Seven Stories about Faith and Family

A compilation of first-person accounts of the adventure of family life, for the feast of the Holy Family on 30 December.

Betty and her family (Macau)
Betty and her family (Macau)

On this feast, special petition is made to the Holy Family for the families of the Prelature’s faithful. Read the prayer and the story of its origin here.

“God uses my love to help me build a joyful and peaceful family.” From Macau, Betty Lee writes about seeing her mother, sister, and brother discover the beauty of the Catholic faith through her illness and recovery. Read the full story here.

“Before making this decision, we wanted to ask our children for their opinion. We explained to each of them, in accord with their age, that the situation could last for months and would require sacrifices from each of us.” A Polish family talks about taking in migrants from Ukraine and working together to learn to communicate, adjust their routines, and share their faith. Read the full story here.

“From the beginning, my wife and I wanted to be well-trained in issues related to the family and the formation of children.” Simon and Catherine first attended, and later organized, Family Orientation courses with other couples in South Africa. Read the full story here.

“Almost everyone here knows us: they know that the D’Orville brothers work together in everything. Perhaps, if we hadn’t put God first in our lives, they might very well have spoken about Francisco and Jonnatan, but not about the two of us together.” These two brothers from Puerto Rico talk about how their shared faith helps them overcome their differences. Watch the video here.

“What problems, mom?” In Spain, Rosa talks about prayer and helping her children – of whom the eldest, Leyre, was born with a congenital malformation and needs to use a wheelchair, and two others are autistic – to face life with faith and joy. Read the full story here.

“Thinking about the hidden life of our Lord really helps me amid the challenges… I wonder: did our Lord as a little baby just throw his breakfast all over the floor? How many times did our Lady have to pick something up for the infant Jesus? It’s that kind of thing that gets you through some of those moments.” In the first episode of a new series of podcasts around the 75th anniversary of the arrival of Opus Dei to Ireland, Siobhan discusses loving God in and through her family. Listen to the podcast here.

“I tried to keep my peace and prayed for the best possible solution.” Michelle, from the Philippines, writes about asking for St. Josemaria’s intercession to take care of her aunt during the lockdown and other difficult circumstances. Read the full story here.