World at Prayer blog

Reflections of Family and Faith

"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton

Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C.

Father Wilfred J. Raymond, C.S.C. (Father Willy), a native of Old Town, Maine, is the eighth of 12 children. He joined the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1964 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stonehill College in 1967 and a master’s in Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. He served in ministry at Stonehill College (1979-1992), Holy Cross leadership (1994-2000), National Director of Family Theater Productions, Hollywood (2000-2014), and President of Holy Cross Family Ministries (2014-2022). In addition to English, he is conversant in French and Spanish. He remains a diehard fan of the Boston Red Sox, even though he has served as Chaplain for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Memorial Of The Holy Rosary - Family Reflection Video

Friends, please do not miss that last line of today’s Gospel: "If you then, who are wicked know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"

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The Good Samaritan - Family Reflection Video

This parable of the Good Samaritan, except for the Parable of the Prodigal Son, may be the best-known story of all time. In 2004 Family Theater Productions filmed a documentary on Father Theodore Hesburgh of Notre Dame, who served as president for 35 years. For decades he addressed all incoming students with a moving welcome message. We wanted to capture that message on camera, so we asked him to deliver it spontaneously, which he did.

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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.

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"Little Flower," Sainte Thérèse of the Child Jesus - Family Reflection Video

Sainte Thérèse of the Child Jesus, daughter of two saints, Zélie and Louis Martin, who are the first married couple to be canonized in the same ceremony, in 2015. She was canonized in 1927, proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1997 by Pope John Paul II.

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Remembering Saint Vincent de Paul - Family Reflection Video

On this day of remembering Saint Vincent de Paul, patron of charitable societies, it’s amazing to me how timely is this influential Saint of the poor. Think of the Haitian immigrants at the border in Del Rio, Texas, living under a bridge. No longer there, thousands have been deported back to Mexico or to Haiti itself. There is no facile or perfect solution to the mass migration of so many from Haiti, Central, and South America, and from other nations around the world.

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Padre Pio: Consider Your Ways - Family Reflection Video

Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, spent 50 years suffering from the Stigmata, the Crucifixion wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ. A Capuchin priest at the monastery in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, he was renowned as a confessor who could see into the soul.

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Dante's 700th Anniversary - Family Reflection Video

Seven Hundred years ago this month, Dante Alighieri died. Pope Francis has written an apostolic letter on Dante’s Divine Comedy, one of the world’s great works of literary and religious splendor. Dante is the father of the Italian language and shaper of the culture of Italy. For the supreme beauty of the Divine Comedy, the central gift is hope.

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