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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?
In 1943, German industrialist Oskar Schindler faced a moment that would etch his name into history. Initially motivated by profit, he employed Jewish workers in his factory to exploit cheap labor. But as the Holocaust’s horrors escalated, he began to see his workers not as pawns, but as people. Risking everything—his wealth, reputation, and life—he pivoted, spending his fortune bribing Nazi soldiers to save over 1,200 lives. When asked why, he confessed, “I could not just stand aside.”
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Learn more about our faith | Why pray?
A few years ago, a hospice nurse shared a story about a patient named Margaret. Margaret had no family, no accolades, no social media presence. But in her final days, she handed the nurse a worn-out journal. Inside were close to a thousand names—people she had prayed for daily, strangers she had read about in news clippings, neighbors she had silently helped. “I wanted my life to be a quiet, silent song,” she wrote, “not a noisy performance.” When she died, the nurse said the room felt holy, as if “the walls had absorbed decades of whispers to God.” Margaret’s journal is what Ash Wednesday looks like when it bleeds into real life: secret and sacred but surprisingly alive. Today, Jesus warns us not to turn faith into a theater act. “When you pray, go into your room. When you fast, wash your face. When you give, don’t let your left hand know what your right is doing.” In other words—Hide your holiness. Not because God is stingy with His grace but because love grows best in the dark, like seeds in the soil.
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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.
Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
Imagine you’re at a family dinner. Everyone’s talking about their jobs, their promotions, their new cars. Your uncle brags about his new vacation home. Your cousin mentions her fancy job title. Then your little niece of 4 years tugs your sleeve and says, “Look! I drew you a picture!” Suddenly, the room becomes quiet. No one knows what to do with her crayon scribbles. But you take the drawing, tape it to the fridge, and say, “This is my favorite thing here.”
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
The Gospel from today's Mass picks up right after the Transfiguration of Jesus upon the mountaintop with Peter, James, and John, as we’ve just heard: “As Jesus came down from the mountain…” Like many of our faith-enriching mountaintop experiences, for instance, coming off a great retreat, Jesus and the others are faced with a challenge. The scribes and Jesus’ other disciples are having an argument and there’s a large crowd to make it even more charged. Amidst this chaotic scene a father’s love breaks through the mass of humanity and raised voices to seek Jesus’ healing for his son. He explains to Jesus his son’s symptoms with desperation and the disciple’s inability to drive out the evil spirits.
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Strengthening family unity | Why pray?
Saint Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews uses the metaphor of running the race of life to Heaven. Way back in the 70’s not many adults ran or jogged in races, that is until marathon runners like Bill Rogers and Jim Fix made it popular for everyday people of all ages to go out for a jog or run. I was a young teenager when this was going on and because my family was into playing and attending sports, we used to attend the Boston Marathon each spring up on heart-break hill, the most challenging part of the course.
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Strengthening family unity | Why pray?
A few years ago, a friend told me a hilarious yet profound story. He was on a road trip when his GPS suddenly rerouted him through a creepy, deserted road. His phone signal dropped, the gas light flickered on, and to make matters worse, he saw an abandoned house straight out of a horror movie. “This,” he thought, “it is how I die.” Just as panic set in, he spotted a small gas station, barely lit but open. Relieved, he pulled in, refueled, and got directions back to safety.
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