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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
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There’s something powerful about discovering the extraordinary in the ordinary. I once heard a story of a man who moved to a new town and visited a nearby church. While admiring the beautiful stained-glass windows, he noticed an unusual phrase. One of the windows bore the words: “Glory to God in the Highest.” But the letter "E" in “Highest” was missing, leaving the phrase to read: “Glory to God in the High St!” This unexpected twist made him pause and reflect. High Street was the name of the street where he lived. He realized this was a message for him—he was being called to glorify God, not somewhere far away, but in his own neighborhood, on High Street, in the small, daily acts of his life.
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Yesterday, I was shocked to learn that a week from Thursday is Thanksgiving Day! One clue that we are well into November is the readings for the Mass. Once you get to the Book of Revelation it’s a sure sign we’re heading toward the end of Ordinary Time.
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Shouting is one of the most instinctive ways we express ourselves—to get someone's attention, share our excitement, or demand action. We shout warnings like, "Watch out!" or cheer joyfully when our team scores, "Yes!" It's natural, spontaneous, and often uncontrollable. Think about those moments when you're at a wedding and hear, "I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Jones!" The joy bubbles over, and you can't help but clap and cheer. Or the bittersweet tension of holding back a shout when your child's name is called at a graduation ceremony, and everyone has been asked to keep silent until the end.
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Birds are generally nice to look at. Whether they are flying or perched on a branch, most birds look beautiful. Except one species – the vulture. These scavengers, with their scruffy, hunched appearance and their diet of decay, seem to embody darkness and death. Vultures don’t hunt; they gather where there is death.
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
Psalm 23 is one of the most well-known, even to people with limited knowledge of scripture. It is a beautiful and encouraging song of faith and hope in God's role as shepherd of our lives. When I was in my final year of seminary, there were a lot of last-minute details to take care of, and one that had escaped me was to create a small ordination prayer card. Some of my classmates probably had theirs done at the beginning of the year, but there I was about two weeks before ordination, looking for an image of Jesus and a suitable scriptural verse.
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We can sometimes hear or read the Word of God and wonder, is that even possible and why would God say that? For example, when Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife, and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
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