x Close
World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Thomas Marton once said” “Love seeks one thing only, the good of the one loved.” What he is saying here is that true selfless love is caring, giving and putting the other person’s happiness before one’s own, without expecting anything in return.” In today’s Gospel, we have Jesus who had been observing those who were bringing their tithes into the temple basket. The rich people showed up with pride to donate from their surplus, but Jesus notices this poor widow dropping in the only coins she had left in her life. Under normal circumstances many of us would have only noticed rich people or those we consider to be important; most likely we would have missed out on recognizing the poor widow. The widow, according to Jesus, did not only donate coins, but she did it with a selfless heart. She didn’t calculate what she will be left with but gave all.
Share
catholic family life | family prayer | pray the rosary
Let’s talk about something many Catholic parents face: getting your anxious teenager to pray the Rosary. If you’ve ever invited your teen to pray with you and been met with an eye roll, a sigh, or a silent stare, you’re not alone. And if you’ve felt torn between “I just want them to love the faith” and “I don’t want to push them away,” you are absolutely not alone. As both a Catholic mom and a therapist, I’ve been there. The good news? You’re not failing. You’re planting seeds. There are gentle, practical ways to invite your teen into the peace of the Rosary - without turning it into a power struggle. Here are some strategies that really work — with love, patience, and a little help from the Holy Spirit.
Share
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.
We followers of Jesus we have a strong desire to follow Him. We desire to share a very close relationship with Jesus. Our longing is to have that close union inseparable by anything here on earth. All these are desires to be Holy. There are elements of our faith that help us in building our close union with God. One is his Church. The Church is our new Temple. We encounter God, listen, and speak with him. As usual, every gathering carries with itself principles and guidelines to direct the activities carried on. The new Temple-Church carries with herself certain practical rituals that pertain to her and how to conduct prayers rightfully. In addition, we are part of this temple and even more we are “temples of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 6:19)” too.
Share
Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
In these days the Church invites us to reflect on readings from a set of books we rarely read from - the two Books of Maccabees! Our First Reading today is taken from the First Book of Maccabees. Set in the small city of Modein, the reading tells the powerful story of faith, zeal, and unwavering commitment to God’s covenant by the Jewish people in the face of intense religious persecution. King Antiochus Epiphanes wanted the Jewish people to abandon their ancestral religion and embrace foreign religions. Mattathias and his sons resisted the religious and cultural imposition. He led a fierce struggle for the Jewish people to stay with their religious beliefs, values, and practices.
Share
Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Mother St. Theresa of Calcutta once said; “God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.” On my first time to visit United States thirty years ago, we had a provincial assembly at Notre Dame, the provincial at the time, what he asked me to do made me sit up straight. He invited me to give a talk to two hundred some American Holy Cross priests, about my experience as an indigenous Holy Cross living with American expatriates. Everything about me and within me was screaming, oh no, what am I going to say, will they even listen, I felt like telling him please save me from the embarrassment. One priest who realized my predicament, just told me Fulgens you can do it, try. I ended up powering through it well.
Share
Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
One of the things that characterized Jesus' life was that he was about searching and saving lives. As we celebrate Mass today, we will discover that Saints Peter and Paul were also about searching and saving lives, as did Saint Rose Duchesne. Hopefully, in some small measure, we followers of Jesus seek to do the same. We heard the remarkable story of the encounter Jesus had with a man named Zacchaeus, who was small in stature, and climbed a tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by. We were told that he was a tax collector, which meant he probably did not have too many friends among his acquaintances. However, what we needed to note was the sacrifice Zacchaeus made in climbing that tree. He was a professional and had a significant employment. He had to have been well-known, and yet here he was, willing to risk his professional standing, submit to ridicule from those who knew him.
Share
