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World at Prayer blog
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
Does Family Change Make You Worry? We Tomlins are an Army family. Moving every two to three years is a reality of our family’s life. Each time that Permanent Change of Station season — “PCS season” as we call it — comes around, I feel a bit of hope but simultaneously dread of what’s to come. I find myself awake in the middle of the night, spinning with questions I can’t possibly answer or control: How much time will my husband spend deployed or in the field in this Army job? Will the kids have a good school? Will they make friends? Will they be happy? I definitely earn a gold star for pre-PCS worrying! Elizabeth Ann Seton Understands the Concerns of Your Heart Yet there can and must be room for hope in this life quasi-nomadic lifestyle, and over the years I have found hope with the accompaniment of the Church’s first American-born saint, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. I have looked to Elizabeth as an intercessor during times of change to shift from a posture of hand-wringing worry to hands-folded prayer. What worries me most about moving is how it will affect my children.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
I have a picture of Saint John Paul II above my desk. It is a pencil sketch that a priest gave to me many years ago. When I read the book Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II by George Weigel back in 1999 my perspective on life, joy, and hope changed forever. A Papal Lesson on Hope and Joy Have you ever encountered someone who has survived a great tragedy? Yet, when you meet that person, you would never know it — the glint in their eye, the joy they find in life. When I read about his early life, and all the losses he endured as a child, then a teen, then as a young adult — but experienced his joy as my pope, it made an indelible imprint on my heart.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
What is the reason for my hope? In a word, it is Jesus. But if I had not been given the gift of Faith to believe, I’m quite sure I would believe because of the amazing effects of prayer and the Presence of Jesus in my life. Experiencing Jesus in Prayer There are the hours of Adoration where peace is inexplicable. His Presence permeates the room as I realize He knows all my fears, all my pains, all my hopes. He knows. I don’t have to say anything. I need just to let Him love me. At Mass I can receive Him, Body Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The effect is amazingly transforming.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
Those who suffer in accord with God’s will hand their souls over to a faithful creator as they do good. (1 Peter 4:19) I have always been an optimistic person. For me, there was always a light at the end of the tunnel. Even if a situation seemed unfixable, I believed God would eventually make things ok. The downfall to my optimistic nature was over-confidence in my own ability to straighten crooked paths and less reliance upon God to do this for me. A Loss of Optimism, But Not of Hope Then a situation arose that literally tore my heart in two. In doing so, I lost my perpetual optimism and struggled to understand hope. I quickly came to realize that faith is what keeps us going forward when our heart is frozen in pain. Optimism is a natural sentiment of the human heart. We hope that our actions and choices, and those of the people we love, will turn out as planned or hoped for. Optimism is “hope that sees for itself” (Romans 8:24). It is temporary and deficient. In contrast, true hope comes from God, has its focus on God as its ultimate end, and it hopes for God’s intercession in daily life. Faith births hope.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
Two of my favorite Sundays of the year are Laetare and Gaudete Sunday. You know, the days when the priest wears “rose” (we all know it’s pink!). Each of these pink Sundays stands out at the end of a season of fasting and waiting, reminding us the end is in sight. Take courage! Gaudete Sunday Gaudete (“rejoice”) Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent, represented by the only pink candle on the Advent wreath. When I don’t think I can listen to “What Child is This?” or “People Look East” one more time, that pink candle reminds me that soon we'll be singing my favorite Christmas carol, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Jesus is on His way–He will be here imminently.
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Faith Reflection | Hope-2025 | Jubilee of Hope | power of prayer
As a young adult Catholic, I experienced many moments of keen awareness of my singleness. I have vivid memories of watching old married couples sitting in the pew in front of me and thinking, “How on Earth do I get that?!” I would watch husbands and wives work together, teaching their small children how to genuflect, respect Jesus, and develop awe in Church. Where was the playbook to make this happen? In the modern era of declining religion and increased moral ambiguity, it seemed like an impossible puzzle to solve. I longed for someone who would accompany me to Mass, chat about the homily, and share prayer. During college, I dated some young men who called themselves Christian and even Catholic, but time and again it became obvious that these were more labels than deep identities. It was hard to hold onto the hope that I could live my faith fully in relationship. After one particularly wrong relationship, I felt God speak to me that I would, in fact, have a husband to pray the Rosary with one day. Yet, week after week, I continued to sit in the same empty pew, trying to blend in on my own, with no sign of my Catholic Prince Charming in attendance. I even joined a rosary group with some side intentions in the process. Never cease to hope, right?
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