x Close
World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Elijah’s question from today’s first reading, “How long will you straddle the issue?” is a classic and ageless one! It reminds me of one evening at Symphony Hall in Boston, when I was out of earshot, my Mom asked our family friend, Fr. Bill Walsh, what he thought about my applying to the seminary. Without blinking an eye and with a smile, Fr. Walsh said, “I think God gave him a good kick in the pants and got him off the fence!” Whether it is in politics, family life, relationships—whether deciding about a friendship or a deeper commitment to marriage, priesthood or religious life—or in our moral and ethical lives, we’re all called to examine whether we are straddling issues or, as we'd say, where I come from: fence sitters.
Share
Can you remember when your parents started going to their family and friends' 25th wedding anniversaries? Well, time has a way of flying by, and this past Sunday, my friends and I concelebrated our friend, Fr. Sean Connor’s 25th anniversary of ordination at Sacred Heart in Weymouth, MA. Before becoming a priest, Fr. Sean was a policeman, an imposing figure, who sometimes worked undercover. But in a letter to his family, friends, and parishioners, Fr. Sean shared a revealing and moving message.
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.
Have you ever been driving somewhere with a tight schedule, feeling good about your trip, and then suddenly run into roadwork, see the orange-and-black sign, and a mystery detour? Yesterday morning, while driving to the audiologist’s office to drop off my Dad’s hearing aids, that’s what happened. At first, like all good Boston drivers, I was completely calm, well, not really! The detour increased my trip by about 5 minutes, but as I was speaking to the receptionist, the audiologist came out and asked if she could help. She told me she had just had a cancellation and could work on the hearing aids right away. Then she added something striking: “I heard your voice and remembered it.”
Share
I have a question for you…how does your family handle goodbyes? My family seems to have adopted the procrastination technique of being the last to leave a cookout or party, or even on phone calls, having one more story that rekindles the conversation…but parting and farewells, as much as we might want to avoid them, are a part of life.
Share
Today we celebrate what can seem like a paradox. After Jesus leaves His disciples, the Gospel tells us they return to Jerusalem with “great joy.” Normally, when someone we love leaves us, we experience sadness and loss. But the Ascension is different because it is not about Jesus becoming absent; it is about His presence taking on a new form. If Jesus had remained on earth in His physical body, He would still be limited by time and space—present in one village, one home, one gathering at a time. Through the Ascension, however, Jesus is no longer beside us in the same physical way as He was over 2,000 years ago, but He is now present to all people everywhere and at every moment; 24/7.
Share
Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Today’s dramatic healing in the first reading takes place just outside the Temple at what was called the Beautiful Gate. We’re told it was named this because it was grand in size and ornate in design… something to behold, something fitting. But what took place just outside of it that we’ve just heard… brought a different kind of beauty…one that was wrought from the power of Jesus’ Name…one that was shared by Peter and John with that man begging for alms. The meaning of the Beautiful Gate changed…when a man born with a physical disability encountered Peter and John, who had faith in Jesus. If you think about it, the man whose life was changed forever, up until that day, had the same routine, which included being carried to the Temple gate to beg for alms to survive each day. And it must have worked; he must have received enough money or food from others to make it through the day, and then been carried home. That is, until he met two men who had something else to offer.
Share
