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Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us one of the most tender and powerful images: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” This is not just poetry—it is identity. We are the sheep. Christ is the Good Shepherd. But this raises a serious question: What does it mean to truly be His sheep?
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Let me begin with a picture of Australian sheep farming. They have roughly 70 million sheep in this country, more than almost anywhere else on earth. But shepherds? Barely a handful. They have motorbikes, sheepdogs, and helicopters. Somewhere right now, a man in an Akubra hat is mustering a hundred thousand sheep from the air, probably listening to a podcast. This is the world into which Jesus's words land with a somewhat comedic thud today. Because Jesus is not talking about drones or GPS ear tags. He is talking about something far more intimate, There is an old Middle Eastern story that brings it to life. A traveler once spent the night near a sheepfold where several shepherds had brought their flocks into one shared enclosure. By morning, hundreds of sheep were hopelessly tangled together. The traveler assumed it would take hours to sort them out. Instead, one shepherd simply stepped forward and called. Not loudly, just a familiar voice. Slowly, sheep began lifting their heads and moving toward him. Another shepherd called, and a different group peeled away. Within minutes, chaos became order, just by recognition of voice.
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Catholic Motherhood | Daily Family Prayer | pray the rosary
Moms are busy, and time for prayer is limited (especially for the rosary). Ginny Kochis offers thirteen tips for fitting a beautiful devotion into your hectic day. Little people are busy. And needy. And no matter how intently the two-year-old insists he can put on his shoes by himself, he will inevitably attach the velcro strap to the drawstring of his pants and cry, cry, cry because his shorts are stealing his shoes (or something). The kindergartner Simply Will Not Leave without the sparkly doggy purse no one has seen since last summer, and the nine-year-old has to catch the Pokémon hiding under the couch. Suddenly, the spare 15 minutes to get everyone in the car and buckled becomes a “We’re 20 minutes late!” drive of desperation. Every day is like this for me, plus the added bonus of laundry that multiplies, dirty dishes that appear out of nowhere, bellies that always need feeding, and the husband who leaves his dirty socks on the stairwell (oh, how I love you, you sock-shunning man). I barely have time to get dressed in the morning before someone or something needs my attention. All of this leaves little room for dedicated prayer.
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Catholic YouTube | family prayer
Venerable Patrick Peyton, founder of Family Theater Productions, famously said, "The family that prays together stays together." But is that really true in practice? Staying Together: Families Praying Together, a new YouTube series, seeks to answer that question. Staying Together: Families Praying Together Brings the Saying Into Real Life Starting Tuesday, April 21, with six episodes premiering weekly on Family Theater Productions' YouTube channel, Staying Together: Families Praying Together talks to families on both coasts about how prayer has helped keep them whole, despite all the things in the world that can tear families apart. Says series creator Jay Cooney, "I wanted to find families who could exemplify this saying, and to share with audiences the fruits of praying to God and having those prayers answered." Click here for the official website.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
I would like to draw your attention to today’s First reading taken from the Acts of the Apostles. The reading is ordinarily approached as the story of Paul’s conversion — from Saul to Paul. However, I would like us to approach it differently as Ananias’ story, a story of extraordinary risk and courage. We heard that Saul, a radically prejudiced, dangerous enemy to believers in Christ, “breathing murderous threats” was on the road to Damascus on a mission to arrest and murder Christians. Jesus knocked Saul off his high horse! The Lord then asked Ananias to go and pray for Saul to regain his “sight.” Ananias knew how risky this would be to him and to other believers in the city. His reply to Jesus was, “Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem. And here, here has authority to imprison all who call upon your name.” In US American parlance, Ananias was basically telling Jesus “Seriously? Are you asking me to go to a man who wants to arrest, imprison or even murder me?” That’s how imagine an American would respond!
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Today’s readings reveal a quiet but powerful truth: faith does not begin with our search for God, but with God’s search for us. He always takes the first step. He draws us—often gently, patiently—even before we recognize it. In the first reading, we encounter the Ethiopian eunuch, a man of influence and learning, yet still searching. He is reading Isaiah but cannot grasp its meaning. When Philip asks, “Do you understand what you are reading?” his response is deeply humble: “How can I, unless someone guides me?”
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