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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?
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” This is an old saying that expresses the suffering and difficulties that leaders can endure. In each of today’s Scripture readings we see an important leader of God’s people go through a different kind of trial. In the first reading from the Book of Numbers, we hear yet another “grumbling story,” where the people Israel speak rebelliously against God and His servant Moses. Today’s scene, in fact, represents quite an escalation in this dynamic, for here we see not simply an unnamed crowd of complainers, but Moses’ own sister and brother, Miriam and Aaron, challenging the reality of Moses’ unique relationship with God and criticizing Moses’ decision to marry a foreigner. The sense of betrayal Moses would have felt must have been enormous.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
Today’s first reading includes one of the more painfully honest moments in Moses’ leadership journey: “I cannot carry all these people by myself, for they are too heavy for me.” We don’t get the grand miracles, the parting of seas, or thunder from Sinai. No, today we get Moses at his wit’s end, exhausted, frustrated, and frankly, ready to resign. This might be the first recorded case of clergy or leadership burnout. This might be the most relatable passage in all of Scripture for anyone who's ever had to lead a group trip, a parish committee, or even wrangle hungry kids at dinnertime. The Israelites are in the wilderness, and what are they doing? Complaining. Loudly. “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt… the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic!” It's like someone handed them a review for their time of slavery in Egypt: “Two stars, poor working conditions, terrible boss, but the food was great.” They’re nostalgic for oppression, simply because the food there had better sauce and seasoning.
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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.
Catholic books | catholic mom | inspiration
Author Allison Gingras introduces Jesus Heals: Finding Hope, Wholeness, and Peace in this first week of our Catholic Mom Virtual Book Club. She starts by discussing the purpose of Jesus' miraculous healings and how each brings a different kind of hope in this Jubilee of Hope. Jesus longs to heal our hearts and strengthen our spiritual well-being. Allison looks at the life of the Woman and the Well, asking us to consider what we need to leave behind in order to give Jesus room in our lives to heal us! Learn more about Jesus' remarkable healings in this short video:
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Catholic books for children | Rosary with kids | family prayer
Leslea Wahl reviews Jumping into Joy, a book that will keep kids engaged while encouraging the whole family to think about the Rosary in new ways. Jumping into Joy by Theresa Linden Published by Silver Fire Publishing Review: I can’t rave enough about this new chapter-book series by Theresa Linden. Caitlyn and Peter’s Rosary Adventures is a fun, entertaining way to bring the Mysteries of the Rosary to life...
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Family Rosary | Psalms | catholic devotions | pray the rosary
Here is a prayer method that combines a Psalm, a Rosary mystery, and a Canticle. This way of prayer creates a “liturgy of the present moment,” fostering emotional connection, contemplation, and praise throughout daily life. During a visit to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., I picked up a small paperback from Magnificat Press, The Abbey Psalms and Canticles. This booklet inspired me to a new way of prayer. While the Psalms and Canticles prayerfully express emotion in the movement of the human spirit, the Rosary, developed from these, is a prayer of contemplation.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
In today’s Gospel, we see the nitty gritty reality of the Incarnation. The Eternal Son of God chose to humble Himself and be born as a man. And not just a man, but a man living in Nazareth, one of the most insignificant villages in His country. And not just a man living in Nazareth, but a manual laborer. And so, despite Jesus’ powerful teaching and wondrous miracles, the people of Nazareth disrespect Him: isn’t this man just one of us? And isn’t He even one of the more lowly ones among us? And the response of Jesus’ neighbors, when you think about it in merely human terms, actually does make some sense. I mean, before Jesus, can you think of any other great figure in history, anyone who led an important movement, who wasn’t a member of the elite class or a military figure? I can’t. And yet, here Jesus is, proclaiming that He is ushering in the Kingdom of God. Really? A carpenter? From Nazareth? Not a nobleman. Not a general.
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