Dear Friends in Christ,

Greetings from Holy Cross Family Ministries home office, Easton! 

Saint John Paul II said, “In a unique way, the family as domestic church participates in the priestly, prophetic, and royal mission of Jesus Christ and his Church. By doing so, the Christian family becomes ‘one heart and mind’ in faith.” {Acts 4: 32}

Just as the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary announcing that she is to give birth to the Savior, so an angel appears to Joseph in a dream announcing that he is to take Mary into his home as his wife for the child to be born is conceived in her womb through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. A second angelic visit to Joseph announces in a dream the time to flee with the Child and Mary to Egypt. In a third dream, the angel tells Joseph to return to Israel; not to Bethlehem, but to Nazareth. Joseph surrenders to God’s will and becomes the spouse of Mary, the foster father of Jesus, and protector and guardian of the Holy Family of Nazareth. This October, let us all go to Joseph, the master builder of the family, model of fathers, and obedient repairer of the breach in all families.

Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C.

The theme for the sixth issue of this global newsletter, A World at Prayer News is: Go to Joseph. St. Joseph is a model for all of us to follow. In this publication, we will experience the manifold ways in which our 27 Ministry Centers around the world are reaching out to families to support their spiritual well-being. Thanks to all our teams for your continued work for families around the world.

Like the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph accepted God’s vocation and trusted that the future was securely in God’s hands. Let us pray that all fathers and mothers will embrace vocations in the family with joy, and place all their trust in God. May St. Joseph intercede for all of us.

“Go to Joseph with extreme confidence because I do not remember having asked anything from St. Joseph, without having obtained it readily.” 

St. Padre Pio

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As these days have passed, with all that is taking place in our world, we find ourselves seeking God’s guidance and peace with a renewed zeal. In the linked Guild letter below, you’ll meet a Holy Cross seminarian, Connery McFadden, who exemplifies this zeal to bring others to Jesus and Our Blessed Mother. Please remember him and all of those in formation within the Congregation of Holy Cross.

In Jesus and Mary,

Father David S. Marcham

Vice Postulator and Guild Director 

Please help by sending your prayer requests asking for Venerable Patrick Peyton’s intercession and prayers answered to VicePostulator@hcfm.org and by joining the Father Peyton Prayer Guild at FatherPeyton.org

September Guild Newsletter English 

September Guild Newsletter Spanish 

September Guild Newsletter French 

The 'Happy Giver', Rosie Castro calls herself, is one of Holy Cross Family Ministries’ treasured friends and collaborators. Rosie’s steadfast kindness, inspired by her family’s devotion to The Blessed Mother and Father Peyton, has helped us share the power of Rosary prayer with so many families around the world.

Rosie gained a love for the Rosary and a spirit of giving thanks from her beloved parents. Growing up in the Philippines, Rosie was the only child of two selfless and devoutly Catholic parents. Her father was a Knight of Columbus, and her mother was a Catholic Women’s League member. Rosie’s parents were among the 3 million people that attended one of Father Peyton’s Rosary Rallies in Manila, and he left an impression on them that lasted their entire lives.

She fondly remembers gathering with family every evening to pray the Rosary together, her parents opening up their home each Christmas day to all who wished to enter, providing all those who needed it with a hot meal, a place to stay, and money to sustain them when they left. “I had wonderful parents who raised me with the idea that the Rosary was a way of life and charitable works are more rewarding than material things,” she says.

Her parents’ love for Father Peyton and the Rosary has inspired Rosie to continue supporting Holy Cross Family Ministries. 

“I like how the organization that Father Peyton founded is oriented to the family because family unity is very important to me and the dedication of Holy Cross Family Ministries to the Rosary and international outreach motivates me. I am honored to give as much as I can, for as long as I can.”