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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 | Why pray?
Growing up, once in a while, I’d hear my Mom or Dad utter the words, “God help me, David.” After reflecting on today’s reading from the Book of Numbers, I’d have to imagine my parents, with countless mothers and fathers worldwide, have shared this kind of declaration-prayer along with Moses.
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If you ever feel that you can’t relate to people from way back in time, all you need to do is listen to the Book of Exodus this week. On Monday, we had the Israelites second-guessing God and Moses, looking back on Egypt under Pharoah as better than their journey through the desert. Today, the Israelites are complaining about a lack of food, fondly remembering having their fill of meat and bread. To be honest, if I don’t get to eat what I’m used to and get enough of it, I start getting cranky as well. Maybe some of you can relate.
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Strengthening family unity | Why pray?
I think there’s a part of most people that can identify with the Israelites in today’s first reading. They’ve been through a lot! First in Egypt and now in the desert after a long march and facing a legion of Pharoah’s warriors, they’ve reached a breaking point. (Can you relate?) This is why they remind Moses that they asked him to leave them alone when he first told them they were about to set out for a promised land and freedom.
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Yesterday, while preparing for today’s homily, I read a wonderful reflection on today’s first reading. It was written by a retired woman by the name of Eileen Wirth. For years she was a journalist and then taught at Creighton University in Nebraska. Now she is retired but not without purpose in her life.
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Healing the family | Why pray?
I want to share a story that illuminates an essential aspect of our faith and the challenges we face in the world. It involves a preacher and a manufacturer of soaps who met on the streets. The manufacturer, with a sneer, questioned the effectiveness of the gospel preached by the preacher, pointing out the presence of many wicked people in the world. But the preacher responded with a thought-provoking analogy.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
British author Douglas Hyde once wrote for the Communist Daily. To smear the Catholic Church, he bought Avro Manhattan's The Catholic Church Against the Nineteenth Century. He read it, but something strange happened. He writes: "Instead of giving ammunition against the Church, I learned something about the Church's social teaching. Avro Manhattan wrote the book to make people anti-Catholics. It helped make me 'pro' Catholic instead."
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