Praying Together Staying Together

In 2021, a Filipino-American family, the Asidors, produced a song that came to be known globally as the “Family Prayer Song.” The song has so far garnered 5.2 million views on YouTube. The Asidors family comprised of the Dad-Winner Asidors, the Mom-Shen Asidors, and their four children Zian, Ashia, Westin, and Elle combine the message of Venerable Patrick Peyton, The Family That Prays Together Stays Together, and the words of Joshua in the Bible “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15), to drive home the importance of families committing themselves to the Lord through the practice of family prayer.   

The Asidors’ sing “Come fill our homes with your presence! You alone are worthy of our reverence!” and then go on to proclaim like Joshua “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” They also repeat in their own words the message of Venerable Patrick Peyton who was a popular media figure in the Philippines “Staying together, praying together, any storm we can weather, trusting in God’s word!” The Asidors as a family are seen in the video as a praying family, anchored in God through family prayer.  

The Second Vatican Council defined the family as the “Ecclesia Domestica” or the “domestic church” (Lumen Gentium 11). The Council noted that if the family is to truly live out its call as the “domestic church,” then family prayer must be a consistent part of its life. Different popes have gone on to teach different forms of prayer that can turn our homes into authentic “domestic churches.” The popes have noted that without common family prayer, the family would lose its character as the domestic church.  

The family rosary has repeatedly been proposed by the Church for families as a primary means of praying together. Pope Paul VI in Marialis Cultus (1974) noted that “the Rosary should be considered as one of the best and most efficacious prayers in common that the Christian family is invited to recite. We like to think, and sincerely hope, that when the family gathering becomes a time of prayer, the Rosary is a frequent and favored manner of praying” (#54). Pope Saint John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter on the Most Holy Rosary (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 2002) taught that in our contemporary times, for several reasons there was a need for a “revival of the Rosary”(#6).  

One reason for such a “revival” was to implore God for the gift of peace in a world with families and countries that can’t find peace. In the wisdom of Saint John Paul II, “The revival of the Rosary in Christian families, within the context of a broader pastoral ministry to the family, will be an effective aid to countering the devastating effects of this crisis typical of our age.” 

Amplifying the message of Venerable Patrick Peyton, Pope Saint John Paul II reiterated that, “The Family That Prays Together Stays Together.  The Holy Rosary, by age-old tradition, has shown itself particularly effective as a prayer that brings the family together. Individual family members, in turning their eyes towards Jesus, also regain the ability to look one another in the eye, to communicate, to show solidarity, to forgive one another, and to see their covenant of love renewed in the Spirit of God” (#41).  

In Pope Saint John Paul II’s reflection on the Rosary as a family prayer, he highlighted the power of the Family Rosary to change the chemistry in the home and to improve the way family members relate to each other. In praying together, we invite the presence of God into our families; and when He comes, He changes the way our families function, because God is Love, God is Forgiveness, God is Patience, God is Generosity, God is Humility, and God is Kindness.

These are the gifts we receive in our families when we commit ourselves to family prayer. Our prayer for you and your family this Advent is that you will experience the love and peace of Jesus and Mary through the beautiful gift of family prayer, especially the Family Rosary!