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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Catholic Faith | Gospel of John | Living the Faith | Mass
This is the tale of two fruit plants. In my yard, I have an apple tree in my backyard and a blueberry bush in the front. The apple trees I never prune, and they are now a bit out of hand — they produce bad fruit or, honestly, no fruit most years. The blueberry bush in the front, however, I prune the dead and fruitless branches each year. Because I do this pruning, we get a good crop of blueberries each year. My daughter, Faith and I pick and eat the berries right from the bush; you can’t get any fresher than that!
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Many true stories of sacrificial friendship have emerged from the sad reality of war. One such story tells of two inseparable friends in World War I, which I read from one of the preachings of K.P Yohannan, who was the president and founder of Gospel for Asia. This story is about two young lads. They both enlisted in the army together, completed their training, were shipped overseas, and fought in the trenches. During a battle, one of them sustained critical injuries in a field filled with barbed wire obstacles. He was unable to crawl back to his foxhole, and the entire area was under heavy enemy fire, making it impossible to reach him. Despite the danger, his friend made the brave decision to attempt a rescue. The sergeant yanked him back inside before he could get out of his trench and ordered him not to go. "It's too late. You can't do him any good, and you'll only get yourself killed."
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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.
Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Yesterday, while grocery shopping with my Dad, I made a new friend. As I stood making a big decision between blueberry and cinnamon pound cake, I heard a voice say, “Hi!” in the enthusiasm of a soon-to-be four-year-old. Looking down, I saw this little guy with a half-eaten cookie in one hand looking up at me with curiosity and his mother, slightly embarrassed, beside him. I returned his greeting and asked him about the cookie and other important things, like how old he was and his name. He proudly told me he was turning four tomorrow, that his name was Teddy Joseph, and that his cookie was good! He told me about these things with the certainty that we adults sometimes lose through life’s challenges and setbacks.
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Today we begin the month of May, a month dedicated to Our Blessed Mother. Today also happens to be the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker, a day designated by Mother Church as Religious Brother Day. If you know of a religious brother, please wish them a good feast day!
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A wife ordered a tombstone for her late husband’s grave with the inscription, “Rest in Peace.” A few days later, she discovered that her husband had left a part of his will to another woman. Furious, she called the tomb engraver and asked if he could change the inscription. The man replied that “Rest in Peace” had already been inscribed and could not be changed. “Well then,” the wife snorted, “just add to it, ‘Until We Meet Again.’”
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Saints connect us to God. Saints are people like you and me who’ve transcended ordinary life’s temptations, challenges, and setbacks to live in union with God in heroic virtue and sanctity of life. I often thought of saints as being priests, nuns, brothers, and, of course, popes. It seemed that it was a requirement; that is, until I dug a little deeper into the lives of people like St. Catherine of Siena.
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