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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
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Right around now, the last two weeks before Easter, it’s not hard to lose our focus on Lent. It’s been about four weeks since Ash Wednesday and human nature being what is it is we can start to trail off in our prayer, fasting and charitable works. So, today’s gospel from John is perfectly placed on our Lenten journey, our preparation for the great celebration of Easter; in it, Jesus speaks to the Pharisees and now us about His divine origin and mission.
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
Today’s reading from the book of the prophet Daniel is gripping — like something out of a courtroom drama. Two respected elders, full of deceit, attempt to destroy the reputation and life of a virtuous woman. Susanna is cornered not just by their lust but by the terrifying weight of injustice. Imagine this: a young girl, falsely accused, standing in the center of a circle, condemned by powerful men. Her voice is trembling, her hands shaking, but her heart is rooted in something unshakable — truth when truth hangs in the balance. And yet, she stands firm, even when no one believes her. She cries out not to the world but to God. And God hears. That’s Susanna’s story — truthfully, it could be ours, too. Susanna’s story is not ancient history. It’s happening every day — when character is questioned, when assumptions are made, and when the voices of the innocent are too soft to be heard over the noise of pride, gossip, and power.
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Spiritual Works of Mercy | catholic family life | corporal works of mercy | family Lenten activities
I'm not a pro when it comes to liturgical living, especially as it's viewed today. I grew up in a home that was solidly Catholic, but celebrating feast days throughout the year wasn't something we regularly did. We had an Advent wreath. A Christmas tree. We went to Stations of the Cross and gave things up for Lent. But there were no sweet buns for St. Lucia, no shoes for old St. Nick. We didn't dress as saints on All Saints Day; our evening meals didn't reflect the feasts of the Church. We were a solid, loving, traditional Catholic family. Our faith was simply yet devoutly lived. But a decade ago, when I had my first toddler, the idea of living liturgically — doing more than my family did — was pretty intimidating. The dawn of Pinterest and Instagram made me even more shell-shocked. Three active kids, a work-from-home, homeschooling schedule, and I'm supposed to make a crown of thorns centerpiece from scratch? Truthfully, I was ready to throw in the towel, especially when it came to Lent. Advent was easy — there was a baby, and there were farm animals — but 40 days in the desert? Our Lord's scourging?! His gruesome death?! Guiding my family through this season eluded me, and it brought me a whole lot of guilt. That is until I figured out how to approach it, and it's gone well for us ever since.
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Catholicism | Lenten Reflections | prayer
I remember a stage in my early teenage years when my bedroom frequently looked as if there had been an explosion of some sort, and it drove my mom nuts! One Saturday morning, I “cleaned” my room, and she made it crystal clear that it did not meet her standards. I cleared a straight path from my bed to the door, quoted a version of these very words from The Gospel of John, and showed her how I had clearly made “a straight way for the Lord.” She assured me he was going to need a much wider path. The Perspective of a Wise Mom My mom’s assurance is true today! I realize I don’t always make the path to my heart straight or wide. I need to give God room to come into my heart and do His mighty works of mercy. I have all kinds of things in the way that make His way tricky to maneuver. I make Him wind His way around jealousy and pride and selfishness. The path hooks to the left when I toss in impatience and judgmental thinking. The way really goes sideways when control, bitterness, and gossip get tossed into the mix.
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I recently made a visit to India. I visited the cities, and I visited the countryside. I spent time with high profile people like the Archbishop of Bangalore who live in places that look like palaces, and I also visited very poor people who live far out on tiny strips of land in rice fields, in a tiny room that floods when it rains, and even snakes may find their way into your room. India is so diverse—wealthy and poor, urban and rural, westernized and native—that it can be challenging to figure out people and figure out things.
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
Many of us own a bathroom scale or use one at a gym, it gives us an indication on how we’re doing with our diet and exercise programs…even our general health. But sometimes, we need to take a deeper look, maybe a blood test, MRI or cardiac ultrasound. Lent is a special time when we take a deeper look into our hearts and souls…to see what drives us…and what we place first in our lives and why….?
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