Winter 2021 Volume 28 Number 1
Family Link News for the friends of Holy Cross Family Ministries
Because of your support, a Rosary has the power to transform a home.
The Family That Prays Together Stays Together
Family Link The Family Link newsletter is published by Holy Cross Family Ministries for friends and donors of our ministry. Thank you for being a part of our family.
Our Mission
A family of Catholic ministries that inspires, promotes and fosters the prayer life and spiritual well-being of families throughout the world.
Our Vision
Holy Cross Family Ministries strives to be a respected and reliable catalyst for inspiration, support and dynamic content on family life through a focus on spirituality and prayer, especially the Rosary.
Ways to Give
Online Please visit www.HCFM.org By Mail Please use the enclosed envelope and make your check payable to “Holy Cross Family Ministries.” By Phone Please call 508.238.4095, x2023 Gifts of Stock or IRAs Please call 508.930.7882
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Planned Giving Please call 508.930.7882
518 Washington St. North Easton, MA 02356-1200 800-299-PRAY (7729) www.HCFM.org Cover Photo: Girl receiving Rosaries and a Spanish prayer book in Mexico during the pandemic.
Letter from the President A message from Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C., President, Holy Cross Family Ministries. Dear Friend, This comes to extend a warm greeting and embrace during this cold winter of pandemic discontent. Our six priests here at the Peyton Center pray every day for you and your family, hoping you are well and safe. It is a joy to present to you the winter edition of Family Link. This Family Link will give you a great snapshot Father Willy of the beautiful Raymond, impact you C.S.C. have on families worldwide through your faithful support of Holy Cross Family Ministries. As you read through Family Link, you will find examples of how our team continues to support families’ spiritual needs during the pandemic with the help of your generosity and prayers. In this newsletter, you will discover the power of the Rosary in the Philippines, be invited to join ten million families in prayer, inspired by a delightful interview on the Domestic Church, and more. I hope you know that these heart-warming stories and updates are only a glimpse into the work we are accomplishing together. The power of prayer has touched and transformed
countless lives, such as that of the girl in Mexico on the cover of this Family Link who received a Rosary and Spanish prayer book. This impact is only possible because caring friends like you are willing to sacrifice and reach out to families in need. It is the ongoing fulfillment of Father Peyton’s vision, a vision of families strengthened through prayer. We have the privilege of witnessing the truth of his calling: troubled families rescued, relationships restored, multitudes growing in faith! I want to extend my sincere gratitude to all who make our mission for families possible, especially those who generously gave during the Christmas Season. With you, we are doing work that is gratifying and urgently important. Thank you, and please continue to keep Holy Cross Family Ministries and the families we serve in prayer. I am grateful that you have answered the call and entered so generously to help strengthen families through prayer worldwide. May our Blessed Mother Mary keep you and your loved ones close to her Divine Son Jesus. Sincerely,
Bringing Jesus Home The Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life As he labored to encourage devotion to Mary and the praying of the Rosary throughout the world, Venerable Patrick Peyton had a principal audience in mind: Catholic families. Father Peyton recognized that supporting families in the understanding and practice of their faith would be essential to the Church and society’s wellbeing. Therefore, it is fitting that our new initiative seeking to study and strengthen Catholic families bears Father Peyton’s name. Officially launched in February 2020, the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life is a think tank created by Holy Cross Family Ministries (HCFM) in collaboration with the Pastoral Solutions Institute. Among the Peyton Institute’s objectives is the fostering of a renewed awareness of the meaning of “domestic church” through the creation of a network of distinguished theologians, social scientists, and pastoral ministry professionals noted for their work and writings on family life. Working under the direction of HCFM and in close collaboration with Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C., Peyton Institute directors Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak guide the Institute’s work. In particular, the Popcaks’ model of
family spirituality, the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life, allows families to bring Jesus home and experience the faith as the source of warmth in their homes. Despite the unexpected events of the past year, the Institute’s activities have already borne visible fruit. In a series of webinars offered during the summer months, Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak presented the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life model to members of the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers (NACFLM). Another series was held in January 2021 and was open to anyone involved in family ministry. The Institute is also initiating a new study through the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), which will involve Catholic families in the United States who have successfully raised children to be faithful Catholic adults. In the short period since its inauguration, the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life has become a resource for bishops, dioceses, local churches and family life ministers. Strengthened by Father Peyton’s prayers and inspired by his witness, the Institute will help families to live their vocation as authentic domestic churches and schools of holiness.
