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Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
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I want to share a story that has been circulating lately, a story of an Uber driver named Marcus and a passenger named Mr. Patterson. One evening Marcus picked up an elderly man at 11 PM who handed him five addresses and said, "Drive me to these places. Don't ask why until we're done." First stop: a house in the suburbs. The old man sat in the car, staring at it, crying silently. "This is where I grew up. Okay. Let us go to the Next stop." Second stop: an empty elementary school. He got out, walked to the playground, and sat on a swing for twenty minutes. "I taught here. 43 years. Best job I ever had." Third stop: a diner. He went in, ordered coffee, but he didn't drink it. Just sat. Looking around. "My wife and I had our first date here. 1967."
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Let me begin with a scene many of us know too well. You finally decide to clean the house not because you are convinced it needs a cleaning but because guests are coming. You clean the drawing room and the dining anyway, Floors shine, kitchen sink is empty, cushions are aligned, tables are clean, everything looks perfect. Then, five minutes before the doorbell rings, you realize the mess hasn’t disappeared; it’s just been pushed into one room. The door is shut. Problem solved, or so we think.
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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.
Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint Blaise, the fourth-century physician-bishop martyr famous for saving a boy choking on a fishbone. We will get our throats blessed with crossed candles later at the end of the mass, but the intersection of Blaise’s medical background and today’s Gospel from Mark offers us a radical perspective on what it means to be truly well. In the gospel today we meet two people at opposite ends of the social spectrum: Jairus, the "VIP", a synagogue leader, and an unnamed woman who has been hemorrhaging for twelve years. Usually, we focus on their faith. But today let’s look at their desperation through the eyes of a doctor like Blaise.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
The second day of February is always special. It is forty days after the Solemnity of the Birth of Jesus. In the Bible, forty days is a sacred time of cleansing and readiness before something holy happens. Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai before receiving the Law. After childbirth, a mother waited forty days before being purified and presenting the child in the Temple. Noah endured forty days of rain before the world was cleansed and renewed. Nineveh was given forty days to repent and change. Even today, the Church gives us forty days of Lent, time to cleanse our hearts and prepare for a new life. Today's feast has multifaceted perspectives. Do we discuss the mother's purification after birth, thanksgiving, and offering the gift of a new child? Or the revelations of Simeon and Anna? Or Candlemas and Jesus as the light to the nations? Today is also the World Day of Consecrated Life, to thank God for the gift of consecrated life, religious sisters, brothers, monks, nuns, and consecrated lay people. Today should be a good day to focus on both parents together, In the image of Joseph and Mary presenting Jesus in the Temple, we have a wonderful model of husband and wife united in practicing the faith and in raising their child in the faith.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Miss Clara, a fourth-grade Catechism teacher told her kids one day: Children, let me tell you today about a quiet man, who used to be immersed into much reading and writing. This man was big and gentle, but because he stayed silent, people thought he wasn’t very smart. One day, his friends played a trick on him. As he was busy writing, one of them pointed to the window and shouted, ‘Look, there’s an angel!’ He ran to see, but there was nothing there. Everyone laughed.”
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Feast of St. Stephen | Virtues
Let's remember St. Stephen today, who he was, and how he became the first Christian martyr. Why is his feast celebrated on December 26 and not today or tomorrow when we have the readings about his martyrdom? And following Stephen's story, let's examine what it has to offer us.
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