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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
One of difficult topics to comprehend in our Christian life is eschatology and judgement. We keep waiting in hope but also waiting needs a lot of patience while performing the Christian practices. We find the first Christian community struggling with this is the situation. Jesus had just resurrected and ascended to heaven and now they are in the last phase, waiting again for Jesus. We, too, are in the same waiting. The writer of the first reading knowis the anxiety that may creep in among the Christian community and warns them but also gives life directives. He reminds them to be self-controlled and clear-minded for prayer.
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Have you ever been driving somewhere with a tight schedule, feeling good about your trip, and then suddenly run into roadwork, see the orange-and-black sign, and a mystery detour? Yesterday morning, while driving to the audiologist’s office to drop off my Dad’s hearing aids, that’s what happened. At first, like all good Boston drivers, I was completely calm, well, not really! The detour increased my trip by about 5 minutes, but as I was speaking to the receptionist, the audiologist came out and asked if she could help. She told me she had just had a cancellation and could work on the hearing aids right away. Then she added something striking: “I heard your voice and remembered it.”
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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.
There are two things in our lives as believers that are essential and yet complicated. That is; ambition verses divine calling. Ambition stems from individual desires to build a platform and achieve specific results. Calling stems from a form of surrender to God’s will to glorify God. Ambition often seeks control and personal legacy. Calling requires obedience and willingness to discern what the Lord is calling you for. Ambition often breeds anxiety and pressure “to climb the ladder”. Calling produces inner peace and contentment, even when the path is difficult.
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Today the Church gives us a saint tailor-made for this Gospel. Philip Neri, who was once the designated heir to a prosperous merchant empire in 16th-century San Germano, Italy. His uncle Romolo was wealthy, childless, and besotted with his young nephew. The boy had intelligence, charm, and business acumen. The inheritance was basically his to collect. All Philip had to do was show up and wait. But he left. Walked to Rome with nothing in his pockets and God on his mind, never looked back, and spent the rest of his eighty years evangelizing the streets of Rome one hilarious conversation at a time, shaving only half his beard to humble himself when people praised his holiness. He even ordered a priest who gave one beautiful sermon to preach the same sermon six consecutive times so people would think he only had the one. Philip Neri gave up a fortune and got Rome. That, is a hundredfold by any reasonable calculation.
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Catholic Family Fun | Summer Vacation | summer activities
Does your family make a Summer Bucket List? Megan Swaim has 20 ideas for families who want to celebrate their Catholic faith all summer long. We’re coming down the final stretch: summer break is almost here! Memorial Day is here! My children are looking forward to lazy summer days and endless hours of riding bikes and playing in the water, and I’m looking forward to being able to get into better chore routines. And also spending time together—I promise I’m not forgetting that! In the past few years, I’ve seen these great “Summer Bucket Lists” passed around the internet, full of fun ideas for making the most of school breaks and warm weather. You print your list, add some of your own ideas, and then spend the summer checking off the boxes—make s’mores, visit a museum, catch fireflies, read in a hammock … these lists can be quite comprehensive! But beyond the usual fun-in-the-sun activities, our family also really wants to prioritize living our faith together this summer. We know firsthand how easy it is to have good intentions but little follow-through, so putting prayer and service on our Bucket List will remind us of our goals and help keep us accountable. If, at the end of the summer, we’ve been to the pool every week, but the Adoration chapel only sparingly, the list will tell us. I’m hoping it will help us make prayer and service a high priority and get us excited to do these things together. If you’re making a Summer Bucket List for your family, here are 20+ ideas to help you live your Catholic faith together and have fun all summer!
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Faith Reflection | Pentecost | family prayer
Flávia Ghelardi shares a guided meditation on the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. In this practical series on meditation using Father Kentenich’s method, we will meditate on the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What do you think God wants to say to you through this message? Meditation is a personal encounter with God, to grow in love for Him. Because it is personal, each person will experience this encounter in a different way, in a unique way. Thus, each proposed exercise is intended only to present an example of what this conversation with the Father can be like, so that you can get an overview of the whole process.
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