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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Catholic Motherhood | Confession | Life Lessons | Sacrament of Reconciliation
"I hate you. I hate you!” my daughter screams from behind her door. Her words cut me, but this is hardly the first tantrum that we’ve weathered. I stand outside, deaf to the sound of kicks and screams. They used to break me inside; familiarity has numbed their sting. “Let. Me. Out!” She punctuates every word with a pound of her fist against the door. This is her mantra, her fit of rage. I listen, but I don’t respond. In her anger, she has forgotten the truth: I am waiting for her outside. The door isn’t locked. If she chose, she could walk back into my arms at any time. Instead, my prodigal daughter sits and stews in the fumes of her own fury. Justice, Mercy, and Fear This is where I vacillate as a parent. I waver between wanting to toe the hard line of justice and wanting to embrace her with arms of mercy. I want her to learn her lesson, to have the discipline to calm down and sort through her feelings and transgressions in a productive way. I want her to seek reconciliation. At the same time, I feel for her. I know the paralysis of the fear of rejection, even as an adult woman. I want to reach in, salve her pain, and help her breathe again.
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Gospel of Mark | Jesus | Life Lessons
I’ve often struggled to make sense of Mark’s account of Jesus and the Canaanite woman who falls at his feet asking for Him to cure her daughter (Mark 7: 24-30). And Jesus’s response? “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” The quick-witted and perhaps desperate Greek mother flips it back on Jesus “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” What a comeback! Jesus applauds her faith and wisdom, telling her that her daughter is healed.
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Life Lessons | children at Mass
CatholicMom.com contributor, Nicole Johnson, offers a thank you (of sorts) to an earthly angel who has blessed the life of their daughter who has Down syndrome.
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