World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Holy lives of inspiration | Love thy Neighbor
Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of Prayer for the Sick. We also hear the Blessed Mother’s instruction in the Gospel of John to the waiter, to “Do whatever he tells you.” One day I hope to make a pilgrimage to the Shrine at Lourdes in France. For, it is a place that I have heard about since I was a child, beginning with my mother’s powerful experience of witnessing throngs of people from around the world assisting family, friends, and even strangers who were ill and infirmed in wheelchairs and stretchers to join in the procession and Rosary prayer for all those seeking healing.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Love thy Neighbor
Let me start with a scene we have all seen or heard about—people camping outside famous stores for days, waiting to buy the latest phone or the hottest ticket to their favorite artist’s show. One man camping outside a store for three days for his latest smart phone even called it “a spiritual pilgrimage for pixels.” But here’s the irony—a year or two later, that same phone is buried in a drawer, replaced by the next big thing.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Love thy Neighbor
In the year 1886 in my home country of Uganda when Christianity had been introduced in the country for around 20 years, the King of Buganda then, Mwanga, issued an order that there was not to be any more practice of the faith in his kingdom. He ordered all who had embraced the faith and were practicing it to renounce it or he would put them to death.
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Today’s gospel from Matthew is known as the Great Commission and it takes place after the Resurrection of Jesus and up on a mountain. This final scene also takes place in Galilee which brings the story full circle. For it was in this area that Jesus grew up, where the first apostles were called, and where the message of the kingdom was first preached.
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It's often said that familiarity breeds contempt. We witness this firsthand in the Gospel of Mark as Jesus returns to His hometown, only to be met with skepticism. The locals question, "Isn't this the carpenter's son?" Their familiarity blinds them to the divine presence among them. This narrative mirrors our own tendencies to judge others based on superficial perceptions, overlooking the unique gifts God has bestowed upon each individual.
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In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord expresses frustration about the behavior of the people to whom he was trying to bring the Good News. They found fault in the way he tried to talk to them and in the way he behaved.
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