World at Prayer blog from Family Rosary - Reflections of Family and Faith

Gospel Reflection | Learn more about our faith | prayer

Persistence in Prayer

By: Father Fulgens Katende, C.S.C. October 8th, 2026

Last Saturday, during the Peyton Rosary Rally, Mr. Artie Boyle was the main speaker. He gave a very powerful testimony on how the power of prayer in his life healed him from two separate episodes of terminal cancer. He showed us that there comes a time when what you are left with is to pray as you have never prayed before. And in his case, the grace of God healed him from these two types of cancer. In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents us with a parable of a bothersome man who shows up in the middle of the night, imposing on his neighbor to give him bread for an unexpected guest. The story illustrates that even when the neighbor is reluctant to get up, he does so because of the man’s bold persistence to provide what is needed.

Believing in What God Can Do

By: Father David Marcham October 6th, 2026

I have a question for us to consider: “Do we really believe in what God can do for us?” There are moments in life when we look back and realize that God was doing something in us long before we recognized it. Sometimes we think our past disqualifies us from serving God and those He places in our lives. We remember our mistakes, our failures, our wrong choices, or maybe the years when we were far from the Lord. But today’s readings remind us of something important: God does not define or constrain us by our past. Instead, He sees the person He created us to become. That’s how the Lord sees us. St. Paul gives us a powerful example when he says, “You heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.” Paul doesn't hide his past. He remembers it honestly. Paul wasn’t simply indifferent to Christ; he actively opposed Christ and persecuted His followers.

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Gospel Reflection | Jesus | Learn more about our faith

Who Is My Neighbor

By: Father Fulgens Katende, C.S.C. October 5th, 2026

It is a question posed in today's gospel to Jesus by an expert in religious laws. Probably you have come across or heard people share about their encounters with everyday interventions; people who extend acts of kindness to strangers, like staying with an unhoused person in medical emergency until paramedics arrive, or people who open their home as foster parent for a child in crisis, churches or organizations that attend to or shield people from socially targeted groups who are in distress. We have fire fighters who risk their lives while pulling injured strangers from burning houses or cars. From the context of today’s gospel, we can probably say that those instances depict the essence of neighborliness. The parable of Good Samaritan takes us beyond the question “who is my neighbor?” to “What does it mean to be a neighbor” and definitely that is the question Jesus asked at the end of the parable,which of these three (Priest, Levite and Samaritan) proved himself a neighbor?”

Laborers of His Harvest

By: Father Fulgens Katende, C.S.C. October 1st, 2026

Back in East Africa people in the village always tease Holy Cross members, that you took the vow of poverty, but it is we ourselves who live it and not you. Why? You are driving a car, and you seem not to lack anything. Of course, the vow of poverty is a voluntary promise made to God by members of religious orders to renounce the independent ownership of material goods and live simply in imitation of Jesus Christ. It involves sharing everything within the religious community. In that sense, we do share one car with three to four members. They have the wrong assumption.

Serving as Jesus Did

By: Father Fulgens Katende, C.S.C. September 28th, 2026

One great researcher, Brene Brown, in her book, Daring Greatly, poses some questions that I do feel are relevant to our reflection today. She asks; “Are we surrounded by narcissists? Have we turned into a culture of self-absorbed, grandiose people who are only interested in power, success, beauty, and being special? Are we so entitled that we actually believe that we’re superior even when we’re not really contributing or achieving anything of value?" We can also ask ourselves, “Are we surprised to see the disciples of Jesus arguing about who is the greatest among them?" Many times, we do the same thing. The appetite for glory and greatness seems to be inbred in us. Some of us, if not all of us, have the ambition to be somebody whom others admire.

Quiet Place to Listen to Jesus

By: Father Fulgens Katende, C.S.C. September 22nd, 2026

Saint John of the Cross taught in The Ascent of Mount Carmel that God speaks in eternal silence. To listen, the soul must practice true silence—quieting the mind, intellect, and emotional faculties so that we stop relying on noisy interior discourse. He also emphasized that the true value of a message is not in analyzing or processing it, but in “the way you live your life.” The message Jesus shares in today’s Gospel is that those who want to join His new family must be willing to hear and act on His Word.