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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
When Pope Pius IX died in 1878 after 32 years, he would be the longest papal reign since Saint Peter himself. It appears the cardinal electors wanted to choose a relatively older person to succeed him. They elected 68-year-old Cardinal Pecci, thinking he would only last a few years. However, on his 90th birthday, when a nun toasted Pope Leo XIII by shouting, “Holy Father, may you live to be 100,” the pope exclaimed, “Why put limits on God?” When he returned to the Father’s House in 1903, he celebrated 25 years as pope. This feast of the Chair of St. Peter is our family celebration.
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Celebrating family life | Holy lives of inspiration
When today’s saint's parents died when he was only a boy, his brother, who was a priest named Damien, lovingly took care of him. To honor this act of charity, his younger brother changed his name to Peter Damien. This future saint dedicated his life to God as a hermit and monk who became an abbot and ultimately a cardinal-bishop of Ostia. He’s known for his work in reforming the clergy of his diocese from laxness and immorality to fidelity to God and holiness of life.
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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.
Sisters and Brothers, today we gather to celebrate the Eucharist and commemorate the 150th anniversary of Blessed Basil Moreau's journey into eternal life. We stand in this chapel, a silent witness to our hopes and struggles, a reminder that faith and perseverance are intertwined, especially when doubt lingers, and challenges loom large.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
The other night, around nine p.m., I was taking out the trash and feeling like I’d run out of energy, and it was only Monday. That’s when I ran into an older woman who was coming in with groceries. I said hello and asked how her husband was doing. She explained that he’s in a skilled nursing facility, and there are some challenges. But then she said he had a great visit from a chaplain who came to visit, and they prayed “our prayer.” She then went on to pray a beautiful prayer, and her face lit up as she told me that she and her husband had said prayer together for decades every night, and they still do.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Love thy Neighbor
What’s the best life advice that you’ve ever received? Recently, I was speaking with a friend who told me that when he turned fifty, he asked a wise priest that we both knew for some advice since he’d hit a significant milestone.
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Today, we celebrate the life of a man who, like Jesus in Nazareth, dared to walk among the marginalized and forgotten. We remember St. John Bosco, the priest who saw not just the mud on the boots of street kids but the potential for grace and greatness within them.
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