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For more information on the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life, please visit PeytonFamilyInstitute.org.
Join this exciting new prayer campaign at PrayTogetherNow.com.
10 Million United in Prayer
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Few films are produced with an objective loftier than PRAY: THE STORY OF PATRICK PEYTON. Reaching a broad audience was undoubtedly part of the plan, as was executing high-quality and aesthetically beautiful videography. However, both of these objectives were intended to serve an even higher goal: to stimulate families and individuals to respond to Venerable Patrick Peyton’s call to family prayer, especially Rosary prayer. With this goal in mind, our ministries Family Theater Productions and Family Rosary, launched the PRAY TOGETHER NOW campaign. Recalling the founding of HCFM in 1942, Father Peyton explained that he had resolved, “To bring the Family Rosary back to 10,000,000 homes in America, and not to one less than that.” Through the PRAY TOGETHER NOW campaign, HCFM is renewing Father Peyton’s desire and extending the mission of PRAY beyond the four walls of the theater by asking 10,000,000 individuals to pledge to pray daily with their families and loved ones for 35 days. If PRAY is to have a lasting impact on family life, the commitment to prayer must extend
beyond a finite time. For this reason, the PRAY TOGETHER NOW campaign is intended to inspire families to continue praying together even after their 35-day pledge has expired. Developing a habit of prayer will encourage parents to be actively engaged in the Church and instill a living faith in their children. In turn, the children will not only become familiar with the moral and doctrinal teachings of the Church. They will be introduced to the idea that a relationship with God is something possible and desirable. In a 1986 homily given in Perth, Australia, Pope Saint John Paul II famously said, “As the family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the whole world in which we live.” His statement captures the urgency with which we must labor to protect the family. The PRAY TOGETHER NOW campaign proposes prayer as the most effective protection and will thus serve the Church and society by sowing the seeds of faith and inspiring families to welcome God’s action into their lives. Individuals, families, parishes, prayer groups and other faith-based institutions are welcome to get involved by committing to pray and spreading the word about the film and the campaign.
Unleashing the Power of Prayer in the Philippines Venerable Patrick Peyton first arrived in the Philippines in the 1950s. His crusade for family prayer in Manila started in 1959 when the late Archbishop of Manila, Rufino J. Cardinal Santos, invited Father Peyton to host a Rosary Rally. As with Father Peyton’s previous rallies, millions attended and made their presence felt. Today Father Peyton’s legacy lives on through Family Rosary Philippines and local chapters of the Father Peyton Prayer Guild. Many of
The Rosary is a chain that binds the family together. – Venerable Patrick Peyton the families we serve still have fond memories of Father Peyton’s first visit and his impact on meeting their parents or grandparents.
Technology has dramatically helped us adapt and reach out to more people, continuing our mission to bring the Rosary back into every home and give life to Father Peyton’s words, “The family that prays together stays together.”
Family Rosary team livestreaming our first virtual Family Rosary Philippines event.
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Despite our programming changes due to the pandemic, our work for families continues to prosper in the Philippines. We had our first virtual Children’s Rosary Rally with the theme “Mary Help of Christians, Power of the Queen of Heaven and Earth: Mama Mary’s Intercession” on October 17 via Facebook Live. Lourdes Eleanor Atienza Albano, one of our Facebook Fans commented that she, “Highly recommends Family Rosary Philippines for children to learn and understand the gift of praying the Holy Rosary every day. It brings them closer to God.”
Father Jimmy Mathew, C.S.C., Director of Family Rosary Philippines, blessing palms for families during the pandemic on Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020.
PRAY: An Inspiration for the Domestic Church By Father David S. Marcham Vice Postulator and Guild Director The film PRAY: THE STORY OF PATRICK PEYTON has prompted many people to join the Father Peyton Prayer Guild and pray for the Beatification and Canonization of Venerable Patrick Peyton. Kathryn Perry, who lives in Illinois with her family and teaches at a local college, reached out to me and was inspired to share Father Peyton’s message of family Rosary prayer after viewing PRAY. The film, however, was not Kathryn’s first introduction to Father Peyton. She grew up hearing her father say, “You know what Father Peyton always says! ‘The family that prays together stays together’!” as he rounded up his six children for the nightly Rosary.
