One person who participated in my Leading Prayer Webinar (I’m still gonna get that recording up here for y’all…hang in there!) was Jonathan Sullivan who is the Director of the Catechetical Ministries Office for the Diocese of Springfield, IL. Jonathan posted about how much he enjoyed the Webinar (thanks for the shout-out, Jonathan!) and has developed an excellent handout describing how to lead spontaneous prayer relying on the “you, who, do, through” method. Pay attention also to the comments on that post that provide a glimpse into the background of this structure for prayer – the Hebrew Berakah. Thanks for making this handout available Jonathan!
Growing as a Catechist
The Spiritual Life of Catechists: Personal Prayer
Catechists are called to a strong prayer life, having not only a habit of regular personal prayer but a living relationship with God. The Catechism describes prayer as God’s gift, a covenant relationship, and communion of life in Christ. Through it, we discover God, who dwells in each human heart (CCC 2558–2565). A catechist with a well-developed prayer life will naturally be a better teacher and leader of prayer, so it is very important to […]
Book Club
Online Book Club Week 2: An Obscure Corner for Prayer
Editor’s note: Jump into our online book club! We’re reading Jane Knuth’s The Prayer List…and Other True Stories of How Families Pray. This week we focus on chapters 3–5. Learn more about the book club here. Admission: I don’t like to be caught praying on my knees in my own house. Church is fine—I pray on my knees there all the time. But if I’m going down on my knees at home, I shut the […]
Intermediate Grades
“I Pray for Malala”
During our prayer the other night, as the young people were offering intercessions, one young lady said, “I pray for Malala, the girl from Pakistan, who is speaking out about peoples’ rights.” After the prayer, I acknowledged this intercession and said how impressed I was that she had mentioned Malala Yousafzai and began to explain her story to the class in case some were not familiar with her. She is an education activist who was shot […]
Thank you for the shout-out, Joe — and thanks for the great webinars you provide to catechists!
(BTW – I’ll be driving up for your Being/Knowing/Doing workshop in Romeoville at the end of the month. I’m looking forward to finally meeting you in person!)
Great Jonathan…I look forward to meeting you there!
Have you ever had a chance to view the children’s programs on EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) ?
http://www.ewtn.com/tv/kids/index.asp
I think the shows for children are great for Catechists and we don’t have to reinvent the wheel, especially “Truth in the Heart”.
Debra, thanks for the suggestion.
I had been searching the internet on how to do spontaneous prayer. I have attended seminar on how to pray for others but was told to just speak our mind. I am loss for words. Some of us can pray without help. But not me. I need a guide. I found your website. This is an answer to my prayer. Now I think I can begin to practice. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
You’re very welcome, Merian! I’m glad you found this helpful. Not all of us can formulate words spontaneously!