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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Feast of the Sacred Heart | Learn more about our faith
Last week, I had the joy of accompanying a wonderful group on a pilgrimage to Montreal and Quebec, Canada and one of our stops was the Shrine of St. Anne de Beaupré in Quebec. Nestled along the St. Lawrence River, this shrine has welcomed pilgrims for over 350 years. Miracles have unfolded there, crutches left behind, burdens laid down, faith renewed. But for me, the most unexpected grace came not in the grand basilica, but in the crypt church, in front of a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At first glance, it was like any other statue until I noticed something peculiar. A kneeler was placed not directly in front of the statue but awkwardly off to the side, toward Jesus’ right. Our guide encouraged us to kneel there and look at the face of Jesus. I did, and some of us did, too. And what I saw caught me off guard.
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Today’s readings, particularly, the gospel can lead us to ask ourselves, “what are we building our lives upon…is it our 401k plans, educational degrees, whatever makes us happy, or something else…? Compounding this question but related is the fact that life is complex and with lots of twists and turns. Anyone who has been on this earth for more than eighteen years or maybe even less knows this from experience….just consider the two couples: Elizabeth and Zechariah and Abram and Sarai and their stories that we have heard about this week.
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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.
Our Gospel today offers a simple, yet profound, truth from Jesus: "By their fruits you will know them." This isn't just a general observation; it's an invitation to look inward, particularly at our own homes. What kind of fruit are our families bearing? Are they overflowing with prayer, patience, kindness, and joy?
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
There is a curious art form in Japanese pottery called Kintsugi, maybe you have heard of it. When a pottery breaks, instead of throwing it away, the artisan repairs it with a gold polish. The cracks aren’t hidden. They’re illuminated. What was once broken and useless is now more beautiful, more valuable, precisely because of its fractures and brokenness. In today’s Gospel, Zechariah is a man silenced. For nine months, no words. Heaven has hit the mute button on him. Now remember, he’s a priest. Words are his tool, his identity. He blesses, he prays aloud, he chants in the temple. And yet, for 9 months Zechariah is a man of gestures and scribbled tablets. Heaven, it seems, doesn’t trust his voice, yet.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Recently, I was talking with several priests, and the question of whether they could stay in their current parish or have to begin at a new parish came up. Two of the priests are in their mid-to-late sixties, and they reasoned that beginning anew would not be easy or perhaps good for the parishes involved. Only God knows how their or any of our stories will emerge. However, this conversation added context to our first reading where the Lord sends Abram to a new land, leaving the land of his people and the family home, and needing to convince his wife, his brother’s son, all the people in their household, and pack up their possessions too. Whether you are a priest, married, or single, preparing and moving to a new place, in this case to one that Abram has never seen, is never easy, and to compound things—Abram is seventy-five years old!
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
Today's reading from 2nd Corinthians presents us with a seemingly paradoxical message. St. Paul, in his letter, speaks of boasting, not in his strengths, but in his weaknesses. In a world that values power and success, how can weakness be a source of pride or a testament to faith?
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