PODCAST · religion
Prayfor2
by Prayfor2
2 minute prayer reflections on the daily scripture readings of the Church.Sharing the truth in love, with head and heart, faith and reason.
Episodes
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Faith of the Canaanite Woman
Some of Jesus’s encounters can seem a bit harsh. Take his interaction with the Canaanite woman from the Gospel of Matthew. “Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son…
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Parable of the Sower
Jesus Christ, God made man, was a great story teller. There are over 30 unique parables documented across the four Gospels. The science of story telling has shown that stories are more relatable than a lecture. Jesus, being the Divine Psychologist, understood this, and used it often during the...
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The Sword of Truth
It’s important to remind ourselves that Jesus wasn’t a meek and mild pacifist. As the Way, the Truth and the Life, His word was likened to a sword, challenging us to admit our shortfalls and work to change. And humility and change don’t come easily for any of us. Listen to this instruction from…
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Fear of The Lord or Fear Not?
The Bible says to, “fear not,” but also says “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” So which is it? In its proper context, “fear of the Lord” is a sense of awe and wonder about a God that not only created all, but is love itself. And he’s a God that knows and cares for you intimately....
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Corpus Christi - The Body of Christ
God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus also left us an enduring gift – his very body under the appearances of bread and wine. Jesus instituted the Eucharist in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Saint John. “I am the living bread which came...
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Mary Undoer of Knots
Mary Undoer of Knots is prayer devotion based on a second century quote from Saint Irenaeus. He said, “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by the obedience of Mary; what the virgin Eve bound by her unbelief, the Virgin Mary loosened by her faith.” Pope Francis has a special devotion to an...
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The Trinity - One God In Three Persons
One of the mysteries of Christianity is that God chose to reveal Himself as a Trinity - one God in three persons. It can be confusing - the Islamic religion even mistakenly believes Christianity advocates three Gods, when in fact we believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy...
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The Good Samaritan
Who is my neighbor? A lawyer posed this question to Jesus after being told to, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus’s response, from the Gospel of Luke, is the Parable of the...
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Penetecost
The Holy Spirit is probably the least appreciated person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is the perfect love between the Father and Son, sent into the world to enliven our hearts. We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit at our baptism, are strengthened at our confirmation, and are living temples…
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New Life In Christ
The Christian story is without parallel. Jesus Christ entered the world to redeem mankind from its sin and model a perfect way of life. But we aren’t to simply imitate him – we are to become Him. We are called put off the old self, and put on a new life in Christ, as Saint Paul wrote to the...
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Come Holy Spirit Prayer
Veni, Sancte Spiritus, or Come, Holy Spirit, is a prayerful hymn attributed to 13th century writer Stephen Langston, Archbishop of Canterbury. Also called the Golden Sequence, the hymn was added to the Roman Missal in the 16th century, and is sung at masses around the feast of Pentecost. Let’s…
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The Ascension of Jesus Into Heaven
The ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven is a linchpin in salvation history, and the very first anecdote after the Gospels in the book of Acts. “I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to…
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The Mass In The Early Church
One of the many reasons I became Catholic out of all the Christian churches was that it aligned with how the earliest church believed and prayed. The mass was documented in 155 AD by Saint Justin Martyr in, “The First Apology.” “On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they...
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Have Mercy On Me O God
How do you ask forgiveness when you’ve really done something wrong? Consider the prayer of Psalm 51, where King David asks for forgiveness after his affair with Bathsheba. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash...
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Do The Next Good Thing
I often think about what the Apostles felt like in the weeks after Jesus’s resurrection. Waking up each morning with nervous excitement, having such incredible news to share, wondering where to begin. The Acts of the Apostles is the first book after the Gospels, documenting the good works of…
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Hail Mary In Scripture
When Jesus Christ came into the world as messiah and savior, He very easily could have divinely snapped His fingers and appeared. But he chose instead to be born of a woman, the virgin Mary. And Mary plays a significant role in the Church, both as His biological mother, and our spiritual mother....
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Father of Grace and Mercy
Father of Grace and Mercy. For a long time, I had no idea where I had come up with this introduction to prayer. It was something that just felt comfortable, and helped me start the process of praying, much like the leg kick of a baseball player helps trigger their swing. I even had a friend come…
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Providence (and Butler)
It was Wednesday, March 11, 2020. My daughter and her boyfriend are huge Butler basketball fans, and we planned a Spring Break adventure to New York City for the Big East Tournament. Butler was to play Providence Thursday afternoon. We left around 5, hoping to drive halfway to DuBois…
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Betrayal and Redemption
Much is made of the betrayal of Judas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. Today, let’s listen to John’s gospel account of the Last Supper, where Jesus calls out someone else who will deny Him. “When Jesus had spoken, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of...
