x Close
World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
Speaking of concealing light under a bed or a vessel, I think of a true story from World War II. In the blackout nights of London, families were ordered to cover every window so not a single candle or match lit could be seen by enemy bombers. But one evening, a single crack of light escaped from a house, and the entire neighborhood panicked; it could be a target signal for the enemy. One sliver of light in the dark sky could make all the difference. Isn’t that astonishing? Even the faintest light carries immense weight in the darkest night. Consider the curious case of Moses after his mountain-top encounter with God. When he descended Sinai, his face shone so brilliantly that the Israelites couldn't bear to look at him directly. What did Moses do? He covered his face with a veil. The veil wasn't permanent; it came off when he spoke with God and when he taught the people, but at other times the veil remained covering his face. Moses learned the delicate art of being a lighthouse, knowing when to beam at full intensity and when to provide gentle guidance.
Share
Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s readings speak to something every family wrestles with: how to find true contentment in a world that constantly insists we need more. The Trap of “More” St. Paul, writing to Timothy, warns us about the desire for riches. He doesn’t condemn wealth itself, but the restless hunger for more—a hunger that never satisfies. How true this is today. Our culture whispers: “You need a bigger house… a newer car… the latest gadget.” Social media makes it worse. We see perfect posts, and suddenly our own blessings feel too small. Parents push themselves to exhaustion, not only to provide, but to keep up. Children begin to measure their worth by what they own, instead of who they are. But Paul tells us something different: “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”
Share
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.
Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
As a child growing up, were you ever at a special family dinner where an important guest was invited and other high-level guests were to be in attendance? Do you remember the level of preparation that went into the dinner? Do you recall the type of cleaning that was done prior to the visit, the careful choice of food and drink, and the thoughtful setting up of the space? Do you remember the kind of talk at the dinner and the decorum in behavior that was expected of all the family members given the kind of guest who was being hosted? Now imagine in the middle of such an important dinner an uncle with a drinking problem and who didn’t keep himself so neat burst into the room, at the top of his voice greeted everyone, and straight away went and gave a big hug to the guest of honor! Imagine the discomfort or restlessness that took over the room.
Share
Learn more about our faith | Why pray? | rosary rally
If you were to ask a bunch of Christians what the oldest heresy faced by the Church is, I’d bet that most would guess Arianism, an early 4th-century heresy that said Jesus wasn’t really divine. In fact, the threat of Arianism led to the great councils and the Nicene Creed. But the first major heresy goes back centuries earlier, almost to the beginning of Christianity itself. That heresy was Gnosticism, which said -- among many things -- that Jesus wasn’t really human, but only appeared so. And, interestingly, if we meditate on today’s Gospel passage, we can see how Gnosticism itself is a kind of wrongheaded, misguided defense of Jesus from criticisms that Our Lord faced in His own lifetime. Is Jesus Too Human Today, we hear Jesus lamenting how His critics simply can’t accept that a true prophet, especially the Messiah, could eat and drink freely and socialize with sinners. This is all too ordinary and human! A figure from God should be more other-worldly, separated, and inaccessible. And the Gnostics, accepting these kinds of premises, said, “You’re right; the Son of God could not actually be so lowly. That’s why all this human stuff was just an act.”
Share
Learn more about our faith | Our Lady of Sorrows
How fitting it is that today’s Gospel follows directly after yesterday’s celebration of Our Lady of Sorrows. For in the passage we just heard, Jesus responds with tremendous compassion for a sorrowful mother, a widow who has lost her only son, a widow whom Christ recognizes as a pre-figuring of His own Mother at the Cross and at His tomb. And in his miracle at Nain of raising her son, Jesus, of course, also pre-figures His own Resurrection.
Share
Learn more about our faith | Our Lady of Sorrows
When parents leave the hospital with their newborn, it’s one of the strangest moments in life. The nurse hands you this tiny human and says, “Congratulations, you can go home now.” And you think: That’s it? No manual comes with it? No training session? Not even a return policy? One dad told me he drove home from the hospital at fifteen miles an hour, with the mother and the newborn, with hazard lights flashing, convinced that every pothole was a death trap for the newborn. Another mother confessed that she spent the first week constantly checking if her baby was still breathing, until her husband joked, “If you keep touching and feeling the child every five minutes, none of us will ever sleep again.” Parenting begins with this comedy of fear and love. You’re overwhelmed, exhausted, terrified, and yet you would do anything for that child. Simeon’s words to Mary, from Luke's Gospel, “A sword will pierce your own soul too,” capture that same mystery. Love opens you to joy but also to the deepest wounds. Every parent, every spouse, and every friend who has loved knows this truth: to embrace love is to risk being pierced.
Share
