Do You Believe This? - Weekday Homily Video

I’m certain that Venerable Patrick Peyton would see it as fitting that the Church now celebrates Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus together as a family.

It was in 2021, Pope Francis expanded this memorial to honor the entire family of Bethany, reminding us that together they reveal the beauty of Christian family life—faith in Christ, loving service, attentive prayer, and the hope of the Resurrection all lived under one roof.

I Am the Resurrection

Today's Gospel (John 11:19-27) brings us into one of the most moving moments in the life of Jesus. His good friend, Lazarus has died.

Martha and Mary are grieving, and many have gathered to comfort them. It’s in the midst of their sorrow, Jesus arrives—but not with immediate answers, but with His presence. Martha goes out to meet Him and says with surety, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." She brings both her pain and her faith to Jesus.

Our Lord responds with words "Your brother will rise." Now, Martha believes in the resurrection on the last day, but Jesus reveals something greater: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live."And, then He asks Martha and each of us today, "Do you believe this?"

Martha's response is one of the great professions of faith: "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world." Her faith does not erase her grief, but it transforms it. She trusts Jesus before she sees the miracle. That is the faith that made the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus a place where Christ loved to dwell.

This memorial reminds us that holiness often begins in the family. Bethany was not a palace or a synagogue; it was an ordinary home, like ours, that was made extraordinary because Jesus was welcomed there. Martha served Him, Mary listened to Him, and Lazarus experienced His life-giving power. Together they show us that every Christian family is called to become a domestic church—a place where Christ is welcomed, loved, and trusted.

A Faith that Transforms

That same truth shaped the life of Venerable Patrick Peyton. For long before he preached to millions of people at Rosary Rallies around the world, he learned the faith in his family's home in County Mayo, Ireland. Each evening his mother gathered the family to pray the Rosary, and his father led them in turning to God and Our Blessed Mother. Those simple moments of family prayer, night after night, in good times and hard times, formed the heart of a future missionary and his brothers and sisters.

Father Peyton's famous words, "The family that prays together stays together," were not merely a slogan. For they flowed from his conviction that families, like the family of Bethany, become places of hope when Christ is at their center. He believed that when families pray together, especially the Rosary, they invite Jesus into their joys, struggles, and even their sorrows. Like Martha, they learn to place their confidence in Christ before they see how He will answer their prayers.

My brothers and sisters, Jesus gently but directly, asks each of us today the same question He asked Martha: Do you believe that "I am the resurrection and the life; (and that) whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live." We can also ask: “do we believe that Jesus is present in our homes, our struggles, and our hopes if we invite Him in through prayer?”

If we answer with Martha's faith and Father Peyton's confidence, then our families, too, can become places where Christ dwells and where the power of His resurrection brings new life.

May Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and Venerable Patrick Peyton, intercede for our families, so that our homes may always be places of faith, prayer, and hope. And, we can answer like Martha, “Yes Lord I believe…”

• Today’s Readings
  
  
• Father Boby’s inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center today. You can watch the entire Mass on the Family Rosary Video streams channel on YouTube.
  
  
• Join the Rosary (11:30 am ET) and Mass (Noon ET) livestreams on the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page, Monday – Friday. Invite your friends and family to pray with you as well.