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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
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This past Sunday, Fr. Fred Jenga and I had the opportunity to speak at a Rosary Rally at a Catholic High School in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Carmel Catholic H.S. was our host but it was open to the wider community. There were people of all ages including an infant, Mary Rose, attending her first Rosary Rally only months after her birth. There was even a former basketball player from the Chicago Bulls who was there because of one of the keynote speakers Kevin Matthews. Kevin is the subject of an upcoming movie from Family Theater Productions called “Broken Mary.” When Kevin Matthews shared his conversion story, he spoke of how he heard a voice say to him: “will you deny me and my mother?” When Kevin heard those words, “will you deny me and mother?” he knew it was God trying to get him to come back to the faith and that it was Our Blessed Mother that was included in that question.
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Learn more about our faith | Return to the Church
Let’s talk about leftovers today. You know, the ones that have taken residence in the back of the fridge long enough to develop their own personalities. There’s always one suspicious container in your fridge with a fuzzy green lid, and no one remembers what it was or when it was made, but everyone agrees it is a science experiment now. And yet, how many times do we open the fridge, stare at a feast of half-eaten pizza and spaghetti, salad, and still complain: “There is nothing to eat!” In today’s Gospel, people chase after Jesus not because they were spiritually moved by His miracles but because they wanted more food, free food. The earlier miracle of multiplying bread and fish wasn’t enough. They treat Jesus like a traveling food truck: “Hey Rabbi, what’s on the menu today? Can we get the loaves and fish special again?” They want another buffet today.
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Catholic Motherhood | pray the rosary
My life has been so influenced and blessed by the Rosary. It was the cornerstone of my conversion to Catholicism and is part of the foundation of my faith. Recently this important prayer has been demonstrating its power again. Let me explain. When I was a young wife and newspaper reporter in Memphis, I had an older friend who was a devout Catholic. She enjoyed sharing her faith, and I remember going to a service at her parish where I received a blue, macrame Rosary. It sat in my car’s glove box for a while, but as I began exploring Catholicism, I took it out and started learning the prayers. The daily habit of praying the Rosary changed my mind, changed my heart, and changed my life.
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Living the Faith | catholic devotions | family prayer
My favorite priest came to speak to our mothers’ group a few years ago. At the time, my prayer time was GREATLY lacking. I didn’t pray at all, unless you include Mass on Sundays. He shared seven different prayers and practices that should be on our non-negotiable list. Ever since, I strive to do all the items he suggested, and when I fall off track, I go straight back to the list. If you feel called to up your prayer routine, try adding one a week or even each month to help build the habit.
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Today we reflect on the miracle of the feeding by the Lord, of the 5,000 people. Right from the opening, it should not be lost onto us of how the Lord continues to feed us through the Eucharist and through Sacred Scripture. There is hunger that He alone can satisfy. I would like to draw your attention to two important things that we can reflect on for the day...
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Growing up, I had a neighbor who was a carpenter. Nothing fancy—small town jobs: fixing sagging doors, building dining tables, mending leaking roofs patched more times than you could count. His hands were rough like tree bark, his knees creaked like old floorboards. No one gave him awards. No crowds gathered to watch him work. But there was a quiet pride about him—the kind that comes not from money, the kind that comes not from fame, but from knowing you built something that mattered, something that would last. When I think of Saint Joseph, I think of that neighbor. And I realize something: holiness often wears work boots, not halos.
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