World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
One day, a parishioner asked her pastor: "Father, why doesn’t God simplify things for us? Can’t He bring about peace by keeping good people alive and eliminating all those who are evil?" The pastor took his turn to pose a question, "If you are the mother of ten children, five of whom are behaving well, and five of whom are giving you terrible headaches, will you eliminate your bad children?" Immediately, the woman said, "Of course not!"
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Celebrating family life | Holy lives of inspiration | Strengthening family unity
Pope Francis has established the fourth Sunday of July to be celebrated from now on as the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly. Yesterday was the first annual such celebration, and it came at the moment when so many elderly and grandparents have experienced neglect and isolation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel restrictions, nursing-home policies, and fear for their safety prevented loved ones from visiting and embracing grandparents.
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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.
Our Holy Cross community in North Easton, MA with its twenty priests and one brother welcomed a new religious superior. He met with us individually asking us about our lives in community, what we expected from him and the big question, “do we have a spiritual director”. I’m sure this question elicited a lot of different responses.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Wally Funk, at 82, the oldest person to ever fly in space, commented upon her return to earth that she had been waiting a long time to get up there and it finally happened. My thoughts turned to Mary Magdalene, whose feast day we celebrate today. As a disciple of Jesus, she joined the ranks of other men and women who stood by Him, and participated in His mission of bringing compassion and care to the masses. Wally Funk waited and she finally got up there. Mary Magdalene waited and she got to meet Jesus.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Return to the Church
"Whoever has ears ought to hear." When I hear Jesus' statement, I think back to all the times I heard from a coach, scoutmaster, and others: "Listen up!"
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Return to the Church | Strengthening family unity
A lay preacher received a call from another church offering him a higher salary. He spent much time in prayer, trying to discern what God wanted him to do. One day a friend met the preacher’s son on the street and enquired about his dad’s position, and if he had made a decision. The boy replied, “Well, Dad is praying, but Mom is packing!”
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