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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Parenthood | power of prayer | prodigal children
Colleen Mallette shares Father Mike Schmitz’s answer for parents whose children have fallen away from the Catholic Church. Recently, I had the privilege of attending “The Hour that Will Change Your Life" with Father Mike Schmitz on his brief four-city tour through the Midwest. He spoke mainly about the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and how blessed Catholics are to receive God in a physically intimate way. He was a dynamic, funny, and passionate speaker, and our group received many valuable messages from his speech. However, what appealed to a lot of people in the audience was his answer to a question about what to do about adult children who have walked away from their Catholic faith. After pausing to think about the question, he gave a beautiful, detailed answer.
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Family Rosary | Feast of the Holy Rosary | Parenthood | family prayer
Catholic Mom contributor Lea McCarthy reflects with humor on how, even though the attempt at the Family Rosary can fall short of being picture-perfect, it’s still a grace-filled occasion. Both my husband and I were blessed to have grown up praying the Rosary with our families. Rain or shine, no matter what was happening, when it was time for the Rosary, all activities ceased, and we gathered to pray. My parents waited until we kids were older to have us join them in praying, so there were no toddlers present, causing mayhem, and it was actually a peaceful rendition of a family Rosary. I’m not saying we would be on the front page of the Faith & Family magazine, but maybe somewhere near the back.
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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.
Catholic Faith | Parenthood | intentional rest
I recently recalled a long-ago memory of teaching one of my children the alphabet. They asked, “What words use the lemony letter?” Asking them what they meant, they insisted there was a lemony letter. We then said the alphabet together again, and the truth was revealed. L, M, O, P! In their childhood lisp and said very quickly, those letters became "lemony." Hiding my laughter, I realized I was partially to blame. I hadn’t taken the time to slow them down to articulate each letter clearly and purposefully. We began again, deliberately saying each and every letter, writing them as we went along, revealing all 26 letters. Does Your Life Give You Whiplash Learning to slow down is important beyond learning to read and write. We can all find ourselves blurring words in texts and conversations. We take shortcuts in recipes and look for the fastest Rosary to follow on YouTube. It seems we want to get through this short life we have been given by God as fast as we possibly can.
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Parenthood | catholic family life | family prayer
“Come, Holy Spirit,” I said as I began a short period of daily personal prayer with my small kids. I closed my eyes, enjoying the momentary silence that fell over the room. Suddenly, I heard my toddler speak. “I’m going to talk to God. God, what do you need?” That simple, heartfelt prayer gripped my heart. Throughout the rest of the day, I continued thinking about this prayer. I marveled at my child’s beautiful simplicity and open vulnerability with God. Throughout Jesus’s public ministry, He looked upon children with love and reverence and held them up as an example: “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)
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Family Dinner | Family Time | Parenthood | family prayer
The New Evangelization is all the buzz. Savvy evangelizers pick the hippest of the ever-multiplying array of platforms, target their demographics, and employ slick production values. Well, I’m jumping in the game. Actually, the game jumped me, whether I willed it or not, about fifteen years ago when my first child was born. As a parent, I am responsible for teaching the faith to my kids. And as all parents are only too keenly aware these days, I can’t count on anyone else to do it, not in any school (private or public, religious or secular), church, sports program, youth group, or YouTube channel. So it falls to us.
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Parenthood | family life | prayer
I don’t know if I have been able to write ten lines without being disturbed … I am not telling any lies when I say that I am writing practically nothing. (Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Story of a Soul) She had snuck out to the convent garden to write, hoping to make progress on Story of a Soul in her very small pocket of free time. But she had been constantly interrupted, as usual, and the process was painfully slow. I underlined her words and sat back. “I am writing practically nothing.” Oh Thérèse, I thought. I feel you.
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