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Be Not Afraid
Be not afraid. I go before you always. Come, follow me, and I will give you rest. I’ll bet I have that song in your head now. If you try to find this specific passage in Scripture, you’ll go on a wild goose chase. It’s actually a combination of several verses, with most of it is captured in an…
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Why Should We Pray
Why should we pray? Because it’s healthy for us to communicate with the author of our life. In return, we open the tap of grace that God wants to pour into our lives, far beyond the small measure we give Him. It’s like the widow that the prophet Elijah visited in the Old Testament book of 1st...
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Deliverance From Trouble
As we walk together through the Coronavirus outbreak, it’s essential to approach it with prudence and courage, based on the promise that God takes care of his people. For every challenge we encounter, our loving father delivers us through it. Said another way, for every trial, there is…
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Love is a Mighty Power
Saint Paul said that love is patient, love is kind. But have you have thought of love as a mighty power? Today, let’s pray on a passage from Thomas A’Kempis’ book, “The Inner Life.” “Love is a mighty power, a great and complete good; Love alone lightens every burden, and makes the rough places...
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The Righteousness of Faith
The Righteousness of Faith - Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22 (290) 2/15/2020 Saint Paul went to great pains to explain to the new followers of Jesus Christ that it is our faith working in love that saves us, not our works by themselves. We don’t save ourselves – it is God who saves us. It reminds us that...
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Unless It's True
As an agnostic and a sociologist, I always had a yearning for the truth. I just didn’t know where to find it when it came to faith. My path paralleled that of the author G.K. Chesterton, who discovered the teachings of Jesus and His Church validated what he had seen in the natural order of the...
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Everything Has Its Time
Everything has its time. During Lent, it is our time of reflection and penance. We spiritually spend time in the desert as Jesus did to take an inventory of where are not doing well, and actively work to be better. We make sacrifices, working to eliminate vices and build virtues in their place....
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A Call to Repentance
Sacrifice. There is a nearly universal tendency in all faith traditions to give something back to God. It’s our way of acknowledging everything is a gift. The least we can do is offer something back, not because God has an ego and needs it, but because we need it to ground ourselves in humility…
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Virtue vs Vice
Many of us will try to eliminate a bad habit or sin during Lent. Maybe it’s being lazy. Maybe it’s eating too much. While that’s all well and good, if we don’t actively work build a good habit in its place, studies show we will likely fall back into the bad habit. Saint Peter, one of the twelve...
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Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving
Prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These central tenants of Lent redirect our focus to our relationship with God, the discipline of sacrifice, and being a gift of self. All three are addressed by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, “When you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do…
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On This Rock
Where does the Catholic Church get its authority? From Jesus Christ. He gave his apostle Peter, or Rock, that authority to bind and loose while instituting the Church in the gospel of Matthew: “And so I say to you, you are Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell…
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Catholic Guilt
Is there a more common stereotype than, “Catholic guilt?” We are actually called to a life of joy, lived in the truth of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, we live in an era of relativism, where truth is said to be a personal choice, or outright denied. C.S. Lewis even said, “When you hate the truth…
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Love is All You Need?
Love is all you need. John Lennon’s song may not have been theologically complete, but it was on the right path. Love is PRIMARILY what you need. Why? Because God IS love – it is His very essence, and because you are created in His image and likeness, it is part of your very essence. You are...
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Why do I have to Confess to a Priest?
Why do I have to confess by sins to a priest…why can’t I just confess directly to God? This is a common objection to the sacrament of confession. The answer is that Jesus, being the Divine Psychologist, knew this would not satisfy our human nature. He knew that we would need to be fully…
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Liar, Lunatic, or Lord
Many try to reduce Jesus Christ to a, “great moral teacher” to escape the magnitude of His divinity, and the demands of his teachings. But Jesus claimed to be much more than a great moral teacher – he claimed to be God. Let’s ponder this with C.S Lewis, from his book Mere Christianity, “I am…
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Eyes Up
EYES UP Matthew 14: 22-32 1/22/2020 (287) Is there anything more frustrating than falling into recurring sin? Why do we ebb and flow in the spiritual life? There is a clue in the Gospel of Matthew, where we see Peter ebb and flow in dramatic fashion. Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and...
