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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 Fun | Family Activities | rosary
Summer is here! Discover nine engaging ways to nurture family bonds and faith while creating cherished memories together, away from screens and distractions. A friend and I went out to dinner last weekend, and as we sat at an outside table chatting, we noticed a family of four at a table a few feet away. It was a mother, father, a daughter who looked to be about 14, and a son who looked to be about 11. All except the father had their faces buried in their phones. For nearly 15 minutes, he sat there forlornly just looking around. But then he too pulled out his phone. It made me incredibly sad, for it was a beautiful night and all this family could think about was escaping to social media or texting. As Ecclesiastes 3 teaches, There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.
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Contemplative Prayer | Family Activities | rosary
Women who like to pair Scripture with praying the Rosary will appreciate the new book of Rosary meditations by Catholic Mom contributing writer Margaret Rash. Readers won't need to hunt down the Scripture readings, because they're all right there in the book. That means you won't have to juggle your Bible and your rosary beads and your book of meditations.
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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.
Blessed Virgin Mary | Catholic Family Fun | Family Activities | Marian devotion
Shelly Henley Kelly shares a how-to guide for families and friends who want to host a May Crowning at home. There’s something deeply beautiful about honoring Our Blessed Mother in the month of May. For generations, Catholics have celebrated May Crownings in parishes and schools, but this tradition can be just as meaningful when brought into the home. Growing up, Judy always wanted to be the girl chosen to crown the statue of Mary in her school’s May Crowning celebrations. She never was. But the happy childhood memories of singing Marian hymns and processing with flowers stayed with her for many years. So, when she saw the parish bulletin announcing a preschool May Crowning, it inspired her to host her own May Crowning at home with friends. What are you waiting for? Need ideas on how? Read on...
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Catholic Faith | Easter season | Family Activities | easter
Laura Vazquez Santos explores how the Church’s fifty-day Easter season invites mothers to move from celebration to formation. Every year, I enter the Triduum with holy ambition. I imagine dim lights, whispered prayers, and children gazing reverently at a crucifix. What I usually get is my 6-year-old asking for crackers every 5 minutes during the Gospel at Mass or my preschooler sword-fighting with last year’s blessed palm. I admit that getting through the Easter season can be both logistically challenging and spiritually testing. In years past, and especially after my reversion to the Faith, I placed an unrealistic pressure on myself as a mother to get everything right each Easter, especially as I feared my children would be more enticed by the celebration of the Easter Bunny than by the amazing reality that is the Resurrection.
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Easter season | Family Activities | Holy Week | Triduum
Do you attend the Triduum liturgies with your family? We've gathered up some tips and encouragement from past years to help you and your children get the most out of these holy days. Triduum Memories "Let us stand." ... "Let us kneel." I have vivid memories of the first time I attended a Good Friday liturgy. It was held during the day, so Dad was probably working, and we kids attended with Mom and two of our great-aunts. To top it off, we were attending at our great-aunts' parish, not ours, so it was an unfamiliar church. Between the completely different ritual of the Good Friday liturgy as opposed to a regular Sunday Mass and the new surroundings and music, I remember being very confused. I certainly didn't understand the custom of venerating the cross.
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Daily Family Prayer | Family Activities | reading the Bible
Nicole Berlucchi shares about ways to help your children engage with Scripture this Lent (or anytime). Over the last few years, I’ve become very intentional about Scripture with my kids. I don’t want the only time they are reading Scripture to be at Sunday Mass, because we all know, even the best of us, how easy it can be to zone out or be distracted during Mass when your mind is full of things. Lent is a great time to have your children spend a little more time in Scripture as a “something to do” in Lent rather than “something to give up.” Here are some tips I’ve found useful as I’ve explored Scripture with my children.
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