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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
On January 23, we remember and pray to Saint Marianne Cope, a religious of the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. Sister Cope served as a principal and teacher in New York schools and helped establish two Catholic hospitals. From there, she went to Hawaii to serve the lepers of Molokai, where she met and assisted Saint Damien for thirty-five years.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
The Letter to the Hebrews draws our attention to a fascinating and mysterious biblical figure—Melchizedek. Though his appearances in Scripture are brief, his significance is profound, mentioned briefly in Genesis, celebrated in the Psalms, and expounded upon in the Letter to the Hebrews, offering us a deeper understanding of Christ’s eternal priesthood and God’s plan for humanity. Melchizedek first emerges in Genesis 14 as the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High. After Abraham’s victorious battle, Melchizedek greets him with bread and wine and blesses him. In return, Abraham offers Melchizedek a tithe of his spoils. This brief encounter is packed with meaning. The name Melchizedek translates to “king of righteousness,” while his title, king of Salem, means “king of peace.” These titles, righteousness, and peace, point us to Jesus, the ultimate King, and High Priest.
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
“You are under CCTV surveillance!” This is a notice we increasingly encounter today. Institutions, offices, public places—almost everywhere—is scanned by CCTV cameras. The purpose is clear: to capture every movement, identify mischief, trace mishaps, and deter harmful actions. Though CCTV is a modern technological marvel, humanity has had its own "human version" of surveillance long before its invention. Today’s Gospel offers proof of this.
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Catholic Motherhood | Faith Life | Saint Monica
Saint Monica was a mother who prayed with such patient tenacity that we are still admiring her motherhood over 1500 years later. She prayed for some fifteen years for her son (Saint) Augustine and even longer for her husband and mother-in-law. All three came into the Church before their deaths. Of her three children, Saint Monica worried the most about Augustine. When Augustine left his mother in search of truth among philosophies far from her devout Christian faith, she never ceased to weep and to pray until her son gladdened her heart with his conversion to ardent faith and became one of the princes among the Church’s theologians. (Magnificat August 2024, p. 381) As we know, Augustine became a great saint and a Doctor of the Church. His mother’s prayers were answered most generously. God is good.
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Catholic Mass | Eucharist | family prayer
We thank God for many, many things over the course of a Mass, but it is this line during the Eucharistic Prayer that sticks out to me every time: "Thank you for counting us worthy to be in your Presence and minister to you.” As with many spiritual realities, this statement of faith causes my expectations to do multiple somersaults in my soul. God counts us worthy? Are we truly in God’s presence? We get the unbelievable privilege of ministering to/serving God, especially as He is ministering to us in the Mass.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
A wealthy man was once seen driving his luxurious Lamborghini through a bustling city. As he stopped to park, a curious passerby exclaimed, “Wow, such an expensive car! But did you notice your rear windows are broken?” The man smiled and replied, “Yes, they’re broken for a reason—they remind me of God’s Providential Love.” Perplexed, the passerby asked, “Broken windows… God’s love? How?” The man began, “One day, I was speeding through these very streets when I heard a loud crash. A stone had struck my car. Furious, I stopped and saw a ragged boy, the culprit, standing nearby. My anger boiled as I approached him, but before I could say a word, he fell to his knees, hands clasped, tears streaming down his face.
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