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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Today’s readings, particularly, the gospel can lead us to ask ourselves, “what are we building our lives upon…is it our 401k plans, educational degrees, whatever makes us happy, or something else…? Compounding this question but related is the fact that life is complex and with lots of twists and turns. Anyone who has been on this earth for more than eighteen years or maybe even less knows this from experience….just consider the two couples: Elizabeth and Zechariah and Abram and Sarai and their stories that we have heard about this week.
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Our Gospel today offers a simple, yet profound, truth from Jesus: "By their fruits you will know them." This isn't just a general observation; it's an invitation to look inward, particularly at our own homes. What kind of fruit are our families bearing? Are they overflowing with prayer, patience, kindness, and joy?
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Brief and contemporary inspiration focused on hope and family prayer will be delivered to your inbox! Articles include live video, written word, and links to resources that will lead you and your family deeper into faith.
Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
There is a curious art form in Japanese pottery called Kintsugi, maybe you have heard of it. When a pottery breaks, instead of throwing it away, the artisan repairs it with a gold polish. The cracks aren’t hidden. They’re illuminated. What was once broken and useless is now more beautiful, more valuable, precisely because of its fractures and brokenness. In today’s Gospel, Zechariah is a man silenced. For nine months, no words. Heaven has hit the mute button on him. Now remember, he’s a priest. Words are his tool, his identity. He blesses, he prays aloud, he chants in the temple. And yet, for 9 months Zechariah is a man of gestures and scribbled tablets. Heaven, it seems, doesn’t trust his voice, yet.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Recently, I was talking with several priests, and the question of whether they could stay in their current parish or have to begin at a new parish came up. Two of the priests are in their mid-to-late sixties, and they reasoned that beginning anew would not be easy or perhaps good for the parishes involved. Only God knows how their or any of our stories will emerge. However, this conversation added context to our first reading where the Lord sends Abram to a new land, leaving the land of his people and the family home, and needing to convince his wife, his brother’s son, all the people in their household, and pack up their possessions too. Whether you are a priest, married, or single, preparing and moving to a new place, in this case to one that Abram has never seen, is never easy, and to compound things—Abram is seventy-five years old!
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Catholic Faith | Parenthood | intentional rest
I recently recalled a long-ago memory of teaching one of my children the alphabet. They asked, “What words use the lemony letter?” Asking them what they meant, they insisted there was a lemony letter. We then said the alphabet together again, and the truth was revealed. L, M, O, P! In their childhood lisp and said very quickly, those letters became "lemony." Hiding my laughter, I realized I was partially to blame. I hadn’t taken the time to slow them down to articulate each letter clearly and purposefully. We began again, deliberately saying each and every letter, writing them as we went along, revealing all 26 letters. Does Your Life Give You Whiplash Learning to slow down is important beyond learning to read and write. We can all find ourselves blurring words in texts and conversations. We take shortcuts in recipes and look for the fastest Rosary to follow on YouTube. It seems we want to get through this short life we have been given by God as fast as we possibly can.
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Faith Communities | catholic family life | raising kids in the faith
There is always something more in our faith. As Catholics, we are blessed to have so many ways to pray and to worship. There are ways to pray alone and at home with your family, but there are many beautiful ways to worship and pray in community with others. Parish-facilitated events which include a time of prayer can be a great starting point for building communities of faith. Your parish may offer Eucharistic processions, guided holy hours, praise and worship nights, Stations of the Cross, or evening Vespers. Life is already full, so finding time for attending these things can be a challenge. Parish community events take extra effort to attend, but are vital to sustaining our faith as they provide organic opportunities to meet other Catholic families.
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