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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Celebrating family life | prayer time
The other day I did the scariest thing in the world. I wrote on my calendar times to be quiet — just be quiet and listen to God. I will attend Eucharistic Adoration and walk in the local park for three hours every week—for starters.
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My second-ever road race was a St. Patrick’s Day 5K a couple of towns over, held on a sunny—and thank goodness not too cold! —spring morning. The course led through residential streets that had been closed off for the run, similar to those I’d trained on in and around my neighborhood. But now, for the first time, I didn’t have to stay on sidewalks and shoulders. I could run wherever I chose within the width of the lane. Not being at the front of the pack by a long shot, I had ample lateral wiggle room.
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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.
Be careful of birds landing on your head. That happened to Saint Fabian, and it was taken as a sign when a dove sat on his head, that he should be elected pope! Fabian was a Roman layman who came into the city from his farm one day as clergy and people were preparing to elect a new pope. So, he was! And he served for 14 years as a pope, until he was martyred in 250. It is an age-old argument: Do the events of history create the great (or evil) men who will change the world, or do great personalities come along at the right time to profoundly change history itself?
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
Today’s first sentence from St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews caught me by surprise. I guess it’s because, like you, I’ve heard and read so many disclaimers for products and programs that promise us great health, pain relief, protection from computer viruses, etc. Then list a series of exceptions to these claims. However, St. Paul does not do that when he says, “Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through him since he lives forever to make intercession for them.”
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Around here, so far, it has been a comparatively mild winter. While many regions have had significant snows, we have been spared. There are weeks of winter to go. Years ago, when our children were in grade school during the wintertime, sometimes there would be a mid-morning burst of storminess. Snow would move in, and adjusted weather forecasts would call for more of the same throughout the day. It was rare, but when conditions were predicted to get more challenging, schools would dismiss early.
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Have you ever had this upsetting feeling that people are watching your every move and waiting to pounce on you when you commit even the slightest mistake? Jesus is presented to be in this sort of position in today's gospel. The time is the Sabbath. The place is the synagogue. A man is sitting there with a withered hand. Jesus is entering. The Pharisees are watching him closely to see if he will cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And sure enough, Jesus, who sees them and knows why they are there, says to the man “Come up here before us. Stretch out your hand.”
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