Venerable Patrick Peyton, founder of Family Theater Productions, famously said, "The family that prays together stays together." But is that really true in practice? Staying Together: Families Praying Together, a new YouTube series, seeks to answer that question.
Starting Tuesday, April 21, with six episodes premiering weekly on Family Theater Productions' YouTube channel, Staying Together: Families Praying Together talks to families on both coasts about how prayer has helped keep them whole, despite all the things in the world that can tear families apart,
Says series creator Jay Cooney, "I wanted to find families who could exemplify this saying, and to share with audiences the fruits of praying to God and having those prayers answered."
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While it certainly wasn't planned that way, in the midst of the current conflict in the Middle East, Staying Together: Families Praying Together launches with an episode featuring a military family.
Army infantry officer Vinnie DeRosa, his wife Elizabeth, and their two young chidren, are based in New England. But, Vinnie's deployment to Iraq in early 2024 was a reminder of the hardships of military life.
In the episode, Vinnie says, "When I first found out I was getting deployed, I think I tried to break the news to Elizabeth, like slowly, with little hints. Over time, she started to catch on, and then it was kind of like I had built up to it. With that, learning to pray our way through it was our lifeline."
And Elizabeth says, "God gave us the grace for when we needed it. Like, as soon as that time came, like Vinnie, it prepared me for it. God had prepared me for it. It was just now time to live it."
Father Peyton, who passed away in 1992, was also known as the Rosary Priest, and was a powerful evangelist for families praying the Rosary together.
He would have been pleased to hear Vinnie say, "What was beautiful for us was, every night, we would pray the Rosary over FaceTime. That was our way of entrusting our marriage, our family, to God while we were apart."
While the road is definitely not smooth for any family, having faith to fall back on can ease minds and hearts during times of hard struggle, pain, and loss.
Even things like schedule conflicts, money troubles, issues with family members, a sick pet, or a clogged pipe, can wear families down and fracture relationships.
Staying Together: Families Praying Together aims to offer prayerful solutions to coping with all of this.
Says Cooney, "The series demonstrates how families can strengthen their bond and deepen their relationship with God by simply spending time with Him in prayer. Through the stories shared by these families we see that there are many ways to pray, especially the Rosary, and that their prayers do not go unanswered."
Based in Los Angeles, Family Theater Productions has been doing the bulk of its YouTube series production in Southern California. But since FTP's parent organization, Holy Cross Family Ministries, is located outside of Boston, it opened up an opportunity for bicoastal filming.
Says Cooney, "The greatest reward is the opportunity to meet and collaborate with a wonderful, diverse group of families from different backgrounds and walks of life."
Asked what he most wants families to take away from Staying Together: Families Praying Together, Cooney says, "The most important thing I hope that families take away from this series is that the best time to start praying together is today.
"Even if your faith isn’t perfect, and especially when your family isn’t, prayer can unite our lives and our suffering with Christ, sharing our faith with the next generation, and keeping our families together with God’s love and mercy."
Image: Family Theater Productions/Canva
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