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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Yesterday, Father Fred, Father Pinto, Father Boby, and I had a day of recollection. We went to an exotic place called East Freetown, Massachusetts. Actually, it’s not a resort community but a parish named St. John Neumann. It is also the location of a former Catholic summer camp that I attended as a child. It’s a beautiful location on a lake surrounded by tall oak trees. As we began our day, I shared that the first time I was at this location, I was nine years old — just twenty years ago! In reality, it was in 1974 when President Nixon resigned!
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Healing the family | Learn more about our faith
It is amazing how many films have been made about vengeance. The most successful story of long-drawn-out vengeance is that of The Count of Monte Cristo. It is the classic tale by French novelist Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) about Edmond Dantes, who spends years in prison unjustly but escapes to seek revenge on the enemies who framed him. Between 1934 and 1975, at least four versions were produced under the title The Count of Monte Cristo.
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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.
Learn more about our faith | Love thy Neighbor
I don’t have any scientific data, but I’m willing to bet that St. Anthony of Padua is in the top ten for people’s intercessory prayers! Whenever we’d lose something in my family, my Mom would tell us to pray to St. Anthony, and we’d find it … and like our friends’ experiences, he had a great track record of success in the Marcham home, resulting in donations to the Franciscans in Boston.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
In 1998 I entered the novitiate as part of my Seminary formation. At our initiation to the novitiate, along with the Constitution of the congregation, we were given a best-selling book The Road Less Travelled by Scott Peck. The book’s first sentence starts with “Life is difficult.” If I may add, “Christian life is more difficult.” The Beatitudes are a call to us to see ourselves, to live with ourselves in a way that probably does not come easily to most of us.”
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Learn more about our faith | Love thy Neighbor
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth. A couple of years back when I visited the Holy Land, we went to the old town of Ein Karem. This is believed to be the town where Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, lived. It is the town where Mary came to visit. It is in hilly country, and the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth is way up a hill. Below the hill is a well where Mary is believed to have gone to fetch water for home use.
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Today Jesus promises rewards for those who give up their loved ones and possessions for His sake and the Gospel. He says, “No one has given up home, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children or property, for me and for the Gospel who will not receive in this present age a hundred times more." But, of course, giving up something or someone is not only for priests and religious who renounce family and personal property to imitate Christ more closely. We can all learn to sacrifice something to witness Christ's presence in the world.
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