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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Charles Borromeo | Homily Video | Learn more about our faith | family unity
At the age of 24, young Charles Borromeo faced a crucial choice. He came from a rich and powerful noble family. As the younger of two sons, he had been set on the path to the priesthood a few years earlier. But in this crucial year, his older brother died, leaving the noble title and wealth to him, and with it, the family expectation that he would forego the priesthood, marry, and produce sons to carry on the family name. Charles instead chose to forego title, fortune, and family and continue on the path to priesthood, a decision that would impact not only his life, but also the entire history of the Church, as he soon would take the lead in implementing reforms dictated by the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church’s response to the Protestant Reformation. Later in life, Charles Borromeo, then Archbishop of Milan, provided guidance for Catholics in Elizabethan England who faced their own life-or-death choice between their Catholic Faith and their obedience to the queen. When Jesus speaks about having to hate mom and dad, wife and kids, brothers and sisters to become his disciple, He’s not encouraging us to take the initiative to be controversial or destructive.
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Catholic Faith | Homily Video | Learn more about our faith | Scripture
On this day when our ministry is celebrating the blessing of our Global Rosary for Peace, our readings at Mass proclaim to us messages both uplifting in their affirmation and almost shocking in their challenge. Today’s passage from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians begins with a beautiful image of his prayer on behalf of humanity, united globally as one family: I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. And in today’s Gospel, Jesus proclaims the worldwide scope of His mission: I have come to set the world on fire!
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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.
Catholic Faith | Homily Video | Learn more about our faith | Scripture
As part of my ministry as chaplain to a pro-life club at the University of Portland, I interacted for many years with a wonderful group called the Equal Rights Institute, or ERI. One of their primary missions is to train pro-life advocates to have conversations with abortion supporters, especially on high school and college campuses. They take a very data-driven approach to this mission, testing out many pro-life arguments “in the field” and employing or modifying their arguments accordingly. Their over-arching desire is to try to identify those pro-life approaches that are not only accurate, but, more important, would move the hearts and minds of people who aren’t yet pro-life. They often remind the students they train that the goal is not to win an argument or a debate, but to win over people.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Justice is real, and justice will triumph, but justice unfolds in God’s time and according to God’s eternal plan. These are lessons – both comforting and challenging – from today’s readings. In the first reading, the prophet Nahum gives thanks for the downfall of Assyria and its capital Nineveh around 600 BC. Their empire, centered in what is now Iraq, had oppressed and violated surrounding nations for centuries; they had destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, with its ten tribes of Jacob, and nearly destroyed the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem, until God miraculously intervened. It is fitting, then, that the prophet Nahum sees Assyria’s destruction as an instance of God’s righteous judgment and an act of favor to His people. And yet, we know from history that the Assyrian conquerors would be replaced by the Babylonian conquerors, who would be replaced by the Persians, who would be replaced by the Greeks, who would be replaced by the Romans. And each of these powers would, to varying degrees, oppress or seek to destroy the Jewish nation and even the people of God. And so, the fall of Assyria was a true and powerful sign of God’s righteousness, but only a foreshadowing of the ultimate peace and justice that the people of God still wait for in hope.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Today’s Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist is truly unique among the saints. Not only is it one of only three birthdays celebrated on the Church calendar – the others being the birth of Jesus on Christmas and the birth of Mary on September 8 – but it’s actually a higher order of celebration than even Mary’s birthday. September 8 is what’s called a feast day, whereas today we celebrate what’s called a solemnity. So, for instance, if September 8 happens to fall on a Sunday, we don’t celebrate Mary’s birthday that year. But if June 24 falls on a Sunday, we still celebrate St. John the Baptist.
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We all know Venerable Patrick Peyton’s most famous sayings: “The family that prays together, stays together,” and “A world at prayer is a world at peace.” One of the blessings of working here at Holy Cross Family Ministries and getting to know Fr. Peyton better is learning some of his lesser known but no less profound quotes. For instance, on the wall of our conference room is this beautiful Patrick Peyton insight: “The Our Father raises the family circle to the highest level.”
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