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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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Learn more about our faith | Seasonal Reflections
Moses' message to the Israelites and us reaches a decision point when he says, "I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse….choose life." What led up to that dichotomous choice was the promise that if the Israelites obeyed God's commandments and walked with God lovingly, they would prosper, as would their future generations.
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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 | Lenten practices | family prayer
This week, we begin Lent with Ash Wednesday. A week or two ago, I was speaking with someone who was saying, “I’m not ready for Lent…”. Winter is dragging on, I’m ready for spring, and now we have this season of penance. But I encouraged them to make Lent their favorite season — lean into it — ask God for a love for Lent.
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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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When you hear Jesus quote Isaiah, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me …” it can give us pause to consider whether or not our profession of faith at Mass and our prayers are rooted in our love for God or are merely familiar words said without thinking.
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Today is forty days after the celebration of the birth of Jesus. In Jewish culture, forty days after a child was born, the child was presented by the parents to God in the Temple in Jerusalem. According to the Law of Moses, all the first-born male children and animals belonged to God. Animals were sacrificed, but for children, the parents presented the child to God but bought an animal to be sacrificed and went back home with their first-born child.
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