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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
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In June 2025, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile released its first spectacular images of the universe. What fascinated me was not only the images themselves, but how long they had taken to arrive. The project had been dreamed about for decades. Scientists designed enormous mirrors, built a camera weighing several tons, hauled equipment high into the Andes, calibrated instruments, corrected tiny errors, and waited. For years, there was tremendous work and almost nothing for the public to see. Then one day, the images started appearing, filled with millions of stars and galaxies, and a look into the vastness of the universe. What looked like a sudden achievement was actually the visible result of years of invisible preparation. That is perhaps a beautiful way to understand the day of Mary's birth. When Mary was born, apparently nothing happened. No angelic choir was reported over her house. No star appeared. No emperor lost sleep. Somewhere in an ordinary Jewish family, a baby girl was born, cried, needed feeding, and probably kept somebody awake at two in the morning. Even the grandmother may have looked at her and said what grandmothers have been saying ever since: “She is beautiful. Of course, she looks like our side of the family.” Watch Video Here
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Catholic Family Fun | Parenting | family prayer
Discover 10 simple strategies to bring hope and restoration to your life and the lives of others, from engaging your mind to spreading kindness. If you are feeling overwhelmed, tired, or in need of hope, take a moment to discover 10 simple things you can try today to restore your life and renew your heart. Give yourself permission to pause, take one small step, and rediscover hope—you might even find that you have more hope to share with others, too! This Labor Day, take a break, gather the family, put down the phone, and restore peace and hope through expected pathways. Read on for this Catholic Dad's inspiring and easy-to-follow advice.
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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.
NASA has discovered something rather strange about astronauts: when they spend time in space, they actually become taller. Without gravity constantly compressing the spine, the vertebrae separate slightly, and the body can stretch by as much as three percent. A six-foot astronaut may temporarily gain nearly two inches. Apparently, if you want to become taller, there is still hope. The only small inconvenience is that you may have to leave the planet. But there is something beautiful in that image. When the environment changes, the body adjusts. It stretches. That is very close to what Jesus is getting at in today’s Gospel. New wine is still fermenting; it expands. A fresh wineskin can expand with it. An old, hardened one cannot. The problem is not that the wine is bad. The problem is that the container has lost its ability to stretch.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
There is something beautiful in today's Gospel. Jesus leaves the synagogue and goes into Simon Peter's home. And there he discovers that Peter's mother-in-law is sick. I love that detail. Jesus doesn't care only about Peter. He cares about Peter's family. He enters the home. He sees their concern. He comes close to her. And he heals her.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
There is something that happens in almost every family gathering. Somebody arrives late, sits quietly, hardly eats, and leaves early. Before the car has even disappeared from the driveway, the committee begins its investigation. “Something is wrong.” “He looked upset.” “She did not speak to me.” “They must be having problems.” Within ten minutes, people who have no actual information have produced a full documentary, complete with motive, and a conclusion with background music. Saint Paul says something today that should make all of us slightly less confident: “Who knows what pertains to a person except the spirit of the person that is within?”
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Today’s readings invite us to reflect on where we place our confidence. Since the beginning of time, people naturally admire intelligence, eloquence, success, and influence of others. And, so we’re easily tempted to believe that success comes from impressive words, clever arguments, or personal ability. But Saint Paul gives us a very different message. He reminds the Corinthians that when he arrived, he didn’t rely on lofty speech or human wisdom. Instead, he preached simply and poignantly only one thing: Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
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