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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Catholicism | Lenten Reflections | prayer
I remember a stage in my early teenage years when my bedroom frequently looked as if there had been an explosion of some sort, and it drove my mom nuts! One Saturday morning, I “cleaned” my room, and she made it crystal clear that it did not meet her standards. I cleared a straight path from my bed to the door, quoted a version of these very words from The Gospel of John, and showed her how I had clearly made “a straight way for the Lord.” She assured me he was going to need a much wider path. The Perspective of a Wise Mom My mom’s assurance is true today! I realize I don’t always make the path to my heart straight or wide. I need to give God room to come into my heart and do His mighty works of mercy. I have all kinds of things in the way that make His way tricky to maneuver. I make Him wind His way around jealousy and pride and selfishness. The path hooks to the left when I toss in impatience and judgmental thinking. The way really goes sideways when control, bitterness, and gossip get tossed into the mix.
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Holy Women's History Month | Lenten Reflections | catholic mom | women's history month
Like many people, I first became aware of Saint Zélie Martin (1831-1877) when I learned about her famous daughter, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. At that point, the extent of my knowledge was that Saint Thérèse had holy parents who had somehow managed to raise five daughters to enter religious life and that Saint Zélie had died of breast cancer when Saint Thérèse was a young child. It was only after Saints Zélie and Louis were beatified in 2008 that I began to learn more about Saint Zélie as a saint in her own right. I discovered that she was a holy friend I could relate to. Here are a few lessons I have learned from her. Prefer to Listen—Audio version available!
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Holy Women's History Month | Lenten Reflections | catholic mom | women's history month
Because we live near Philadelphia, we became familiar with Mother Cabrini through Cabrini University. We looked at the university as an option for our youngest daughter when she was looking at colleges. At that time, we did not know much about Frances Cabrini and her life story. Recently, there was a movie released called Cabrini. It was then that we became fans of this fascinating woman, saint, and missionary. Of course, her being born in Italy piqued our curiosity because of David’s ancestorial roots in both Italy and New York City. Her story takes her from Italy to New York City to run an orphanage for Italian-American children. Prefer to Listen—Audio version available!
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Holy Women's History Month | Lenten Reflections | catholic mom | women's history month
“No one had a bad word to say about her, for she feared God greatly” (Judith 8:8). The Bible is a library brimming with books to browse throughout life. It offers wisdom, poetry, parables, letters, prophetic messages, Gospels, and more. Depending on my circumstances, I gravitate toward specific sections. I’m no stranger to the Psalms in distressing times or Proverbs when I need moral advice. Lady Wisdom personified taught me to pursue understanding, while Judith of Bethulia inspired me to explore fearing the Lord. The Book of Judith tells the story of a virtuous widow who shows immense bravery in dangerous situations. The protagonist must save her people from destruction by foreign invaders — no easy feat. When the leaders of her village insist on surrendering if God doesn’t help, Judith refuses. Prefer to Listen—Audio version available!
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Holy Women's History Month | Lenten Reflections | catholic mom | women's history month
Sometimes, in difficult life situations, we go searching for a saint, but sometimes, a saint comes searching for us. Several years ago, my daughter was going through some severe trauma that had a huge impact on my own heart. Only three weeks into the struggle, we were still in a state of shock and steeped deep in survival mode where even breathing felt like it took a lot of work. I couldn't figure out how to stop the pain in order to try and find some path of healing I wasn't sure even existed. As I dragged myself out of bed to head to daily Mass to continue begging God for help, I felt a nudge to invite my daughter to come with me. It turns out that on that particular morning, God was orchestrating a divine appointment. Prefer to Listen—Audio version available!
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Holy Women's History Month | Lenten Reflections | catholic mom | women's history month
Bees are more honored than other animals, not because they labor so hard, but because they labor for others. (Patricia Banker) Names are important. What we refer to as a “first name” is actually our given name, the second gift given to us by our parents (the first gift was their openness to life). Yet I never cared for my name in grade school. There were too many Debbies. I was around age 10 when I read a newspaper article on naming babies. It said that the most common names chosen between 1959 and 1961 were Mike and Debbie. My brother Mike was born in 1959 and I was born in 1961. I told my parents, “Thanks for being so original!!” During those years, the Hallmark card shops sold these pretty laminated cards for each name with its meaning on the reverse side. For Debra, the cards always said either busy bee or honeybee. How LAME! Prefer to Listen—Audio version available!
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