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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Learn more about our faith | Our Lady of Sorrows
When parents leave the hospital with their newborn, it’s one of the strangest moments in life. The nurse hands you this tiny human and says, “Congratulations, you can go home now.” And you think: That’s it? No manual comes with it? No training session? Not even a return policy? One dad told me he drove home from the hospital at fifteen miles an hour, with the mother and the newborn, with hazard lights flashing, convinced that every pothole was a death trap for the newborn. Another mother confessed that she spent the first week constantly checking if her baby was still breathing, until her husband joked, “If you keep touching and feeling the child every five minutes, none of us will ever sleep again.” Parenting begins with this comedy of fear and love. You’re overwhelmed, exhausted, terrified, and yet you would do anything for that child. Simeon’s words to Mary, from Luke's Gospel, “A sword will pierce your own soul too,” capture that same mystery. Love opens you to joy but also to the deepest wounds. Every parent, every spouse, and every friend who has loved knows this truth: to embrace love is to risk being pierced.
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Blessed Virgin Mary | Charisms of Holy Cross | Our Lady of Sorrows | catholic family life
Holly Dodd shares how enduring life’s sorrows, just as our Blessed Mother did, can draw us closer to Christ.
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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.
Celebrating Marian feasts | Our Lady of Sorrows | Seven Sorrows | family prayer
Catholic Mom contributor, Sherry Hayes-Peirce, shares a modern look at the Seven Sorrows of Mary, a devotion the Church promotes each September.
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Catholic Motherhood | Our Lady of Sorrows | Seven Sorrows of Mary | catholic family life
During Lent 2023, I started an adventure with a special writing project about Our Lady of Sorrows. As part of my Lenten practices, I prayed one of Mary’s Sorrows for each day of the week, which was so convenient since there were seven of them! That practice continued post-Lent, as did my writing project, and I still pray one of the Sorrows (most!) mornings. Each of Mary's Sorrows has its own inspiration, as we see how the virtues of our Blessed Mother shine through in the most traumatic moments of her life. Knowing how Mary continually leaned into God and trusted Him despite tragic circumstances helps me to try to do the same when life becomes dark and feels hopeless. It's also very comforting to know that I have a Mother who desires to console me and can understand what I'm experiencing when I face deep loss and grief.
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Catholic Mass | The Eucharist | catholic family life | educating our children
Catholic Mom contributor, AnneMarie Miller, ponders ways that we can step past Sunday-school textbooks and immerse our children in a lived experience of the Eucharist and Liturgy.
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Life Lessons | catholic family life | family prayer | sacrament of matrimony
Catholic Mom contributor Kathryn Swegart explores a surprising truth about fidelity in marriage.
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