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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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There is a curious art form in Japanese pottery called Kintsugi, maybe you have heard of it. When a pottery breaks, instead of throwing it away, the artisan repairs it with a gold polish. The cracks aren’t hidden. They’re illuminated. What was once broken and useless is now more beautiful, more valuable, precisely because of its fractures and brokenness. In today’s Gospel, Zechariah is a man silenced. For nine months, no words. Heaven has hit the mute button on him. Now remember, he’s a priest. Words are his tool, his identity. He blesses, he prays aloud, he chants in the temple. And yet, for 9 months Zechariah is a man of gestures and scribbled tablets. Heaven, it seems, doesn’t trust his voice, yet.
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Have you ever seen an unfinished bridge? I once visited a village where they proudly began building a beautiful concrete bridge over a river. Great foundation. Impressive pillars. It even had decorative railings on one side. But halfway through, the project stopped. Politics changed, policies changed, Budgets dried up. Now it just stands, suspended midair like a promise never kept. It’s funny until you realize: that’s what many of our relationships look like, half-built. We start with connection, trust, and love… and then something happens. A harsh word. A betrayal. Silence. Ego. Or like most of us, we don’t explode in rage, we freeze in silence. We master the art of polite distance, just smiling at people we secretly avoid. leaving that bridge hanging, unfinished, awkward, and unusable and slowly, quietly, we let the bridge rot. One misunderstanding at a time.
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While I was in India, I visited a school at the start of the academic year to bless their newly elected student leaders. As I arrived, a boy in a blazer two sizes too big marched up to me proudly wearing a badge that read: “Third Assistant Pupils’ Leader.” He gave me a firm handshake and said, “Father, I may not be the main guy, but if the main guy is absent and the assistant is late, then I’m in charge!” I smiled. It was funny, yes, but also profound. That boy had no delusions of grandeur. He knew his place in the order, but he stood tall, ready to serve.
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Blessed Virgin Mary | Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
Years ago, I was called to the hospital for a woman in critical condition. Her son, a grown man in his forties, stood beside her bed weeping silently. He had always been the strong one, the no-nonsense, keep-it-together type. But now, seeing his mother barely able to speak, all that strength melted into grief. When she realized he was crying, she didn’t say much. She simply reached for his hand and said, “Shh… I’m still here.” That moment of motherly presence, even in her weakness, reminds me of another scene, on a hill called Calvary.
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
I once watched a relay race where the runner, after sprinting an entire lap, tripped and fell just before passing the baton. He then suddenly picked himself up and collected the baton from the track, by then the next runner jumped the gun. He ran toward his fallen comrade, grabbed the baton, and ran like his life depended on it. They didn’t win, but the crowd gave a standing ovation. Because it wasn’t about winning anymore. It was about finishing together.
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Some years ago, I visited a family I knew well in the parish right after their third child was born. The older two, aged four and six, were buzzing with excitement. The four-year-old daughter tugged at my sleeve and asked, “Father, how did the baby get in Mommy’s tummy?” Now, as you can imagine, the mother froze mid-diaper change. The father blinked, looked at me as if to say, You are the priest. You answer this one! But then the older child chimed in with great authority: “It’s okay. I already told her. God puts the baby in, and when it’s grown, the hospital gets it out.” And that was the end of the conversation to my consolation.
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