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What was it in PRAY: THE STORY OF PATRICK PEYTON that caused you to contact me? I was invited to write a review of PRAY for St. Austin’s Review. Since there were excellent movie reviews about PRAY already written, I wanted to focus on a specific concept of the film I felt was critical: The Domestic Church. Your observation in the film, “Father Peyton’s belief was that the family is the domestic church. It is the smallest church we have. We learn the lessons about true love and sacrifice in our families,” resonated with me. How do you see Father Peyton’s promotion of family Rosary prayer as helpful to today’s Domestic Church? I think that part of Father Peyton’s success was due to the simplicity of his message. The Blessed Virgin has repeatedly asked us to recite a daily Rosary. People tend to complicate things, but Father Peyton reminds us of the importance of focusing on the basics. The Rosary, Holy Scripture and the Sacraments are more than enough to help families answer the
Kathryn Petty with her husband Scott and children Bernadette (16), Nora Clare (14), Steven (4), and Luke (3).
“Universal Call to Holiness” and live out our baptismal promises. What role do you envision for the Domestic Church, our families, today? Outside the first three hundred years of Christianity, when state-sanctioned persecution was rampant, there probably has never been a more important time for the Domestic Church. Ultimately, the responsibility to “renew the church” in large part falls to families. It is our responsibility to form our children, with the Church’s support, certainly, but the next generation of Church leaders is being raised in families right now. Parents cannot underestimate their tremendous role and responsibility for our Church’s future, and by extension, to communities and the nation. What are some of the fruits/benefits of family prayer, discussion of faith and family works of charity? As seen in PRAY, Father Peyton mentions several times what a deep impression it made on him as a young child to see his parents – especially his father – pray the daily Rosary. In fact, he said, “The greatest thing a child can get…Spiritual leadership in his mother and father. A leadership that never takes their eyes off God.”
Father Peyton Prayer Guild Member Prayer Requests Prayers for a new employment opportunity…Katie, Australia Please pray for healing in my relationship with my daughter-inlaw…Laura, United States Please pray for my father, who was diagnosed with cancer…Michael, Philippines Prayers for my family as we mourn the loss of my father…Laia, Spain Please pray for my roommates who have not accepted the Lord… Marty, United States Prayers for my grandson to overcome drug addiction… Sharon, Canada
Prayer for the Beatification of Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C.
Prayers for protection as I start my new life as a Christian…Niva, Nepal Prayer requested for the family members I have not seen due to COVID-19…Devin, United States Please pray for the homeless throughout the world…David, United Kingdom Please pray for my financial problems, children’s education and spiritual growth…Mary, India Please pray for the repose of my son’s soul…Mary-Ellen, United States
Prayer requested for a friend who tested positive for COVID-19… Sarita, India DETACH HERE AND MAIL TODAY
Please include the following special intention through the intercession of Father Peyton in Holy Cross Family Ministries’ daily Rosary and Mass.
Name Street City/State Zip Email Phone
Complete and return in the enclosed envelope.
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Dear Jesus, Father Peyton devoted his priestly life to strengthening the families of the world by calling them to pray together every day, especially the Rosary. His message is as important for us now as it was during his life on earth. We beg you, therefore, to hasten the day of his beatification so that your faithful people everywhere will remember his message that The Family That Prays Together Stays Together, imitate him in his devotion to your Mother and ours, and be inspired by his holy life to draw ever closer to you with childlike confidence and love. Amen.
Please pray that more families will pray the Rosary…Rob, United States
Please pray that my son would return to the faith…Kristine, United States
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A Call to Prayer and Action A family that HCFM serves in India, gathering for a prayerful moment.
Join the Guild The best way to support Venerable Patrick Peyton’s cause for Sainthood is with your prayers. Become part of an important global community of prayer, the Father Peyton Prayer Guild. Each prayer brings Father Peyton closer to Sainthood! For more information on the Father Peyton Prayer Guild, please use the enclosed envelope or contact the Vice Postulator/Guild Director at VicePostulator@hcfm.org.
Request Prayer Our team of 44 Holy Cross sisters, brothers and priests, 150+ lay team members, and 400 volunteers are keeping you in prayer. We pray the Rosary each weekday for the intentions
of families around the world. Let us pray for your special intentions. Submit your prayer request in the enclosed envelope.
Pledge to Pray We invite you to be part of the PRAY TOGETHER NOW campaign: 10,000,000 people pledging to pray together daily. Consider beginning your journey by seeing the film PRAY about Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C. Then, take our prayer pledge, enrich your family prayer life, and encourage friends and parishes to join us. Join the exciting new prayer campaign and learn how you can see the film at PrayTogetherNow.com, or send us your enclosed envelope.