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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
The Gospel from today's Mass picks up right after the Transfiguration of Jesus upon the mountaintop with Peter, James, and John, as we’ve just heard: “As Jesus came down from the mountain…” Like many of our faith-enriching mountaintop experiences, for instance, coming off a great retreat, Jesus and the others are faced with a challenge. The scribes and Jesus’ other disciples are having an argument and there’s a large crowd to make it even more charged. Amidst this chaotic scene a father’s love breaks through the mass of humanity and raised voices to seek Jesus’ healing for his son. He explains to Jesus his son’s symptoms with desperation and the disciple’s inability to drive out the evil spirits.
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Book Club | Catholic Reads | Holy lives of inspiration | catholic mom
We're excited to announce our March 2025 Book Club selection: Catholic Mom media editor Maria Morera Johnson's A Beautiful Second Act: Saints and Soul Sisters who Taught Me to Be a Badass Age with Grace, published by Ave Maria Press. What's the Book About? In A Beautiful Second Act, bestselling author Maria Morera Johnson explores the adventure of life’s second half, drawing inspiration from twenty saints and “soul sisters” who faced these challenges with courage.
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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.
Lent activities | catholic devotions | family prayer
The other day at the gym, I was pushing myself hard. It was a kickboxing class that day (my favorite), and I challenged myself to really jump during my kicks. I was happy with my ability to do what I thought was challenging until I returned to the beginning of the line. That’s when another woman approached me and gently told me that the combination we had just done caused her to twist her ankle back when I first joined the gym. She wanted to warn me to just be careful, and I was instantly humbled. Here I was, letting pride get the best of me instead of thinking about the consequence of injury from getting too comfortable in my jumps. The embarrassing part is that it has happened to me before; I fell one day during a jump and rolled my ankle. I was lucky enough that I didn’t injure it and could get back up and continue with the class. But I should have let that instance be a reminder to slow down.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Strengthening family unity
Ever been in a group project where everyone is shouting ideas, but no one is really listening? You have got the overachiever bulldozing the agenda, the philosopher questioning the meaning of a PowerPoint slide, and a cool guy just hoping someone brings some snacks to the meeting and another looking at the clock for the meeting to be over. It’s chaos. And yet, somehow, it’s how most of humanity operates. Which brings us to the Tower of Babel—the Bible’s version of a group project gone hilariously off the rails.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Strengthening family unity
The question echoes through time, "Who do you say that I am?" It's a question posed not just to the disciples then, but to each of us today. Who is Jesus for you?
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As I prayed and reflected on Jesus taking the hand of the man who was blind in the Gospel of Mark, the words of the classic hymn, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand,” came to mind. If you can, imagine the scene where Jesus and His disciples arrive at Bethsaida, a small fishing town, and people bring Jesus to a blind man. Trusting in the healing power of Jesus, they ask Him to touch the man so he can see.
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