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Bless the Lord O My Soul
BLESS THE LORD O MY SOUL - PSALM 103 - 1/23/2020 (290) I was recently given Psalm 103 as a penance after confession as a way to dwell in the God’s rich mercy. Today, let’s pray this psalm of gratitude: Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my...
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Belong, Believe, Behave
BELONG BELIEVE BEHAVE Matthew 11:28-30; Revelation 22:17 (292) 1/24/2020 How do we join a new group? Typically, we receive and accept invitation to belong. Second, there is recognition of shared values, or belief. Finally, we modify our actions to align with the group, or behave. Belong, believe,...
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Pray for Two - Are You A Sinner
All people sin. But at the same time, you are not defined by your sin. That is secondary. Your primary identity is a beloved son or daughter of God, the creator of the universe and father of all. Accepting Jesus’s free gift of grace reconciles you from your sin. So I want to caution you about...
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Pray for Two - Epiphany
Most of us think of an epiphany as an enlightening revelation or discovery – an “aha moment.” In the Church, it means manifestation, as in the Christmas story of Jesus, where he became present to the Magi, and they recognize Him as the promised Messiah and Savior of the world. Today, let’s pray...
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Pray for Two - I Love You
Why did Jesus enter into the world? The simple answer was to say, “I love you.” Jesus loves you right where you are, but he also loves you too much to leave you there. This great light appeared in the darkness to shower grace into our sinful nature, but only if we are willing to accept that…
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Pray for Two - Shepherds, Wisemen, or Magi?
Shepherds, wisemen, or magi? Whichever you call them, their story in the Gospel of Matthew is an intriguing part of the Christmas narrative. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been...
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Pray for Two - Light in the darkness
Many of us struggle with seasonal blues. There is the loss of the warmth of summer, and the winnowing daylight, hitting a trough on the Winter Solstice. It is not a coincidence that Jesus was born on one of the darkest days of the year. The timing of Christmas is providential, warming our hearts…
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Pray for Two - In the Beginning John 1 : 1-17
There are few more memorable opening lines in all of literature than the opening of the Gospel of Saint John. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made...
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Pray for Two - Shepherds and Angels
Today, let’s imagine standing as a shepherd in the countryside of rural Judea 2000 years ago. It’s pitch black, with only the occasional bleat of a sheep breaching the calm. Close your eyes and breathe in the smell of your flock, and the peace of the night. Now imagine your fear when a bright…
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Pray for Two - The Fifth Gospel
That’s the description many scholars use for the Old Testament book of Isaiah. It is rich in foreshadowing the coming of Jesus, and a staple of the daily readings in the Advent season. Today, listen to the excitement and urgency of this prophet. He can barely contain himself, comparing the coming...
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Pray for Two - Destined for Adoption
Do you ever think of Christmas as adoption day? When God sent His son, Jesus Christ, into the world, He began the reconciliation of humanity to Himself. This relationship had been severed by the original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Through the passion, death, and resurrection of...
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Pray for Two - Seeking Signs
“Give me a sign!” Is there a person out there that hasn’t questioned God by asking for a sign to prove he exists and loves us? Jesus even called us out in the Gospel of Saint John, saying, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The irony is that Jesus Christ was, and is, the...
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Pray for Two - Root of Jesse
Today, let’s pray from Isaiah 11, a passage rich in hope, prefiguring the coming of Jesus. “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of…
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Pray for Two - Prince of Peace
Jesus Christ carries many titles – King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Savior of the World. Another role prefigured in the Old Testament book of Isaiah was a unifier of nations – the Prince of Peace. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his...
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Joseph's Honorable Fiat
Mary’s fiat, her “yes,” where she accepts the message that she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit with the child of God, Jesus Christ, is memorialized in the Gospel of Saint Luke. Today, I’d like to propose that Joseph also had a fiat, when he honorably accepted the Mary’s pregnancy. Listen to the...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
2 minute prayer reflections on the daily scripture readings of the Church.Sharing the truth in love, with head and heart, faith and reason.
HOSTED BY
Prayfor2
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Prayfor2 currently has 90 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
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2 minute prayer reflections on the daily scripture readings of the Church.Sharing the truth in love, with head and heart, faith and reason.
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Prayfor2 has 90 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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