World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Celebrating family life | Strengthening family unity
"This little Band-Aid doesn't just cover scraped knees—it's a sign of God's mercy in your home. When Mom kisses a boo-boo, when Dad stays up late helping with homework instead of scolding over bad grades, when a sister shares her favorite toy without being asked—that's spiritual first aid. These are the moments when your family becomes a living Gospel." The Messy Holiness of Family Life A woman recently wept in my office: "Father, I love my 93-year-old mother, but I'm so tired. The constant care, the lack of gratitude—I don't know how much longer I can do this." I told her about Mother Teresa cleaning the wounds of lepers who sometimes spat at her. When asked why she did it, she'd count on her fingers: "I – do – it – for – Jesus."
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Celebrating family life | Christmas Season | family prayer | memories
Looking back at childhood Christmases, Elena LaVictoire focuses not on what she lacked, but on the love of her family.
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Catholic Motherhood | Celebrating family life
'Tis the night before Christmas, and throughout the domain, while the children are sleeping, Mom’s going insane. The stockings, still empty, are strewn on the floor; Her husband, still absent, has gone to the store. Dreaming of presents, kids sprawl on their beds; Mom hopes their good fortune won't go to their heads. As she decorates cookies, Mom hears the clock chime, She gulps down cold coffee and frowns at the time.
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Celebrating family life | Learn more about our faith
Today, we hear the prophet Jeremiah’s response to God building him up to go out on mission. Jeremiah says, “Ah, Lord God! I know not how to speak; I am too young.” Those last words, “I am too young,” are what most of us have said when we didn’t think we could do something, whether we were referring to chronological age, or experience, or even talent level.
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Ascension | Celebrating family life | Learn more about our faith
The Ascension of Jesus must have been the final evidence the disciples needed from Him. In addition to the fulfillment of the Father’s plan of salvation, it was the catalyst for the passing of the torch to Jesus’ disciples. At the beginning of today’s gospel from Mark, Jesus issues a profound and challenging command: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” This command is not a mere suggestion or a limited directive. It is a call to action to share the good news of salvation with every person, and creature, in every corner of the world. Jesus didn’t say, “Remember what I told you, take care of yourself, and one day you will see me again.” And likewise, He didn’t say, “Proclaim the gospel to some people, people you like—within the town where you live.”
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Celebrating family life | Lenten Reflections | family prayer
When our children were toddlers, we would socialize with other young families and try to shape how the kids played together, sharing, cooperating, taking turns, and being polite. It was a developmental challenge. When the little ones aren’t ready to share, forcing the issue can be counter-productive. It takes creative coaching and then waiting for development to take its course.
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