred Heart.”
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Modernity largely ignores the mother who wishes to answer the summons to heroic charity her vocation makes upon her. Instead of offering her saintly examples, our culture presents her with a host of feminine role models whose many achievements are not necessarily bad in themselves, but which are only truly good if they orient women, their husbands, and their children to Heaven.
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A young couple, overjoyed to learn that they are expecting a child, undertakes a series of happy preparations which require the complete re-ordering of their lives. When their daughter is born, she will be the immediate beneficiary of these preparations, but years will pass before she is able to offer even a word or a gesture of gratitude.
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Learn more about our faith | Seasonal Reflections
A cursory glance at contemporary society reveals that there is a battle taking place. Evidence of it can be found anywhere human beings are present–governments, workplaces, schools, and even families. Although it is primarily an invisible battle, the outcome concerns each of us. But who, exactly, are the contestants, and where is the battleground?
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Learn more about our faith | Seasonal Reflections
In his 2009 letter proclaiming a Year for Priests, Pope Benedict XVI recalled the words of those who had witnessed Saint Jean-Marie Vianney, the famous Curé of Ars, celebrating Mass: “It was not possible to find a finer example of worship… He gazed upon the Host with immense love.” Although more than 150 years have passed since the saint’s death, it is certain that our overstimulated milieu would not distract his loving attention from the little white Host if he were alive today.
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