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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
I recently made a visit to India. I visited the cities, and I visited the countryside. I spent time with high profile people like the Archbishop of Bangalore who live in places that look like palaces, and I also visited very poor people who live far out on tiny strips of land in rice fields, in a tiny room that floods when it rains, and even snakes may find their way into your room. India is so diverse—wealthy and poor, urban and rural, westernized and native—that it can be challenging to figure out people and figure out things.
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Many of us own a bathroom scale or use one at a gym, it gives us an indication on how we’re doing with our diet and exercise programs…even our general health. But sometimes, we need to take a deeper look, maybe a blood test, MRI or cardiac ultrasound. Lent is a special time when we take a deeper look into our hearts and souls…to see what drives us…and what we place first in our lives and why….?
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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.
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“My Father goes on working and so do I”. (John 5:17) In two weeks, we will be in Holy Week! Each year I make it a practice, sometime during this last part of Lent, to watch Mel Gibson’s great film, “The Passion of the Christ”. I understand that it’s a very graphic film and some people find it too difficult to watch, and that’s really OK, but if it’s not too hard for you, I highly recommend seeing it as a way of helping you enter into Holy Week. You can find it on Netflix and Amazon and other platforms…
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Let me start with a question: Have you ever tried to walk into the ocean slowly? You start with your toes. It's cold. So, you wait. Then your ankles. Still bearable. Then to your knees, still ok. But then comes that dreaded moment, the wave crashes, and you’re suddenly soaked to your waist. Some laugh. Some run back to shore screaming. Some just dive in. Ezekiel had a vision a bit like that, we hear of water trickling out from the Temple—starting small, ankle-deep, then knee-deep, then waist-deep, and finally a river so vast no one could cross it. Wherever this water flowed, life bloomed. Trees bore fruit. Salt water turned fresh. Everything lived because of the water.
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The Gospel of John gives us a powerful encounter between Jesus and a royal official, an encounter that illustrates the transformative power of faith. It’s meant to lead us to reflect on the nature of our own faith and how we, like the official, can come to a deeper trust in the Lord's promise. In this passage, Jesus returns to Galilee and is found in Cana, where He had previously performed the miracle of turning water into wine. It’s here that a royal official from Capernaum seeks him out, his heart heavy with worry. His son is gravely ill, on the brink of death, and he’s heard of Jesus' power to heal. Driven by a father's love and desperation, he implores Jesus to come and heal his son. Initially, Jesus responds with what seems like a rebuke: "Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
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The explanation of Luke's Gospel on the driving out of demons from the man who was mute is rather complex. Jesus is making the point that Satan has his realm where he is active and strong, but someone stronger than him has come along. Of course, it is the Lord himself who announces the breaking in of the Kingdom of God. This Gospel reminded me of a remarkable story I read by a Harvard Professor and observant Jew, Roy Schoeman. This is one of the most remarkable witnesses I have ever encountered, and I want to share it with you today. Professor Schoeman writes, "During the spring of 1987, I took a few days off from work and went to Cape Cod to spend time communing with nature. I was walking in the early morning, in the woods just back from the beach, when God intervened, dramatically and distinctly, into my life to pull me back and put me onto the right path. As I was walking, lost in my thoughts, I found myself in the immediate presence of God.
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