{"id":37198,"date":"2012-07-30T18:15:42","date_gmt":"2012-07-31T01:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?p=37198"},"modified":"2014-12-30T15:35:40","modified_gmt":"2014-12-30T22:35:40","slug":"prayer-requests-147","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/07\/prayer-requests-147.html","title":{"rendered":"Prayer Requests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

A reader writes:<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been a reader of yours on and off over a number of years. I\u2019ve seen the prayer requests and have offered up my humble supplications, and now I\u2019m asking for help. I have a daughter who has been in the Catholic school system from kindergarten through freshman year in high school. Her mother and I take her to church every Sunday (or Saturday vigil); we pray together every night, and we celebrate all the holidays\/holy days. Most of the extended family has been Catholic way into the distant past. She has two cousins who are priests. With all that, she does not believe, or, at least, she sees no difference among the many religions on this planet. She does not understand why we believe in-vitro fertilization is wrong and she does not understand why we feel gay marriage is not a marriage in the Roman Catholic view. Both topics have been discussed openly.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry, I\u2019m rambling. I understand that not everyone can accept and believe. However, I would appreciate any prayers that would help direct my daughter to an understanding of our Catholic faith. If any of your readers could provide advice or direction to advice, that would also be appreciated. Also, trust me, this is an incredibly smart kid. ( I know, sin of pride. I\u2019m her father and can\u2019t help myself.).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Your daughter sounds to me like a normal, healthy kid with the normal sorts of questions that should be occurring to a kid her age.\u00a0 I would suggest you check out some of Amy Welborn\u2019s \u201cProve it<\/a>\u201d series of books.\u00a0 Not knowing the substance of your conversations, I don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve said or what intellectual difficulties she\u2019s had.\u00a0 Peter Kreeft\u2019s Fundamentals of the Faith <\/a>addresses stuff like \u201cWhat\u2019s the difference between Jesus and\u00a0\u00a0the Church he\u00a0founded\u00a0and other religions?\u201d\u00a0 With in vitro fertilization the answer is \u201cIn vitro kills developing children\u201d.\u00a0 The matter of gay marriage is really a subset of the question \u201cWhat is marriage and why do we have any such thing as marriage at all?\u201d\u00a0 This may be a place to start the conversation.<\/a>\u00a0 I would consider a Socratic line of questioning that allows her to take a look at the presuppositions she is bringing to the discussion.\u00a0 My money is on her having imbibed a number of very popular presuppositions such as \u201cAll that matters in evaluating a moral act is the consent of the participants\u201d or \u201cIf a belief makes you feel better what\u2019s wrong with it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Also, a reader suggests, \u201cFor the father whose daughter is uncertain of the Truths of the Catholic Church, you may want to recommend that he ask her to pray for faith.\u00a0\u00a0 I recall that when my daughter was young, it was something I asked her to do.\u00a0\u00a0 Shortly afterwar\u2026ds, she shared with me that God had answered a prayer for her and she truly had faith.\u00a0\u00a0 Now that she\u2019s a young adult, out on her own, I pray that she hasn\u2019t forgotten that praying for faith is not a one-time deal.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But as a parent of a young daughter, he may still have enough direct influence to get her to give it a try.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without knowing more, that\u2019s where I\u2019d start.\u00a0 Also, don\u2019t be afraid to look at the Catechism\u2013and to say \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0 Have confidence in the Tradition.\u00a0 It is an anvil that has worn out a lot of hammers.\u00a0 Meanwhile, may God our Father answer your daughter\u2019s questions to her satisfaction and make her a competent and articulate apostle of the Faith through Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Mother Mary and St. Thomas, pray for her and for those instructing her.<\/p>\n

Another reader writes:<\/p>\n

You generously asked your readers to pray for my daughter-in-law\u2019s father who has cancer. \u00a0They have found that the tumors in his stomach are no longer there\/aren\u2019t cancer. \u00a0There is still a tumor in his lungs, but everyone is very excited by this development.<\/p>\n

Thank you all so much for your prayers!!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ!\u00a0 Heal him completely, Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord!\u00a0 Mother Mary and St. Luke, pray for him, for those responsible for his care, and for all who love him.<\/p>\n

Another reader writes:<\/p>\n

Asking for lots of prayers for my good friend who\u2019s dealing with a child\u2019s mental illness and consequent family chaos and sadness. \u00a0Thank you so much!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Father, hear our prayer for this child and her family that they find healing, grace, strength and peace through our Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Mother Mary and St. Dymphna, pray for them.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A reader writes: I\u2019ve been a reader of yours on and off over a number of years. I\u2019ve seen the prayer requests and have offered up my humble supplications, and now I\u2019m asking for help. I have a daughter who has been in the Catholic school system from kindergarten through freshman year in high school. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-37198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-prayer-requests"],"yoast_head":"\nPrayer Requests<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A reader writes: I've been a reader of yours on and off over a number of years. 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