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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Healing the family | Return to the Church
Brothers and sisters, those of you who have gathered here today and those joining online, look around you. Each one carries its own joys and sorrows, its own triumphs and struggles. Perhaps this week, you've argued with your teenager, worried about a sick child, or felt the strain of making ends meet. In these moments, it's easy to feel alone. But today, on this Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we remember that we are not.
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Healing the family | Return to the Church
Many of us have encountered the acronym "RSVP" countless times in invitations for various social or religious events such as marriages, baptisms, birthdays, and wedding anniversaries. RSVP is an abbreviation for "Répondez S'il Vous Plaît," in French, which translates to "Reply if you please." The purpose of RSVP is to let the person sending the invitation know whether you accept or decline the invitation. Today, Jesus, the King of all Hearts, offers us a powerful and comforting invitation: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened..." (Mt 11:28). Every invitation contains essential elements: who it is from, who it is to, what it entails, and when it is offered. Let us examine these aspects of the Lord's invitation.
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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.
Return to the Church | Why pray?
Imagine you planned what you thought would be a lovely garden party. You planned a variety of fruits, vegetables, small sandwiches, dips and delicacies, making sure you had considered food allergies and diets. Calculated what you would need in the way of furniture. Persuaded some grandchildren to help set up, serve and clean up. You knew the kids and your friends would enjoy each other. The weather forecast was a lovely spring afternoon. You anticipated it would be a perfect gathering of friends, family, and neighbors.
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Love thy Neighbor | Return to the Church
In the classic novel "Alice in Wonderland," written in 1865, we encounter a whimsical and thought-provoking exchange between Alice and a mysterious cat. As Alice finds herself lost in a strange new world, she asks the cat, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" The cat wisely responds, "That depends greatly on where you want to get to." Confused, Alice replies, "I don't much care where so long as I get somewhere." To this, the cat says, "Then it doesn't matter which way you go!" The Gospel of the Day invites us to view life as a journey, recognizing that the Lord, "The Way," should be our road, direction, and destination. Life is full of journeys—short and long, inward and outward, toward God and away from Him. Each journey, whether a simple errand or a life-changing event, shapes who we are. Our earthly journey begins at birth and moves steadily toward its inevitable end, death. In today's Gospel—the raising of the widow's son in Nain—we witness multiple journeys amid death and life.
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Learn more about our faith | Return to the Church
The disciples said to Jesus, “Now You are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that You know everything and that You do not need to have anyone question You. Because of this we believe that You came from God.” (John 16:29-30) This reminded me of the reaction of so many people who have heard Father Jonathan Meyer, an Indiana priest, one of fifty commissioned with preaching on Eucharistic Revival themes of Presence, Communion, and Sacrifice.
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Return to the Church | Strengthening family unity
“Lord, we have sinned, done evil, rebelled, and departed from your laws. We have not obeyed your servants, the prophets.” - Daniel 9:5 Behold Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, a rebellious, sinful young man, whose wife, by God’s grace, helped him to repent and become a model husband, father, and heroic disciple of Christ, putting God first even before family, friends and country.
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