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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
I came across a stand-up comedy bit recently. The comedian says, “You ever notice, after Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, you never see them hanging out again?” Think about that for a moment. Lazarus had a bad day. Not a flat tire. Not a bad meeting. He died. That’s already a terrible day. Day one: “Okay this is new.” Day two: “I am Still dead. Not improving.” Day three: “Alright, I think this is permanent.” Day four: “You know what? I’ve accepted it. I’ve processed it. I’ve let go. I’ve moved on.” He’s finally at peace. Maybe he’s thinking, “This is actually not bad. No bills, no responsibilities, no family WhatsApp groups.” Everything is calm.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
As we move towards Holy Week in this Lenten season, the tone of our readings is gradually changing. There is increasing opposition or resistance to Christ. There is opposition to who Christ was, and opposition to his mission. Today in our gospel we hear that “the Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus” and his response to their action was that “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” He had healed the sick, made the blind see, raised the dead, made the lame walk, and here he was being harassed and almost being killed.
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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
In Lent we often speak about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. But Lent is also a search for truth: not just ideas about God, but a deeper knowledge of God himself, and a clearer decision about whether we will live as his people. In today’s Scriptures, the Lord reveals two great truths. First, God binds himself to his people in a covenant—a promise he began with Abraham that he intended not for Abraham alone, but for every generation, including our own. God commits himself to us: “I will be your God, and you will be my people.”
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Sometimes when a child misbehaves continuously, especially in public places at some point, a parent may give a serious look that indicates to the child you have to stop what you are doing. It is time to change that. It is a sign that the child's behavior is no longer tolerated. In the Gospel today Jesus is no longer giving the serious warning eye but is spilling out the beans. He seems tough and tired of people's disbelief. He indicates to the listeners that his journey to the Father is near by saying, ‘I am going away.’ and the people will have the urge to be with Him, but He won’t be found. This resembles the urge of repentance and change as we read in Isaiah 55:6 ‘seek the Lord while he may be found, call to him when is near.’ Jesus is telling them recognize me now as your messiah. Remember in the previous texts He had just taught them is the ‘bread of life,’ and ‘the light of the world.’ Therefore, in His absence there is darkness which is evil and sin.
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A few years ago, a friend of mine, an Assistant HR director in an IT firm, very respected, very composed, sent an email meant for one person, to everyone in the office. And not a short email. This was one of those long, late-night, brutally honest, carefully worded, emotionally charged emails. It began politely: “I think we need to address a few concerns” And then slowly, very professionally, it turned into a detailed analysis of one colleague’s failures, missed deadlines, half-finished work, and a pattern of inconsistency. Very professional. Very precise. The kind of email you feel good writing, and regret deeply sending. Anyway, he hit send after he had finished writing and for a few seconds everything was normal and peaceful. Then someone replied to that email, that’s when he noticed that the mail had been sent to all in the office. At that moment, you know it. The stomach drops. Time stops. You seriously consider moving to another continent.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
The reading from the Book of Wisdom that we heard today will return to us on Good Friday. It speaks of a righteous person who becomes the target of resentment and hostility—not because he has done wrong, but because his goodness exposes the darkness around him. His very life is a challenge to those who reject God. They plot against him, tear at his reputation, and test him to see if God will defend him. Yet, as we hear elsewhere in Scripture, he does not retaliate. He turns the other cheek.
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