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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
As a little boy, I remember my mother pointing me in the direction of the night sky to view the moon and the stars. I recall her enthusiasm for me to appreciate the moonlight and the myriad of stars populating the darkness. She told me about moon phases, the North Star, and the Big Dipper. I could tell she found beauty and consolation in the night sky. Her delight in the heavens became mine. In those days, there was less artificial light to interfere with stargazing.
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Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. Lawrence was one of the seven deacons in Rome during the persecution of the Christians by emperor Valerian in the year 258 AD. He was responsible for the church’s monies, and he was in charge of ministering to the poor whose patron saint he has become. He died a very painful death of being grilled on a fire – like goat meat, and somehow, he has become the patron saint of cooks!
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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.
Edith Stein, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross: a beautiful person, a seeker of truth and love who found her way in Christ. A Martyr for Truth and Love. A great sister for us and a model for our times.
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I am at a loss what first to admire in this passage. Is it the foreknowledge that Jesus had that the coin required to pay tax was in the mouth of a fish and that the first fish to be taken? Or is it to admire Peter's faith, who was obedient in no easy matter, to go fishing, catch a fish, open its mouth and find a shekel just enough to pay the tax for two.
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Today we celebrate the Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, one of the four principal churches in Rome. Someone might say: there you go, you Catholics, with all these weird devotions – even to the point of a devotion to a building!!! How do we explain to him what’s going on here?
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
After the French Revolution in the 1790’s, parts of France were left in social chaos. Extreme atheist factions had gotten control in some areas and the aftermath was a material, social, and spiritual collapse. This was still the case in a rural village in south central France called Ars when a young priest named Jean (John) Marie Vianney arrived there 20 years later, in 1818.
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