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Kids Need Ignatian Prayer!

Today, being the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about the benefits that Ignatian prayer can bring to young people. According to IgnatianSpirituality.com, Ignatian prayer is imaginative, reflective, and personal—three characteristics that are crucial aspects of the spirituality of children. Imaginative—Children are the masters of imagination! Left to their own devices, children find ways to entertain themselves using their limitless imaginations. But children today, more […]

A Prayer for Those Who Have Shared Their Faith—Free Prayer Card

Joe Paprocki

While it’s true that there is a private dimension to our faith, faith comes to us through others first. Maybe you remember your parents teaching you mealtime or bedtime prayers or taking you to participate in a service opportunity. Maybe a favorite teacher or catechist showed you the power of imaginative prayer, invited you to a meaningful communal prayer service, or led an activity that made some aspect of the faith “click” for you. Maybe […]

The Catechist as a Personal Trainer for Prayer Life

Denise Gorss

“Central aspects of the formation of children are training in prayer and introduction to Sacred Scripture” (General Directory for Catechesis 178). Today let’s focus on the training in prayer part of that. Training indeed is key, but how do we understand that? Think of a personal trainer: when we need to get in shape or need new motivation to stay in shape, we might hire a trainer to teach us the basics of fitness and […]

Beyond Memorizing Words to Meditating with Traditional Prayers

Bob Burnham

This past year I was a substitute catechist for my parish’s faith-formation program. When a young man in one of the classes learned that I had written a book of meditations based on the lives of the saints, he said, “Of course it’s a book of meditations. It’s Bob.” Even though we didn’t spend much time together, he knew that prayer and contemplation are the source of all that I am and all that I […]

Weaving Prayer Throughout the School Day

Barb Gilman

It’s time to say goodbye to another class of third graders, and as I reflect on our time together, I have noticed that there was a beautiful pattern woven throughout each day. Our classes began and ended with prayer, and we took advantage of opportunities to pray as they popped up throughout the day. For example, our school is next to a main thoroughfare through our city. Hundreds of cars pass by our school every […]

How to Be a Prayer Coach

Joe Paprocki

It’s no coincidence that some of the best coaches and managers in sports are former players themselves. They understand what it’s like to be on the court, field, or ice. In fact, some of the best coaches and managers are those who themselves struggled during their playing years. As a result of their struggles, they studied the game more intensively, seeking to learn every nuance that might assist them since their own pure talent was marginal. […]

Free Prayer Cards Inspired by the Letters of Pope Francis

Joe Paprocki

As we near the end of the catechetical year, you might be thinking how you might mark the occasion with a special keepsake for your students. Encourage children to keep up a practice of prayer throughout the summer break by giving them a prayer card (or three!), free for you to download this month, in English or in Spanish. Inspired by the letters of Pope Francis in the book Dear Pope Francis, the cards each […]

The Prayer Before Meals Opens a Conversation About Real-Life Prayer

Denise Gorss

In the middle of a session, the conversation turned to the Prayer Before Meals, and I asked my seventh-graders if they knew that prayer. One girl volunteered that she knew it in Spanish, so I invited her to recite it for our group. But aside from that girl, no one indicated they knew the prayer. I directed the young people to look at the words of the prayer in the book. The same girl who […]

Prayer That “Fits” Current Science

Joe Paprocki

In late November my daughter got married, and it was a wonderful experience. In the days leading up to the wedding, my wife was fervently praying for good weather. For several weeks before the wedding date, Chicago experienced unseasonal warmth and lots of sunshine. Forecasters, however, warned that “big changes” were coming, and the target date for those big changes turned out to be our daughter’s wedding day. Needless to say, my wife was not […]

Drafting Prayers of Intercession

Lisa Jones

By the time my students hit my classroom in the fourth grade, most of them know basic prayers such as the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be to the Father. Most have also learned that there are different types of prayers: blessing and adoration, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise. This week I decided to delve a little deeper into prayers of intercession, because I felt it tied in nicely to our lesson […]