World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Today’s first reading and gospel tell stories of courage and cowardice. The mother and her seven sons are heroically courageous in not giving in to the King’s demand that they violate their religious practices. On the other hand, the servant given one gold coin is so fearful of the King that he doesn’t even put it in the bank to earn interest.
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Return to the Church | Why pray?
In his article "Toll of Unbelief" in the magazine First Things, Dr. Brendan W. Case noted that, "...on a single weekend in June 2021, seven people died of drug overdose in Rochester, New York. On that Saturday morning, three adults were found dead on a front porch on a quiet, residential street. Inside the house were six orphaned children." The CDC estimates that 2020 saw ninety-three thousand drug overdose deaths, a 30 percent increase from 2019.
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Today, Saint Paul makes the strong claim that "...the sufferings of this time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed to us." In this bold statement, Saint Paul acknowledges the hard parts of life, but also gives us a reason to persevere; in a word, Saint Paul offers us hope.
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Love thy Neighbor | Return to the Church | Why pray?
In a homily I gave earlier in the week I mentioned that sometimes commercials come to mind when I begin to think about a homily. Well today when St. Paul was telling some Romans not to let sin into their lives, I thought of a commercial that features creepy crawly creatures that delight in having free range over us until one spray and they are gone. What would it be like if we could do this with sin? But it is not that easy.
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Return to the Church | Why pray?
Saint Paul has an urgent message for the Christian community in Rome: the Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. The revelation of God to us - creation, covenants, the Incarnation of Jesus, the passion and resurrection of Jesus, the founding of the Church - is fantastic news. It is a single story of redemption, with the goal of rescuing and saving all of humanity.
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
Friends, please do not miss that last line of today’s Gospel: "If you then, who are wicked know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
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