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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
How do we react when we feel God leading us somewhere or to toward someone, including closer to Him? Sometimes, it’s easy and it all makes sense; we were just waiting for God to confirm what we thought we should do. At other times, we’re like Ahaz, to whom God offers something good—a chance to receive a sign that will strengthen faith in Him—and we just can’t believe it, so we’re hesitant to act.
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In its day, the Titanic was the world’s largest ocean-liner, weighing 46,328 tons, and it was considered unsinkable. Yet, late during the night of April 14-15, 1912, the unthinkable happened to the unsinkable. Near midnight, the proud Titanic struck an iceberg, ripping a three-hundred-foot hole through five of its sixteen watertight compartments. It sank in two and a half hours, killing 1,513 people. Before the Titanic sank, warning after warning had been sent to tell the crew that they were speeding into an ice field, but the messages were ignored.
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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.
Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Today is the Feast of Saint Francis Xavier. A Saint categorized by uncommon zeal for preaching the Word of God. When he was young, he studied at the University of Paris along with Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The two became friends and later would go on to cofound the Society of Jesus - the Jesuits. A little later on Saint Francis Xavier was sent by his friend to preach in the new mission territories of Asia. Despite the long journey and the many unknowns, he went dutifully to bring the Light of Christ to all he met. While in India he would write letters back to his friend in Europe, this is an excerpt from one such letter...
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
There’s something powerful about discovering the extraordinary in the ordinary. I once heard a story of a man who moved to a new town and visited a nearby church. While admiring the beautiful stained-glass windows, he noticed an unusual phrase. One of the windows bore the words: “Glory to God in the Highest.” But the letter "E" in “Highest” was missing, leaving the phrase to read: “Glory to God in the High St!” This unexpected twist made him pause and reflect. High Street was the name of the street where he lived. He realized this was a message for him—he was being called to glorify God, not somewhere far away, but in his own neighborhood, on High Street, in the small, daily acts of his life.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
The Nicene Creed, which we pronounce on Sundays during the Mass or on other solemnities, is also called the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. This Creed is a deep and powerful statement of Christian faith. It is accepted by Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and some Protestant churches. This Creed was created and adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. The council wasn’t just a gathering of scholars debating theology; it was a holy assembly of people who had suffered greatly for their faith. Many of the approximately 318 bishops present bore the marks of intense persecution—missing eyes, maimed hands, or limping from injuries inflicted during the reigns of emperors Diocletian and Maximian. These visible scars led Theodoret, an ancient writer, to describe the council as “an assembled living army of martyrs.”
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
The readings today might seem unsettling, speaking of a harvest of judgment and troubling times. How many of us have stayed up late worrying about our children's future? About whether they'll be safe, happy, and find their way in a world that seems so uncertain? It’s natural to feel a sense of unease, as people throughout history have when faced with uncertainties about the future. Remember the anxieties surrounding Y2K? Or the predictions of Nostradamus? Even today, with concerns about climate change and global unrest, those fears can creep into our hearts.
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