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Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
One of my favorite scenes involving our Blessed Mother is the Wedding at Cana. Some Scripture scholars like to point to its significance because it marks Jesus’ first public miracle. Others think that its main intent was to draw attention to the validity and dignity of marriage. Mariologists sometimes look at it as exemplifying the fact that Jesus and Mary were, like us, human beings with family ties and important life events. All of these are true, and I appreciate each perspective. But I have one of my own. Mary Is Attentive to Others' Needs When I contemplate the Cana event, I am drawn to Mary’s attentiveness. While the other wedding guests are celebrating, she notices that something is amiss. The wedding couple has run out of wine, which, in that time and culture, would have been a huge embarrassment. First-century Jewish weddings were major occasions. Not only the family and relatives, but often the entire town was invited. Additionally, the feasting went on for days as opposed to the way modern weddings are conducted, with a single afternoon or evening reception. It was the responsibility of the wedding couple and their parents to keep everyone happy and satiated with food and drink.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
On my life’s journey, I am not sure that I have always been aware of hope or have even been hopeful. I know that in my later years, hope and faith are the only things that kept me standing, especially during some of the hardest moments of my life. As a kid, I remember many moments that were scary and maybe even traumatic at the time. Even then, I remember just thinking of Jesus or Mother Mary. I knew they could help, but that’s about it. Coming Back to the Faith I can say that I really didn’t know what faith really meant until my reversion about 19 years ago. I am a cradle Catholic who went to Mass, not understanding what real faith meant. After I lost my mom 25 years ago, I stopped going to Mass. I remember my pain being so overwhelming that I thought God had failed me. After all, if you have faith, you are guaranteed that your prayers will be answered.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
This Jubilee year reminds us that we are pilgrims of Hope on a journey to encounter God. In joyful anticipation, we trust in God’s promise of salvation. We walk through life with the hope of heaven, a hope that comes from the Lord through the Holy Spirit. In his first letter to early Christians, Saint Peter urged them to remain faithful despite threats of suffering, encouraging them: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (1 Peter 3:15).
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
Pope John Paul II introduced the Luminous Mysteries to the world with the publication of Rosarium Virginis Mariae in 2002. It changed my life in many ways, and the foundation for that change was praying the Holy Rosary. I’d like to say that I took up the Rosary on my own, but it was an invitation to pray that I could not deny. My daughter came home from a retreat on fire for the Rosary and invited me to join her. My family life and professional demands created an undercurrent of chaos. I can look back on that time with a certain measure of nostalgia. It was the typical chaos one would expect from three teenagers in the house and two working adults. But chaos often picks away at the spirit, and while I wasn’t feeling hopeless, I didn’t have the experience in my faith to understand that the emptiness and yearning I was feeling would be ameliorated with hope in Jesus Christ. First, I had to get to that place of understanding that would lead to trust. The Rosary became the bridge to hope. I couldn’t remember the last time I had prayed the Rosary,
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
I was barely a teenager when I became chronically ill. It was just before my 13th birthday, lining up in the school hall, completely oblivious that my world was about to change and all my hopes and dreams were about to vaporize. Within 20 minutes, I was experiencing symptoms that gradually became worse, and I was eventually bedridden. I missed about three months of school, and although I ultimately returned to school, I continued to struggle with attending full-time. My friends informed me that the school had held a meeting with the entire Year 7 grade, during which the school counsellor explained that I was unwell and that when I returned, everyone was to treat me with kindness and say hello.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
There are times when life catches us off guard, and we want to shrivel and run from the messiness. In the moment, none of it makes sense — whether it’s a family illness, a miscarriage, a business disaster, or spiritual attacks. With our limited intellect, we want an explanation and a solution to the problems. It’s easier to simplify the problem, find a quick solution, and wrap it in a pretty box with a bow, only to hide it in a closet, than to see the bigger picture. But these “quick fixes” only push the problem down the road for a different day. Sometimes we find an earthly solution to the problem while ignoring the difficulties as gifts from God for the cultivation of our souls towards sainthood. It’s hard to imagine the loss of a baby, the illness of a family member, or financial strains as gifts from God, but it is in these moments that we are given an opportunity to trust in Our Lord, detach ourselves from the world, and to find hope where it is lacking.
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