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Saint Bruno, Priest

October 6th, 2010

"When God saw how the Ninevites turned from their evil ways He had compassion"
Jonah: 3 - 10

Jonah’’s warning that the city of Nineveh was to be destroyed in 40 days was taken seriously by its inhabitants. The King himself set the examle and all from greatest to least took on the traditional form of penance – prayer. Fasting and the humiliating sackcloth and ashes. Even the animals were deprived of food and drink. When God saw how the people had changed their evil ways He spared their city and of course, all were delighted and grateful to God. That is all except poor Jonah, who didn””t expect God to treat this pagan city with the same compassion that He had so often shown to His own people, the Jews. It was a hard lesson for Jonah to learn so God would have to spend a bit more time on him!

Prayer


Prayer : God our loving Father we are happy that you are always ready to show us mercy and forgiveness. Help us to realise that you love all people equally since we are all your children. Give us a heart like that of Jesus your Son, who prayed on the Cross "Father forgive them." May all who are responsible for the great evils in our world be touched by your mercy and come to a change of heart so that all may enjoy your peace and joy in their lives. We make this prayer thro'''' Christ our Lord. Amen.

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The prayer for each day has been prepared by various members of the Holy Family Association. All who visit our website are remembered in prayer. If you would like us to pray for a particular need, simply complete and submit the form on the right hand side of this page. You may wish to leave a comment in the space below.

Just a Thought

How the Holy Family prayer: A Reflection by Pope Benedict XVI

“I would like to invite you to reflect on the place of prayer in the life of the Holy Family of Nazareth. The home of Nazareth, in fact, is a school of prayer where we learn to listen, to ponder and to penetrate the profound meaning of the manifestation of the Son of God, drawing our example from Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

Pope Paul VI during his visit to Nazareth said “we come to understand the need for a spiritual discipline, if we wish to follow the teaching of the Gospel and become disciples of Christ.” And he added: “First, it teaches us silence. Oh! That there would be reborn in us the esteem for silence, that wonderful and indispensable atmosphere of the spirit: while we are deafened by so many noises, sounds and clamorous voices in the frantic and tumultuous times of modern life. Oh! Silence of Nazareth, teach us to be resolute in good thoughts, intent upon the interior life, ready to listen well to the secret inspirations of God and the exhortations of the true masters.”

We can glean several insights on the Holy Family’s prayer and relationship with God from the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ childhood. We may begin with the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. St. Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph, “when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, brought the child up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord”(2:22). Like every observant Jewish family, Jesus’ parents go up to the temple to consecrate the firstborn son to God and to offer sacrifice. Moved by fidelity to the law’s prescriptions, they set off from Bethlehem and go up to Jerusalem with Jesus, who is now forty days old. Instead of a one-year-old lamb, they present the offering of simple families; that is two young pigeons. The Holy Family’s pilgrimage is one of faith, of the offering of gifts, a symbol of prayer, and of encounter with the Lord, whom Mary and Joseph already see in the son Jesus.”

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