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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
The-Rosary-In-Our-Hands | family prayer
Today, October 18, is a special day for my family. Two and a half decades ago, my oldest son was born. He came into the world on a night when our city was engulfed in a historic flood, the likes of which hadn’t been seen for over 100 years, and that seemed to set the standard for how his life would roll. He arrived at a time of high drama and adventure, and he never looked back. He’s the reason I developed a devotion to the Rosary. Trusting the Blessed Mother to Protect My Fearless Child When he was four years old, we moved to an old farm out in the country that had a huge, dilapidated red barn on the property. That barn was like a magnet for my son. He would talk about climbing the “ladder to nowhere,” a rickety old ladder barely hanging onto the side of the barn that used to lead up to the second-story loft, long since rotted away. His goal was to jump from the ladder onto a fraying rope hanging from the rafters and swing out over “the bottomless pit” — a hole in the flooring below that opened over old farm equipment, unused since the 1960s. It was the perfect enticement for a fearless young boy, full of adventure ... and a disaster waiting to happen.
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Catholic Family Fun | family life | family prayer
Now that the long, slower days of summer are finally here, they bring with them the invitation to slow down a little. Hopefully, the lengthy twilights and break from school brings a sense of less urgency and more playtime to your home. Of course, the flip side of no school and more flexibility can also mean that the house seems to perpetually be half a step away from descending into complete chaos. When my kids were growing up, summer meant sleeping in and a lot of time for bedtime stories. On the other hand, it was also the season when one or another of my boys would get mad and inform us he was going to run away and we’d be sorry! So summer brings both sides of the coin. (By the way, they only ran away to the stop sign a block away. I would wander over a while later with some snacks in case they had run out of food. They usually had. One time, their dad dropped off a pillow, so they “would sleep better.” They all eventually decided home wasn’t so bad after all.) That is the great thing about summer: there’s even time for some mini-adventures.
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Ave Maria Press | Catholic Family Fun | Sorrowful Mysteries | family prayer
The Rosary is one of my favorite ways to pray. Not only is it a powerful prayer, greeting Mary using the same words as the Angel Gabriel, but it also hinges on Jesus and walks us through key moments in the life of the Holy Family, and the story of God becoming man. But I will admit, sometimes my mind wanders off as I am praying ... and I realize I’ve zoned out on several Hail Marys. So, I was excited to try praying with Fr. Willy Raymond’s new book inspired by the life of Venerable Patrick Peyton, The Family that Prays Together Stays Together: A Bead-by-Bead Family Guide through the Mysteries. It was that “bead-by-bead” part I was especially interested in.
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Our Lady of Sorrows | Seven Sorrows of Mary | family life
Over the course of the years in my job at my parish, I have encountered hundreds of moms. These are women from a wide variety of backgrounds, cultures, socio-economic levels, education, and even languages, who meet to learn and worship together. Over time, I’ve heard many of their stories and learned of their sufferings. We have especially prayed for each other's children during times of trial.
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Behold Your Mother | pray the rosary | seasons of motherhood
Today we will pray the Third Luminous Mystery: The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God. These are the ordinary days of Jesus’ ministry. Days of excitement and anticipation, of crowds pressing in, eager to hear His words of hope and witness His healings. But they are also days of discomfort and weariness, of feet tired from walking, of aching joints and short tempers, of bodies wanting to rest.
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