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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
catholic family life | family prayer | pray the rosary
Both my husband and I were blessed to have grown up praying the Rosary with our families. Rain or shine, no matter what was happening, when it was time for the Rosary, all activities ceased, and we gathered to pray. My parents waited until we kids were older to have us join them in praying, so there were no toddlers present causing mayhem, and it was actually a peaceful rendition of a family Rosary. I’m not saying we would be on the front page of the Faith & Family magazine, but maybe somewhere near the back. Carrying On the Family Rosary with our Toddler With our upbringing, it was an easy habit for me and my husband to continue praying the Rosary when we started our journey as a young married couple. Now with a very active 18-month-old, the tranquility of our Rosary is — how shall we say — lessened. I have a feeling that Our Lord and the Blessed Mother share an amused glance when we begin our Rosary because it’s such a comedy routine these days. After dinner, one of us cleans the kitchen from all the gunk that has accumulated in the past 12 hours. The other one entertains our toddler with dominoes so she doesn’t run through the dirt piles that are being swept together in the kitchen. Both my husband and I are brain-dead at the end of our respective long days.
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Mother's Day | catholic family life | motherhood
Through the channel of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart, it is God’s love that molds women into virtuous mothers. There is no escaping that women truly desire to share love and to help those in need. The fruitful nature of women thrives when their purpose is to love beyond their selfish tendencies and to find God’s love in that process. This is the growth of the heart of every mother who strives towards virtuous living. The vocation of motherhood is a slow process toward sainthood, in which God patiently waits for our spiritual growth. Too frequently, society considers motherhood solely the process of raising children. This is a true and beautiful fact, but it has an even deeper spiritual element that is oftentimes lost in the secular world. Motherhood is the means towards sainthood—not only our own personal sanctity, but also that of our husband and children.
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catholic family life | easter | inspiration
What a glorious time of year this is: celebrating Jesus’ Resurrection after experiencing the sorrow of Lent. For forty days, we wallowed in sadness as we walked through not only the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ but also our own struggles with temptation as we tried to unite our little sacrifices with His. By devoting extra time to prayer and church services, fasting, and giving alms, we fight Satan just as Jesus did during His forty days in the desert. I was blessed to spend time this Lent studying St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises, which were almost exactly in sync with our liturgical readings. As I read and meditated on three different Gospel readings each week, I was touched more than ever by really contemplating the events and how they applied to my life.
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Good Friday | Holy Week | catholic family life
Behold, behold, the wood of the cross, on which is hung our salvation. O come, let us adore. These familiar words are often intoned each year at the Good Friday service. On this somber day that we yet call "good,” what further words can be said? Perhaps just a few. Looking at the cross of Christ, we can say, “Thank you.”
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Good Friday | Holy Week | catholic family life
Do you struggle to find ways to observe Good Friday with your young family? It’s true that Holy Thursday (everyone can relate to a meal with friends) and Easter Sunday (who doesn’t like a party?) are much more “comfortable” for us, whereas Good Friday is definitely uncomfortable. The brutal torture that Jesus went through leading up to His Death on the Cross is too much for many adults to bear, much less young children. For good reason, we don’t want to scare our children by exposing them to the violence, brutality, and sadness of Good Friday. But, if we leave that part out of the Easter story, we’re missing a BIG part of the message of Easter.
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Holy Thursday | Holy Week | catholic family life
When Covid-19 hit my town, I was two weeks away from delivering my fifth child. Coming home to my other kids, with my husband off work for a short time, I honestly didn’t mind the stay-at-home orders initially. Winter melted away to warm spring air, and the loss of many material things and social isolation still held a feeling of hopefulness — maybe these sacrifices would prove fruitful. Yet amid the confusion and incredible pain so many encountered, we suffered incomparably with the closing of churches. Daily Mass was no longer offered, and Adoration chapels were shuttered. Jesus was hidden in plain sight, though for the first time since my conversion, he wasn’t accessible. There are many stories of people whose access to the Eucharist is limited. Blessed Victoire Rasoamanarivo (1848-1894) lived in Madagascar when the French Missionary priests left due to conflict. She was placed in charge of the faith of a Catholic community of around 21,000 people for three years. Without access to any sacraments, the community endured and became even more grateful for them when the priests finally returned.
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