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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Divine Mercy Sunday | catholic family life | family prayer
Silvia Patalano-Ross reflects on how busy moms can practice Divine Mercy at home through patience, forgiveness, and small daily choices. Divine Mercy Sunday has always sounded beautiful to me. I would see the image of Jesus with rays pouring from His Heart. I have loved the simple prayer, “Jesus, I trust in You.” It is a reminder that God’s mercy is endless, something I find myself relying on more and more each day. But most years, Divine Mercy Sunday meets me in a much less peaceful place. There is always someone arguing about whose turn it is to take the dog out. There’s a child who suddenly remembers a project that is due tomorrow. It’s time to eat, but the dinner table is full of papers and half-finished art projects. I can’t tell you the number of socks I’ve dug out of the couch. These are usually the moments when I remember mercy isn’t just something we talk about in church. It’s something we practice in our homes — and for me, it’s about five minutes after I’ve already lost my patience.
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Blessed Virgin Mary | Rosary Stories | family prayer
A story of how a gathering with my closest friends budded into a love for our Heavenly Mother.
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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.
Praying with images | Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary | family prayer | pray the rosary
As we enter the quiet holiness of Holy Saturday, families are invited to gather together for a time of profound prayer and reflection. Artful depictions of Christ’s life—especially His Passion and Death—open a gentle and accessible doorway into conversations about faith that might otherwise feel difficult to begin as a family. From the youngest child to the eldest family member, generations are invited to come together and behold the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary through these sacred images. As they pray and reflect on the images together, families can share what they notice and how they are moved in their hearts and spirits. This prayerful practice, known as Visio Divina or “sacred seeing,” is an ancient Christian tradition that invites us to encounter God through attentive looking and holy imagination. Especially well-suited for family prayer, Visio Divina creates a shared space where faith is seen, felt, and spoken aloud together. As you begin, we invite your family to call upon the Holy Spirit, asking for guidance and openness as you spend time with these images and allow them to draw you more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s love. Your prayer can be as simple as, "Come, Holy Spirit," or you may wish to recite or write a longer one, such as: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. And kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you will renew the face of the earth. The images below of the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary include short reflections for each picture to illustrate the variety of ways sacred art can be viewed and discussed. We pray your family is truly blessed by your time together, immersed in the beauty of the art, these words, and your precious time together.
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Good Friday | Holy Week | family prayer
Sarah Pedrozo offers a short meditation on a few words to pray on Good Friday. 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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Palm Crosses | Palm Sunday | family prayer
Roxane Salonen shares her memories of Palm Sundays past and explains how we can create lasting memories with our families this Palm Sunday. During a recent trip to Mexico, I was struck by the palm trees and branches. They are so different than anything I’ve ever seen in my ordinary life, whether growing up on the Plains in northeast Montana or living on the Prairie of North Dakota as I do now, not to mention visits to our lake-laden land next door, Minnesota. These trees and their branches are so exotic, and yet, as a Catholic, I find them still so familiar because of our yearly procession with Jesus on Palm Sunday. There’s much to ponder in those last words, but that’s not what came to mind as I sized up these beautiful adornments of the resort town where my husband and I stayed for five nights last month. Instead, they called to mind the years my father would place palm branches behind a Madonna and Child painting that hung above our television.
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The Sacraments | catholic family life | family prayer
Caitlan Rangel describes five different ways she prays with her children on a daily and weekly basis. What's your family's favorite way to pray together? Is there anything better than hearing one of your children singing a song to God, or them showing you a picture they drew of themselves and Jesus, or listening to their sweet and powerful prayer intentions? As moms who care deeply about our children coming to know, love, and serve God, these moments of seeing their interior lives and love of God are such gifts. I have four children, ages 10, 8, 6, and 2, and just as I observe their unique personalities and physical characteristics, I am beginning to see similarities and differences in their spiritual lives. As moms who already have a lot on our plates, how can we attend to the varied spiritual lives of our children while also creating a unified family culture of discipleship? Here are a few ideas, and I would love to hear your insights and experiences in the comments!
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