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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Epiphany | New Year's Resolutions | family blessing
I’ll be honest. I have mixed feelings about New Year’s resolution season. Between the guilt-ridden goals to look better or do more, the temptation for self-centered navel-gazing, and the thinly veiled marketing gimmicks, I’m not excited to set goals on a prescribed January timeline. A natural southerner, I also lack winter motivation for pretty much anything. I’d much prefer hiding under a blanket fort with my kids and a good cup of tea until at least April. Despite my hesitations, I recognize that this is a fresh start for many of us. Thanks to the intentionality that this turning of the calendar provides, I’ve watched friends accomplish some amazing things for themselves, their families, and for God. The act of reflecting and growing is certainly graced by God. With this in mind, how is the Lord guiding our steps in 2025?
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Marriage | New Year's Resolutions | family prayer | sacrament of marriage
2025: The Year of the Marriage? We are just beginning 2025, so many people are still thinking about resolutions they might make for this new year. Have you made one yet? If not, consider choosing a resolution that will strengthen your most important relationship this side of heaven: your marriage. Our marriages are covenants: sacred contracts that bond the two spouses into a family. The Catholic Church provides a comprehensive and truly beautiful list of vows to seal the marital covenant. The more I study these vows, the more grateful I am to the Church for them! Here they are, in simplest terms: I have vowed to love my husband freely, fully, faithfully, and fruitfully; for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death parts us.
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New Year's Resolutions | catholic family life | family prayer | pray the rosary
Something that has become more and more apparent as my kids one-by-one enter adulthood is that while my vocation as Mom never ends, it does change! I remember those days of mothering with littles running around the house. They needed me for the physical things; food, drink, shelter, safety, comfort, and clothing, and they were learning so much from basic skills and interests, and subjects at school, and picking up prayers, Bible stories and beliefs of our Catholic Faith. As they got older, entering the teenage years, they still relied on us heavily (whether they cared to admit it or not). As they entered young adulthood, they'd talk to us about matters of the heart, of conscience, and questions in the Faith. While we might want to provide all the answers, we just don't have them! We can counsel or suggest to a certain point, but our best approach is to remind them to pray: to seek the Lord for His answers and to sincerely pursue His will. But like everything, we need to set the groundwork early on.
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Epiphany | New Year's Resolutions | family blessing
I’ll be honest. I have mixed feelings about New Year’s resolution season. Between the guilt-ridden goals to look better or do more, the temptation for self-centered navel-gazing, and the thinly veiled marketing gimmicks, I’m not excited to set goals on a prescribed January timeline. A natural southerner, I also lack winter motivation for pretty much anything. I’d much prefer hiding under a blanket fort with my kids and a good cup of tea until at least April. Despite my hesitations, I do recognize that this is a fresh start for many of us.
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