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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Healing the family | Learn more about our faith
The Scriptures and Church tradition use many images to describe God, reflecting His infinite nature of love. Similarly, various images depict the people of God whom God has drawn to Himself throughout salvation history. Prophet Hosea paints another beautiful metaphor of God as a parent to a wayward child. Hosea speaks of God's love for Israel: "I taught Ephraim to walk. I took them in my arms and fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks; I stooped to feed my child." In the year 2018, the school where I worked suffered the loss of a 6-year-old child.
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Strengthening family unity | Why pray?
Imagine a family dinner. Laughter fills the room as stories are shared, connections are made. But what happens when the conversation stops? When the busyness of life pushes family time aside? Today's reading from Hosea speaks to that reality, a reality where families drift apart, not just from each other, but also from their faith.
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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.
Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
Come with me to a small town that had been "dry" for years—i.e., 'without any bars or pubs or alcohol consumption.' Eventually, some of the businesspeople decided to build a bar in that town. The local Christian group was alarmed and concerned at this latest development. They decided to have an all-night prayer to ask God to intervene. Work on the construction of the bar progressed until the week before opening, when lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground!
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There's a quote in the movie, “The Godfather,” that struck me, particularly as I read and prayed about today’s readings. In the movie, the main characters discuss how to handle a dispute among rival gangs. One character, attempting to calm the other, says, “It’s not personal; it’s strictly business.”
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Lectio the Liturgy | Sunday Mass | family prayer
Let's Lectio the Liturgy with the Prayer After Communion for the 14th Week in Ordinary Time. The closing prayer of the Mass this week reminds us of the incredible blessings available in the Mass — if we want them. Grant, we pray, O Lord, that, having been replenished by such great gifts, we may gain the prize of salvation and never cease to praise you. Through Christ our Lord. Have you ever considered that when we receive Holy Communion, we are replenished by great gifts? In the Latin form of the prayer, we find the word repleti (Lat.) which means to fill again. When we receive the Eucharist, we are filled with great gifts. The next time we go to Communion, we are filled again. The great gifts are the consecrated Bread and Wine of our Lord. It sounds wonderful, however, there is a catch. To be filled and to be replenished is our choice.
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Family Vacation | Summer | family prayer
I share many check-in phone calls with my elderly father, and his typical send-off is, “Keep the faith, MaryB.” I smile as I recall this because it is Summer and as we plan family vacation time, the phrase "keep the faith" came to mind. Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Jesus. Vacations are typically taken as a time of rest. We are a green light, just keep swimming culture and rest can be challenging to come by, especially with children along. I recently shared a conversation with some friends who are in various stages of parenting about how to cultivate family rest time, find your own rest time, keep the faith alive and perhaps grow it while on a family vacation.
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