x Close
World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
A priest who worked in Africa told me that he had once been invited to visit the family of one of his parishioners. He had been living in Africa as a missionary for more years than he liked to remember. He was returning to India, and the family had invited him for a farewell. When I asked what had touched him most during his missionary life there, he thought for a moment and answered, “They called me their ancestor.” They told him that he was to them as their father and mother.
Share
Learn more about our faith | Return to the Church
In today's gospel, scribes have come from Jerusalem to see Jesus. No doubt, they want to investigate the wonders that have been attributed to Him. Their conclusion is astonishing. Despite His attention to prayer and compassion, they say that Jesus can cure illness and expel demons because He is in league with the devil, an accusation we still hear today.
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.
Be careful of birds landing on your head. That happened to Saint Fabian, and it was taken as a sign when a dove sat on his head, that he should be elected pope! Fabian was a Roman layman who came into the city from his farm one day as clergy and people were preparing to elect a new pope. So, he was! And he served for 14 years as a pope, until he was martyred in 250. It is an age-old argument: Do the events of history create the great (or evil) men who will change the world, or do great personalities come along at the right time to profoundly change history itself?
Share
Have you ever had this upsetting feeling that people are watching your every move and waiting to pounce on you when you commit even the slightest mistake? Jesus is presented to be in this sort of position in today's gospel. The time is the Sabbath. The place is the synagogue. A man is sitting there with a withered hand. Jesus is entering. The Pharisees are watching him closely to see if he will cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And sure enough, Jesus, who sees them and knows why they are there, says to the man “Come up here before us. Stretch out your hand.”
Share
Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
William Hutton, an English Poet and Historian says, “The charity that hastens to proclaim its good deeds ceases to be charity and is only pride and ostentation.” Jesus healed and cleansed the leper, saying to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone” (Mark 1:43). But the Leper could not withhold his excitement. Why would Jesus tell him to say nothing about the miracle? Was he afraid of appearing to be proud? Was he afraid too many people would be coming to him?
Share
As we enter this First Week of Ordinary Time, we are given the image of Jesus teaching in the synagogue. And as He teaches, it's clear that there is something special about Him. He teaches with a new authority.
Share
