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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Immaculate Heart of Mary | Venerable Patrick Peyton | family prayer | pray the rosary
In 1917 the world was at war and Europe was the battlefield. On the periphery, far from the centers of power, Our Lady chose to reveal her message of Peace to three young shepherds in the Portuguese countryside. On another part of that periphery, in rural western Ireland, lived another boy about the same age. He too was being schooled in that message in his poor but happy home as they prayed the Holy Rosary every night.
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Return to the Church | Strengthening family unity
Because we’re human beings, we need reminders … everything from the decal on the windshield of your car for the next oil change to the marking of your calendar for important days like birthdays and doctor’s appointments and that Sunday is Father’s Day. We even have reminders that ring out on our cell phones!
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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.
Healing the family | Love thy Neighbor
Today's Mass reading in the Gospel of Matthew gets personal fairly quickly. "If you bring your gift to the altar and remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there, go and reconcile with your brother, and then come and offer your gift."
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One of the most interesting conversations I ever had when I was a young seminarian was with a nun friend. It was like a debate about the Ten Commandments. She kind of scolded me for taking the Lord's name in vain and told me that I would never make it to heaven if I didn't stop doing it. In my defense, I explained that other people violated commandments worse than what I did. They committed adultery, stole, killed, and lied. So, I felt that taking the Lord's name in vain was a minor offense. Surely God wouldn't turn me away for such a minor infraction when others had disobeyed the gravest of His commands.
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Learn more about our faith | Love thy Neighbor
I don’t have any scientific data, but I’m willing to bet that St. Anthony of Padua is in the top ten for people’s intercessory prayers! Whenever we’d lose something in my family, my Mom would tell us to pray to St. Anthony, and we’d find it … and like our friends’ experiences, he had a great track record of success in the Marcham home, resulting in donations to the Franciscans in Boston.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
In 1998 I entered the novitiate as part of my Seminary formation. At our initiation to the novitiate, along with the Constitution of the congregation, we were given a best-selling book The Road Less Travelled by Scott Peck. The book’s first sentence starts with “Life is difficult.” If I may add, “Christian life is more difficult.” The Beatitudes are a call to us to see ourselves, to live with ourselves in a way that probably does not come easily to most of us.”
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