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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
Christian hope, to me, means placing all my trust for my future in God’s promises, even when my answered prayers come with a side of thorns. I learned this the hard way one summer afternoon in a friend’s backyard, chasing a birdie with all the enthusiasm of an Olympic athlete—minus the grace. My foot slipped, and I crashed spectacularly into her mother’s prized rosebush. While my friend stifled laughter, I looked toward heaven with a sigh and a sarcastic, “Seriously, God?” Five days before, I began a prayer to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux for three special intentions. Three things I thought at the age of fifteen would make my life complete: a boyfriend, a job, and a car. The holy trifecta of early adulthood. It all started a few weeks earlier. During a conversation with my mother, I was lamenting my lack of all three. Her advice was surprisingly simple: “Why don’t you pray for them? It couldn’t hurt.” This was coming from a woman I had never seen pray. We were, at best, Christmas-and-Easter Catholics. My memory of prayer with my family when I was growing up was an occasional, “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,” or a Rosary during thunderstorms. But desperate times call for divine interventions, so I decided to try.
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Catholicism | Faith Reflection | Scripture
Growing up in South Florida, I longed to experience the natural shifts that came with the four seasons: colorful falls, snowy winters, blooming springs, breezy summers. When I moved to the upper Midwest, I finally got my wish, but in quite an unbalanced way. Winters here are so long, and spring is rushed too quickly into hot summers. And when spring does show up, it is often followed by an April snow. Because of this, I have never liked spring. However, my appreciation for spring has grown over the last few years. Even though spring is very short in Minnesota, when the sun warms the earth, the trees turn the most vibrant green, and bulbs display their flowering blossoms, it is a living miracle, a smile from God that promises new life, spiritual growth, and renewal of mind and heart.
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A World at Prayer is a World at Peace | Faith Reflection | family prayer
Living in this world can be difficult at times; however, the mission of working towards the kingdom of God is calling us forth as a Church, as the body of Christ, to respond. Before we ask, "What can I do?", we need only look at the efforts of those individuals who have taken that step to make a difference and the power of a "Yes!"
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Faith Reflection | Mass | Sacrament of Reconciliation
Today, courtesy of our sister ministry, Catholic Mom, we learn how to Lectio the Liturgy with the Prayer after Communion for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Complete within us, O Lord, we pray, the healing work of your mercy and graciously perfect and sustain us, so that in all things we may please you. Through Christ our Lord.
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Easter season | Faith Reflection | Jesus
It’s Easter Season! So, why do I feel like I’m still in Lent? Go to Christ in prayer to make all things new! Easter is a season of ongoing resurrection. It is a celebration that starts with one glorious morning but cannot be contained in a single day, so we continue celebrating the Easter Season. We know Lent is 40 days, and if you are like me, you feel each one. However, we forget that Easter is 50 days, and we are shortchanging ourselves if we are not rejoicing in it!
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Easter Vigil | Faith Reflection | Holy Saturday
A reflection on the Blessing of the Fire which occurs during the Easter Vigil. The Blessing of the Fire O God, who through your Son bestowed upon the faithful the fire of your glory, sanctify † this new fire, we pray, and grant that, by these paschal celebrations, we may be so inflamed with heavenly desires, that with minds made pure we may attain festivities of unending splendor. Through Christ our Lord.
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