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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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Today, as we celebrate the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, we are invited to reflect on the theme of connection—connection to God, one another, and the whole of creation. Most of us know the term "conference call. But that may be a bit of an old concept; we now have Zoom or team meetings" It means having several people talking or having meeting together on the telephone or a computer. The people talking are online with each other. In this way, you can meet people from all over the world. It is possible you can see and interact with each other online as if you are speaking with someone or others face to face.
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The-Rosary-In-Our-Hands | family prayer
Growing up in Latin America, where there is a huge cultural devotion to Mary, you’d think that I had a devotion to the Mother of God. But I didn’t. It seemed a little superstitious to me and didn’t make much sense. I thought, "Why should I pray to Mary when I can just go straight to Jesus?" And when it came to the Rosary, I never really had a connection to it. Plus, I found it very hard to meditate on a Mystery of the life of Christ while at the same time focusing on the words of the prayers and adding an intention for someone or something on top of that. Too much! Then, about 10 years ago, I came across a beautiful story that forever changed my understanding of the Rosary.
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Brief and contemporary inspiration focused on hope and family prayer will be delivered to your inbox! Articles include live video, written word, and links to resources that will lead you and your family deeper into faith.
Job’s example of courageous and persevering faith is something to behold. As we have recently heard, Job lost everything: family, health, livestock, etc. And yet, his belief in God led him to say, “But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives … Whom I myself shall see: my own eyes, not another’s, shall behold Him …”
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The-Rosary-In-Our-Hands | family prayer
“What about naming him John?” My husband had privately asked me this once or twice before, and I had vetoed it both times. Over the course of nine months, we debated and battled and strived and searched to find a name for our son and continued to come up empty. His name was a big, fat mystery. Might as well name him Question Mark. And now, in the throes of a 20-hour labor with this unnamed, transverse baby, I was feeling even less inclined to cooperate. “John sounds like an old man’s name,” I said, wincing through another contraction. “What about Anthony? Or Nicholas?” My husband didn’t have time to answer. The baby’s heart rate plummeted on the monitors, setting off a cacophony of alarms. Nurses rushed into my room, flipped my bloated body around, and pumped me with fluids to help soothe the baby and get his heart beating properly again. I knew the drill. We’d been doing this little song and dance every 2 to 3 minutes for half a day. My husband walked to the whiteboard that was hanging on the wall and wrote down two names. Nicholas Anthony Those were pretty solid names. Maybe they could even go together. Nicholas Anthony or Anthony Nicholas. Yeah, that sounded okay.
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"A real friend walks in when the rest of the world walks out." We all cherish friends who make life more exciting and joyful with their presence. With friends around, life becomes easier and more exciting. Our spiritual journey also follows this concept. God, the author of life, has blessed us with a friend in His all-powerful wisdom. This friend, known as our Guardian Angel, accompanies us and strengthens us.
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The-Rosary-In-Our-Hands | family prayer
Louise stood at the foot of their staircase, not knowing how to put one foot in front of the other. She had only moments ago sent her husband out the door with his lunchbox and a kiss on that regular Monday morning. Now she had to make it to the top of those stairs to tell their six children that their dad would never come home. A heart attack ended his 42-year-old life and with that catastrophic news, her life as she knew it. Our Lady Gave Her the Courage My beautiful Nana always professed it was Our Lady herself who carried her up that staircase and gave her the courage to deliver that unspeakable news. And it was Our Lady, through the power of the Rosary, who supported her every day for the rest of her 48 years as a widow and single mother.
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