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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
There is a scene I want you to imagine, it is not in Scripture, but it feels like it could be. It’s late at night in a family kitchen. The lights are dim. A mother sits at the table with a cup of cold tea in front of her. Upstairs, her teenage son has locked himself in his room again. The two haven’t really spoken in days. Every word turns into an argument; every silence feels like a wall. She’s exhausted, she’s tried counseling, prayer, conversation, but tonight, she’s run out of ideas. And yet, she does something quiet and holy. She sets another plate at the table. Just in case. She decides that even if he doesn’t come down soon, she will be ready when he does. That small act, invisible to the world, is an act of faith. Not the sentimental kind that expects a miracle by morning, but the kind that refuses to stop preparing for one. We have all been either that mother, setting the table for her son, or the teenage son who locked himself up in his room. That’s the spirit Paul is talking about when he says Abraham “believed against hope.”
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
We Christians in the 21st century have had to endure over 400 years of the debates between Protestants and Catholics, in particular the debates over faith and good works. And, as is often the case in these types of ongoing confrontations, I think we have allowed ourselves to be forced into hardened positions where we buy into characterizations that we shouldn’t actually believe. In particular, when you listen to these Protestant and Catholic arguments over faith and good works, both sides seem to depict faith as a mostly internal, almost intellectual state, a mental adherence to a set of doctrines.
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
I have read about a blackout that took place on July 13, 1977 and it affected most of New York City. It was triggered when a lightning strike hit a substation near the Hudson River, initiating a cascade of failures in the power grid. The blackout lasted more than 24 hours in many places, with full restoration stretching into the next day. What makes this blackout unique in memory is that, because the moon was only a thin crescent that night, the skies were unusually dark. That allowed even city dwellers, under heavy light pollution, to see deep-sky objects, Stars, constellations, and those who had access to a telescope they could see the Milky Way and other celestial details which were rarely visible from midtown Manhattan otherwise.
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
A couple of years back, I lived with a brother priest who, for years, had struggled with alcohol addiction. He was in an out-of-rehab, and when he realized he no longer had control over the addiction, he joined the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) movement. Alcohol addiction or any other addiction for that matter is one of the diseases that does not recognize your title, academic background, vocation in life, economic status, or your gender. Anyone can get it, and it can terribly affect one’s career, vocation in life, spiritual life, relationships, and even one’s physical health. At the time I met this brother priest, he had been sober or “dry” for so many years. He attributed his sobriety to being active in AA. Every day, he attended one or two AA meetings, did his daily reflections, and sponsored and accompanied many other candidates on the road to recovery. The Danger of a "House Swept Clean" An addiction is like a “demonic possession.” It can take over your life, leaving you with no control over your own life. If by the grace of God, you regain your freedom from the addiction or “the demon,” you have to find something different to fill the “empty house” or the empty heart that has been vacated by “the demon.” The Lord is speaking to us today about the fragility or the danger of the “swept and clean” yet empty house.
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Learn more about our faith | Strengthening family unity | Why pray?
In 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts became the first humans to orbit the moon. As they swung around the far side, completely cut off from all radio contact with Earth, alone in the cosmic dark, astronaut Jim Lovell looked out into the void and said something unexpected: “I feel like there were more than three of us up there.” He couldn’t explain it. No religious vision, no sudden apparition, just an unmistakable sense of presence. Years later, he still maintained: “We were not alone.” Today, on the feast of the Guardian Angels, we hear a curious reading from Nehemiah. The people of Israel gathered to hear words they had forgotten, and when they remembered, they wept. But Ezra told them to stop crying and start celebrating. Because they discovered again what it means to be accompanied, what it means to not be forgotten.
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Learn more about our faith | Strengthening family unity | Why pray?
As we begin October, the month of the Holy Rosary, we celebrate St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus—a saint who reminds us that holiness is not found in great deeds, but in doing ordinary things with extraordinary love. This is a message families deeply need today. In today’s Gospel, Jesus says simply: “Follow me.” Not "Follow me when the kids are older," or "Follow me after you finish your degree," or "Follow me when life settles down." Just follow me—now, in the midst of everything.
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