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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
Does Family Change Make You Worry? We Tomlins are an Army family. Moving every two to three years is a reality of our family’s life. Each time that Permanent Change of Station season — “PCS season” as we call it — comes around, I feel a bit of hope but simultaneously dread of what’s to come. I find myself awake in the middle of the night, spinning with questions I can’t possibly answer or control: How much time will my husband spend deployed or in the field in this Army job? Will the kids have a good school? Will they make friends? Will they be happy? I definitely earn a gold star for pre-PCS worrying! Elizabeth Ann Seton Understands the Concerns of Your Heart Yet there can and must be room for hope in this life quasi-nomadic lifestyle, and over the years I have found hope with the accompaniment of the Church’s first American-born saint, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. I have looked to Elizabeth as an intercessor during times of change to shift from a posture of hand-wringing worry to hands-folded prayer. What worries me most about moving is how it will affect my children.
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Celebrating family life | Strengthening family unity
Today’s readings reveal what happens when we come close to the living God. Moses’ face becomes radiant — glowing with light after he speaks with the Lord. That radiance wasn’t something Moses manufactured; it was the visible sign of God’s presence, a presence that transforms not just the soul but even the body. That’s the first truth today: Prayer changes us — spiritually, emotionally, even physically. And this is not just poetic language.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
I have a picture of Saint John Paul II above my desk. It is a pencil sketch that a priest gave to me many years ago. When I read the book Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II by George Weigel back in 1999 my perspective on life, joy, and hope changed forever. A Papal Lesson on Hope and Joy Have you ever encountered someone who has survived a great tragedy? Yet, when you meet that person, you would never know it — the glint in their eye, the joy they find in life. When I read about his early life, and all the losses he endured as a child, then a teen, then as a young adult — but experienced his joy as my pope, it made an indelible imprint on my heart.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
For many years today’s feast day was simply the Memorial of Saint Martha. Pope Francis gave a beautiful gift to the Church by changing it to the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. In doing so, he changed today into a celebration of family.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
What is the reason for my hope? In a word, it is Jesus. But if I had not been given the gift of Faith to believe, I’m quite sure I would believe because of the amazing effects of prayer and the Presence of Jesus in my life. Experiencing Jesus in Prayer There are the hours of Adoration where peace is inexplicable. His Presence permeates the room as I realize He knows all my fears, all my pains, all my hopes. He knows. I don’t have to say anything. I need just to let Him love me. At Mass I can receive Him, Body Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The effect is amazingly transforming.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Yesterday, as I rode in an Uber, after sharing part of his life story, my driver told me in college he’d had a class that talked about determinism vs. free will. So, he said, Father which do you think it is…is everything predetermined or is everything open and up to our decisions? Pretty good stuff for an Uber ride….
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