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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?
“Blessed be God forever!” That’s a prayer you and I have probably said hundreds, if not thousands of times at Mass. And, yet, yesterday I heard it in a different way. A little girl sitting with her Mom and Grandfather, caught our attention, as she heard our prayer responses and then would repeat what she had been taught and heard us say. The little girl’s sincerity of faith and desire to join in the celebration of the Mass, came through in those four powerful words, “Blessed be God forever.”
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
Today, we celebrate a profound mystery of our faith: Mary's Immaculate Conception. From the moment of her conception, she was preserved from original sin and chosen by God to bear His Son, Jesus Christ. Mary was uniquely prepared not just to carry Jesus in her womb but to live her entire life as a vessel of God's grace. But this feast isn't just about Mary. It's about us, too. Think about that for a moment: God didn't just choose Mary. He chose us, too. Saint Paul reminds us, "In Him, we were also chosen" (Ephesians 1:11). Because of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, every one of us is invited to carry Him in our hearts and to bear Him into the world.
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Advent | Catholic Faith | Grandpa's Garden | catholic family life
Each morning in the predawn, I accompany our dog into the yard. The neighborhood is quiet, and I encourage our pup to keep it that way. He has a way of letting out a woof when surprised by something he’s not familiar with. On a clear morning, there is a deep orange glow on the horizon, promising the coming sunrise. These past mornings, the frost on the grass glistened in the porch light. It is a tranquil time on the edge of darkness and light.
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Catholic Family Fun | Immaculate Conception | Lectio Divina
Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C., explains how Jesus took on our human nature, coming to us through the immaculately conceived Blessed Virgin Mary to show us the way to a loving friendship with God. In the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis, we hear about the creation of the world and all things in it. The creation story is not a documentary that yields accurate historical or scientific data. It is a spiritual lesson in story form, telling us as much about God as it does about creation. *Please note that there are two stories of creation.
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Joyful Mysteries | Praying with images | family prayer | pray the rosary
Beauty lifts the soul to God. There is something simply transformative and profound about seeing a grand vista, or an intricate work of art. It’s hard to put into words, but these things have an innate quality that makes people think and feel. A majestic view of a waterfall will often make someone stop and wonder at creation. A detailed painting evokes feelings of wonder and awe as we imagine the painstaking effort a skilled artist put into creating it. Beauty reminds us of God’s magnificence and the care and effort He put into the world around us.
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Seasonal Reflections | Strengthening family unity
In both our First Reading and the Gospel we hear reference to “blindness.” The Prophet Isaiah, speaking of the Messianic time, notes that a time is coming when “out of the gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see.” Many centuries down the road in the gospel we hear Jesus heal two blind men, painting a fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies.
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