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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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For many years today’s feast day was simply the Memorial of Saint Martha. Pope Francis gave a beautiful gift to the Church by changing it to the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. In doing so, he changed today into a celebration of family.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
What is the reason for my hope? In a word, it is Jesus. But if I had not been given the gift of Faith to believe, I’m quite sure I would believe because of the amazing effects of prayer and the Presence of Jesus in my life. Experiencing Jesus in Prayer There are the hours of Adoration where peace is inexplicable. His Presence permeates the room as I realize He knows all my fears, all my pains, all my hopes. He knows. I don’t have to say anything. I need just to let Him love me. At Mass I can receive Him, Body Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The effect is amazingly transforming.
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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.
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Yesterday, as I rode in an Uber, after sharing part of his life story, my driver told me in college he’d had a class that talked about determinism vs. free will. So, he said, Father which do you think it is…is everything predetermined or is everything open and up to our decisions? Pretty good stuff for an Uber ride….
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
Those who suffer in accord with God’s will hand their souls over to a faithful creator as they do good. (1 Peter 4:19) I have always been an optimistic person. For me, there was always a light at the end of the tunnel. Even if a situation seemed unfixable, I believed God would eventually make things ok. The downfall to my optimistic nature was over-confidence in my own ability to straighten crooked paths and less reliance upon God to do this for me. A Loss of Optimism, But Not of Hope Then a situation arose that literally tore my heart in two. In doing so, I lost my perpetual optimism and struggled to understand hope. I quickly came to realize that faith is what keeps us going forward when our heart is frozen in pain. Optimism is a natural sentiment of the human heart. We hope that our actions and choices, and those of the people we love, will turn out as planned or hoped for. Optimism is “hope that sees for itself” (Romans 8:24). It is temporary and deficient. In contrast, true hope comes from God, has its focus on God as its ultimate end, and it hopes for God’s intercession in daily life. Faith births hope.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
Two of my favorite Sundays of the year are Laetare and Gaudete Sunday. You know, the days when the priest wears “rose” (we all know it’s pink!). Each of these pink Sundays stands out at the end of a season of fasting and waiting, reminding us the end is in sight. Take courage! Gaudete Sunday Gaudete (“rejoice”) Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent, represented by the only pink candle on the Advent wreath. When I don’t think I can listen to “What Child is This?” or “People Look East” one more time, that pink candle reminds me that soon we'll be singing my favorite Christmas carol, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Jesus is on His way–He will be here imminently.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
As a young adult Catholic, I experienced many moments of keen awareness of my singleness. I have vivid memories of watching old married couples sitting in the pew in front of me and thinking, “How on Earth do I get that?!” I would watch husbands and wives work together, teaching their small children how to genuflect, respect Jesus, and develop awe in Church. Where was the playbook to make this happen? In the modern era of declining religion and increased moral ambiguity, it seemed like an impossible puzzle to solve. I longed for someone who would accompany me to Mass, chat about the homily, and share prayer. During college, I dated some young men who called themselves Christian and even Catholic, but time and again it became obvious that these were more labels than deep identities. It was hard to hold onto the hope that I could live my faith fully in relationship. After one particularly wrong relationship, I felt God speak to me that I would, in fact, have a husband to pray the Rosary with one day. Yet, week after week, I continued to sit in the same empty pew, trying to blend in on my own, with no sign of my Catholic Prince Charming in attendance. I even joined a rosary group with some side intentions in the process. Never cease to hope, right?
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