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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Daily Gospel Reflections | Holy Week | Spy Wednesday
Reflect on trusting God's timing and avoiding impulsive actions through the story of Judas' betrayal in this Daily Gospel Reflection for Wednesday of Holy Week. Today's Gospel: Matthew 26:14-25 Our actions are never hidden from God. We can try to justify our actions, we can pretend that we know better or that God somehow needs our help to bring His plans to fruition, but these are all lies we tell ourselves. God knows what is best, and He knows us better than we know ourselves. We can’t know what was going on in Judas’s heart when he sold the Lord for thirty silver pieces. Perhaps he was greedy, but it is commonly believed that he was doing what he thought was the right and just thing to do. Many were anticipating a political Messiah who would battle their oppressors, and perhaps Judas thought this exchange would be just the spark needed to ignite the battle. Regardless of his motives, we know that Jesus was aware of the betrayal by the time of the Last Supper, and that once it was complete, Judas regretted his actions. How often do we step in and take action impatiently because we think God needs our help? How often do we take matters into our own hands when we don’t like the direction God is leading us? And then, how often are we later burdened with regret for those foolish actions?
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Blessed Virgin Mary | Charisms of Holy Cross | Our Lady of Sorrows | catholic family life
Holly Dodd shares how enduring life’s sorrows, just as our Blessed Mother did, can draw us closer to Christ.
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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.
Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
The psalms are deeply emotional. Read the Psalms and you will find joy, gratitude, sorrow, and despair. You will find guilt and regret. You will find resentment and frustration. You will find peace and contentment. The psalms are replete with human cries to God that span the spectrum of emotions. Praying the Liturgy of the Hours Became My Anchor Several years ago, I was reintroduced to the Psalms through praying the Liturgy of the Hours. When I began praying the hours, specifically morning and evening prayer, I was grieving a tragic loss. Routine prayer became the anchor of my days. My emotions were all over the place and were frankly unpredictable. Some days I felt okay, some days I felt numb, and some days I felt unstable and could hardly recognize myself. I would feel profound sadness one moment and then a little while later, a rush of overwhelming gratitude. I would feel cheerful and social, and then suddenly want to run and hide from the whole world.
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Faith Communities | catholic family life | raising kids in the faith
There is always something more in our faith. As Catholics, we are blessed to have so many ways to pray and to worship. There are ways to pray alone and at home with your family, but there are many beautiful ways to worship and pray in community with others. Parish-facilitated events which include a time of prayer can be a great starting point for building communities of faith. Your parish may offer Eucharistic processions, guided holy hours, praise and worship nights, Stations of the Cross, or evening Vespers. Life is already full, so finding time for attending these things can be a challenge. Parish community events take extra effort to attend, but are vital to sustaining our faith as they provide organic opportunities to meet other Catholic families.
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Holy Week | Living the Faith | catholic family life
Lent is quickly coming to a close, and Easter is around the corner, but there is something in between that sometimes gets overlooked in the midst of egg dyeing and last-minute Easter basket shopping. These three days, known as the Paschal Triduum, build a bridge from Lent to Easter and include some of the most richly symbolic and sensory liturgies of the whole year. They are often celebrated late in the evening and are sometimes lengthy, but if your family can make it to at least one of these a year, it is absolutely worth your while.
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