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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Father Peyton | family prayer | how to pray the rosary | rosary novena
Does your family need a miracle? Join our Novena for Father Peyton's intercession (January 9 to 17) for your family —celebrating the Anniversary of Venerable Patrick Peyton’s birth.
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
As the director of the Formation program for seminarians of the Congregation of Holy Cross, there is a term I used frequently as I cautioned the young men in formation. “Please don’t jump ahead of oneself.” Some with an ambitious mind wanted to act like deacons already. They were focusing too much on future outcomes even before completing the current stages of training. Of course, the dangers of becoming overly confident and unrealistic can be significant. No growth takes place then. Why am I saying all this, we just celebrated the birth of Jesus a few days ago and here we are with today’s Gospel already highlighting the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry after John the Baptist’s arrest. It might sound like jumping ahead of oneself.
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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.
Epiphany | New Year's Resolutions | family blessing
I’ll be honest. I have mixed feelings about the New Year’s resolution season. Between the guilt-ridden goals to look better or do more, the temptation for self-centered navel-gazing, and the thinly veiled marketing gimmicks, I’m not excited to set goals on a prescribed January timeline. As a natural southerner, I also lack winter motivation for pretty much everything. I’d much prefer hiding under a blanket fort with my kids and a good cup of tea until at least April. Despite my hesitations, I recognize that this is a fresh start for many of us. Thanks to the intentionality that this turning of the calendar provides, I’ve watched friends accomplish some amazing things for themselves, their families, and for God. God indeed graces the act of reflecting and growing. With this in mind, how is the Lord guiding our steps in 2026?
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Catholic books | Family Rosary | pray the rosary
Sarah Pedrozo recaps her family’s experience of using the new book, The Family That Prays Together Stays Together, to pray the Rosary. 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 Father Willy Raymond’s new book, inspired by the life of Father 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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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
As we are still in the Christmas Season, it is necessary to continue contemplating and understanding the mystery of the incarnation and nativity of Emmanuel. To understand this, we need to dig deeper into the mystery of Christology. The question is, who is Jesus? Both the first reading and the Gospel throw light on this. In my reflection, I will focus more on the First Reading. The first letter of John, as we have heard, begins with a question. Who is a liar?
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Christmas Gifts | Jesus | catholic family life
Christine Hanus shares a touching story about the providence of God during a distressing time in her life. Luke's Gospel prepares us for the birth of Christ with the story of the angel Gabriel visiting the Virgin Mary. When Our Blessed Mother says her historic, momentous, earth-shattering “yes” to God, and agreed to be the mother of the Messiah, she had little idea that she would become the spiritual mother to all of God’s children. Whoever calls the Father “Abba,” becoming an adopted brother or sister of Christ, is taken into Mary’s maternal heart forever. As my own children were growing up, it seemed that materialism, immorality, and noise surrounded our family on every side. My husband and I tried to help my children navigate the world, but as our two oldest approached middle school, I worried for their happiness and safety.
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