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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 | Why pray?
The Book of Job selection in today's readings consists of an exchange between God and the devil. Satan contended that Job was only loyal and faithful because God showered Job with good things, such as his children, property, and animals. Satan challenged God to take these blessings away from Job to see if that would cause him to turn away from God. We witnessed Job grieve over his losses, yet he did not turn his back on God; instead, ever faithful, from his mouth comes, "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!"
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Holy lives of inspiration | Strengthening family unity
Listening to the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes, there is a lot of wisdom and much of it practical. What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun. There is a lot for us to think about today when he says there is an appointed time for everything, and a time for everything under the heavens ... words often spoken at funerals because everyone acknowledges that there is a time to give birth and a time to die.
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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.
Holy lives of inspiration | Love thy Neighbor
Today we celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Maria Dolorosa. It is the most important feast day of The Congregation of Holy Cross. Our founder, Blessed Basil Moreau, placed the Congregation of Holy Cross under the patronage of Our Lady of Sorrows. We are a Congregation that is Marian at its foundation, and we are a Congregation that was called right from its beginning to be deeply attentive to the different sorrows, sufferings, or crosses that the people we serve experience each day.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Strengthening family unity
There are limits and limitations to everything. From the beginning of our lives, we are fettered and framed. What are the fetters and frames? Upon birth, as a human being, as a female or male, in a particular geographic territory, language group, religion, caste, class, or family, certain traits are automatically imposed and engraved in our personality. Some people are proud to belong to a specific category, while others lament their misfortunes.
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A little girl was visiting a beautiful cathedral with her aunt. It was late afternoon, and the sun’s rays were streaming through a stained-glass window that featured the figures of several saints. The little girl pointed to one of the figures standing out in the warm, orange glow of the strong sunlight and asked, “Who is that?” “That’s Saint Peter,” the aunt replied.
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Celebrating family life | Holy lives of inspiration
Last week on Monday, the staff at the Father Peyton Center organized and celebrated a small and beautiful surprise birthday party for me. We were all together in the same space. It was a wonderful time—there was cake, donuts, and drinks; everyone was relaxing and laughing. In addition, I got all sorts of messages from around the world. The online East African Catholic community overdid itself with beautiful graphics and messages! In celebrating birthdays, we offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the gift of the life of the person whose birthday we celebrate. We are telling God that we don't take the gift of the life of that person lightly. We are telling God that we are grateful for the gift of that life, and we deeply value it.
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