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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest … My yoke is easy and my burden light.” (Matt 11: 28, 30) These are among the most inviting and comforting words of the Lord - yet they can seem elusive to us at times. Today, let us ask the great saint whose memory we celebrate today, Kateri Tekakwitha, for her prayer, example, and guidance, for she indeed is a great one who lived them.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Strengthening family unity
Today’s gospel continues Jesus’ instruction to His Apostles for their mission. Jesus wants to prepare them and us for the real world, which will involve persecution. He compares the Apostle’s situation to sheep being sent out among wolves. However, Jesus doesn’t want them to have the passive posture of sheep.
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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.
I’d like to invite you to close your eyes, if you feel comfortable, and imagine this scene: a beautiful summer day, like it is at this time of the year here in Massachusetts. You are in a beautiful countryside, as is Galilee, with other disciples. Jesus is teaching and leading you all in prayer. Then He chooses the 12 apostles … Simon, Andrew, James, John, Philip …. You know something important is going on and you have a sense that nothing will ever be the same. Sending the 12 is just the beginning. Eagerly you wait your turn soon.
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I sometimes wonder if wonder and skepticism are, ultimately, the two primary emotions available to us when we encounter the unknown. The crowd demonstrates the first as they are amazed by Jesus’ acts of healing, culminating most recently in casting out a demon that restored speech, health, and community to the one possessed. The Pharisees, on the other hand, react with skepticism. Unable to explain Jesus’ healing power and unwilling to acknowledge his relationship to God, they not only dismiss His miracle, but even accuse Him of conspiring with the prince of demon.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Love thy Neighbor
In the first of the two Scripture readings today, Amos continues to rail against the abuses inflicted on the poor by unscrupulous people, cheating them in the sale of wheat that was so essential to their daily diet. Fake baskets with a false bottom were used to hold wheat. It was not uncommon to touch the scales to inflate the weight while items were being weighed. Evil and greed on display.
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Yesterday, Father Boby John using the gospel account of the disciples being tossed about at sea, encouraged us to follow their lead and awaken Jesus for our own needs in prayer. A few hours later, while standing at a hair salon with my Mom, a woman approached and said Father, can I have a blessing? I could really use one!
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