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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Grandpa's Garden | catholic family life | prayer life
In this region, the new school year has begun. I’ve been thinking about the young people who are adjusting to new schools, classmates, teachers, and curriculum. Times of adjustment can feel disorienting. After a few weeks, everything will seem routine. New friendships will form, the rhythm of classes will evolve, and interest in athletics and other activities will come to life. Everything will progress into learning about oneself, exploring an ever-expanding world, and acquiring life’s wisdom.
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Grandpa's Garden | Grandparenting | catholic family life | prayer life
During almost fifty years of marriage, we’ve learned that some home-related tasks require both of us to accomplish. Other chores are best done by just one of us according to individual talent and interest. Sorting out who would specialize in a particular area took negotiation and compromise. When something urgent presented itself, often involving one of the children, whoever was closest responded, regardless of specialty.
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Catholic Faith | family prayer | prayer life
One of the phrases I had to tell myself over and over in the months following the birth of my last baby was, “This is just a phase. I will not be nursing forever; I will sleep again.” I have a tendency to have tunnel vision about whatever difficult moment I am in and feel it will last forever. Stepping back and looking at the big picture has helped me to see that the moment I am in is just a small blip on the radar of my life.
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Faith Life | family life | prayer life
Quite often, we tend to relegate holiness and prayer to priests and those in religious life. We know that all people are called to holiness, but when we spend our days in the office or tackling housework while caring for our children, we can slip into a mindset of, "I'm just a layperson, and I can't spend my days in prayer like nuns, so I can't be that holy." On the contrary, we can draw closer to God as we live out in the world, and we can glorify Him with our lives — and in our work.
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Daily Family Prayer | pray the rosary | prayer life
One Sunday morning a few years ago, I believe that the Holy Spirit was speaking through a young Dominican priest when he challenged all of us sitting in the pew to consider reading the last section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the topic of prayer. Why had I not done this before? It is like a handbook on deepening and developing a prayer life directly from the Church, and a wealth of insight for us as we live in a society that does not hold Christian prayer in high esteem. When I took the time out to do just that, it seemed like the words jumped right off the page and left me not only inspired but ready to make some real changes in my life. “We must remember God more often than we draw breath. But we can not pray “at all times” if we do not pray at specific times, consciously willing it.” What I came to appreciate was that without Christian prayer in my life, I was far less useful to the Kingdom of God and admittedly I was missing out on the insights and graces God wanted to grant. When we don’t take time out for regular prayer, we cannot see God’s plan for our life. In many ways, it would be like walking around with foggy glasses.
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motherhood | pray the rosary | prayer life
The Rosary was never my favorite form of prayer. In fact, I used to complain about how repetitive it was. I really struggled to pray it, and I struggled with the fact that the Church held the Rosary in such high regard. It was obvious that the Rosary was a significant form of prayer in the lives of many Catholics, including many saints. If they all upheld the Rosary’s value, who was I to ignore it?
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