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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
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Today’s saint, Isidore of Spain, was born to poor farm laborers who, like Father Peyton’s parents, were rich in faith. Their example helped shape this future saint, who, along with his wife, St. Maria de la Cabeza, would become renowned for their piety and charity as they worked on an estate for their entire lives.
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The Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, was clearly guiding St. Paul as he made his way through Athens and then confidently stood up and spoke in the Areopagus, the main stage. Just to set the scene, Paul had entered a city that contained the greatest minds of Greece—men and women who were not Jewish or Christian, but pagan. And he, Paul, was not a man of learning, but a tentmaker by trade. Paul stood there without the benefit of rhetorical training and addressed eminent rulers, mathematicians, philosophers, scientists, and writers in a courtroom-like setting.
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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.
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Many true stories of sacrificial friendship have emerged from the sad reality of war. One such story tells of two inseparable friends in World War I, which I read from one of the preachings of K.P Yohannan, who was the president and founder of Gospel for Asia. This story is about two young lads. They both enlisted in the army together, completed their training, were shipped overseas, and fought in the trenches. During a battle, one of them sustained critical injuries in a field filled with barbed wire obstacles. He was unable to crawl back to his foxhole, and the entire area was under heavy enemy fire, making it impossible to reach him. Despite the danger, his friend made the brave decision to attempt a rescue. The sergeant yanked him back inside before he could get out of his trench and ordered him not to go. "It's too late. You can't do him any good, and you'll only get yourself killed."
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Yesterday, while grocery shopping with my Dad, I made a new friend. As I stood making a big decision between blueberry and cinnamon pound cake, I heard a voice say, “Hi!” in the enthusiasm of a soon-to-be four-year-old. Looking down, I saw this little guy with a half-eaten cookie in one hand looking up at me with curiosity and his mother, slightly embarrassed, beside him. I returned his greeting and asked him about the cookie and other important things, like how old he was and his name. He proudly told me he was turning four tomorrow, that his name was Teddy Joseph, and that his cookie was good! He told me about these things with the certainty that we adults sometimes lose through life’s challenges and setbacks.
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Saints connect us to God. Saints are people like you and me who’ve transcended ordinary life’s temptations, challenges, and setbacks to live in union with God in heroic virtue and sanctity of life. I often thought of saints as being priests, nuns, brothers, and, of course, popes. It seemed that it was a requirement; that is, until I dug a little deeper into the lives of people like St. Catherine of Siena.
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Our reflection today is taken from the Gospel of John. Today we hear some of the most reassuring words come from the mouth of Jesus. He tells his disciples that do not let your heart be troubled; trust in God, and trust in me too. These words are words that need to become a sort of a mantra for us, a repeated prayer for us. These are words that need to be engraved on our heart so that we can keep returning to them and keep reminding ourselves under different circumstances what the Lord’s take is on what is going on in our life. “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, and believe also in me.”
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