5 Questions for Catechists and Teachers: Prayer

Praying HandsBecause prayer is such an important part of a Catholic teacher/catechist’s life, I had this idea that maybe we could all share a little bit about what prayer means to us, and how we actually pray. By answering a few questions about prayer, we could offer each other encouragement and inspiration to enrich our own prayer lives. I’ll go first, and I invite all Catholic teachers and catechists who blog to answer the same five questions and link back here so I can find your post. I promise to link to all your articles in an upcoming post as a sort of hub for our thoughts and reflections. If you don’t blog, feel free to leave your answers in a comment.

Here are the five questions, along with my answers. I look forward to reading your own.

1. When do you like to pray and why?

I like to get up around 5:30 am to pray, but I often hit the snooze button and usually end up actually getting out of bed by 6:00. I like to pray while the rest of my family sleeps. It’s my one-on-one time with God, and we can have an uninterrupted conversation. The dark and quiet of the morning helps me to be more of a listener than a talker, though it’s sometimes hard to stay awake. Praying in the morning also helps prepare me for the day and orients me toward doing God’s will.

2. When it comes to personal prayer, how do you pray and what do find fruitful about praying that way?

I’ve been praying Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours since about 1995, and I love its rhythm and pace. Morning Prayer helps me begin the day by praising God, and takes me out of my selfish needs so that I can offer prayers for the whole world.

After Morning Prayer I spend time meditating on the readings for the coming weekend Mass. I used to try and meditate on the daily Mass readings, but I found that praying with the Sunday readings over the course of the entire week gives me the opportunity to really ruminate over them. Usually a word or phrase will really speak to me and I will try to carry it with me throughout the entire day.

3. What’s one thing you would like improve upon in your prayer life?

I would really like to be more faithful to an evening examen in the Ignatian tradition. Looking back over the day with the help of the Holy Spirit to discover where God was at work in my day is a grace that I always appreciate. I just find it difficult to get into a regular pattern in the evening, so prayer often gets pushed aside. I also need to make more time to pray with my wife and kids.

4. How has your personal prayer life positively impacted your teaching?

The biggest impact it’s had on me is that I am more peaceful, content and grounded. Rather than feeling like a pinball ricocheting from bumper to bumper, I find myself moving deliberately through life with mission and purpose. Even on busy days, being aware of God’s presence in my life puts everything in perspective. My students benefit by having a (reasonably) sane, spiritually healthy teacher with first-hand experience of prayer.

5. Recommend one book on prayer to other catechists/teachers:

Prayer Primer: Igniting a Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay – While this may not be the book that has had the most influence on my prayer life (that book is probably This Tremendous Lover by Eugene Boylan), the late Fr. Dubay’s book is an excellent introduction to living a life of prayer. It covers most of the major forms of Christian prayer in a practical, accessible manner that keeps me coming back to it again and again.

A Prayer for Students Who Feel Hated

Sad Little GirlOne of the biggest challenges we face as Catholic educators is helping students accept others who are different. Students get teased because of speech impediments, disinterest in sports, physical disabilities, sexual orientation, economic background, and even for succeeding in school. As hard as we work to prevent it from happening, teasing and bullying still exist.

This morning Fr. James Martin, SJ, author of My Life with the Saints and The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, reposted a prayer he wrote to help anyone who feels “rejected, despised or excluded.”

This may be the most important prayer you share with your students this year.

A Prayer When I Feel Hated

Loving God, you made me who I am.
I praise you and I love you,
for I am wonderfully made, in your own image.

But when people make fun of me,
I feel hurt and embarrassed and even ashamed.
So please God, help me remember my own goodness,
which lies in you.
Help me remember my dignity,
which you gave me when I was conceived.
Help me remember that I can live a life of love,
because you created my heart.

Be with me, loving God, when people hate me,
and help me to respond how you would want me to:
with a love that respects others, but also respects me.
Help me find friends who love me for who I am.
Help me, most of all, to be a loving person.

And God, help me remember that Jesus loves me.
For he was seen as an outcast, too.
He was misunderstood, too.
He was beaten and spat upon.
Jesus understands me,
and loves me with a special love,
because of the way you made me.

And when I am feeling lonely,
help me to remember that Jesus welcomed everyone as a friend.
Jesus reminded everyone that God loved them.
Jesus encouraged everyone to embrace their dignity,
even when others were blind to seeing that dignity.
Jesus loved everyone with the boundless love that you gave him.
And he loves me, too.

One more thing, God:
Help me remember
that nothing is impossible with you,
that you have a way of making things better,
and that you can find a way of love for me,
even if I can’t see it right now.

Help me remember all these things
in the heart you created, loving God.
Amen.

James Martin, SJ

Kindle Books for Catholic Educators: The Rosary

With the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary coming up on October 7, the following two Kindle books are excellent resources for preparing to explain the rosary to students.

Praying the Rosary, by Megan Mckenna. Doubleday. Printed Length: 272 pp. Kindle Price: $9.99.

Internationally acclaimed author Megan McKenna gives this Catholic tradition enriched modern relevance in a completely up-to-date guide to praying the Rosary, designed for general readers and incorporating the recent additions made by Pope John Paul II.

As a speaker, teacher, and bestselling Catholic author, Megan McKenna has informed and inspired audiences both in- and outside of the Catholic tradition with her warmhearted, contemporary approach to spirituality. Now she turns her attention to the Rosary, revealing the universality of this ancient practice and how it can enrich lives today.

Praying the Rosary—the act of counting off prayers with a string of beads in a rhythm of focused spiritual contemplation—is a practice that has existed for centuries and is common to many faiths. For the world’s one billion Catholics it has become the most popular form of devotion. Though strongly associated with The Rosary - Mckennathe Virgin Mary, the prayers of the Rosary are ultimately meant to bring those who say them closer to Jesus Christ, whose life and teachings are central to all branches of the Christian faith. This gives the Rosary an ecumenical dimension that is in sync with today’s emphasis on the common bonds, rather than the divisions, among all Christians. In 2002, Pope John Paul II updated the Rosary by adding a new section on the teachings of Jesus, further emphasizing the centrality of Christ and the biblical Gospels at the heart of the prayers. Embracing this ecumenical attitude in Praying the Rosary, Megan McKenna explores the Rosary and explains how to pray it, incorporating the Pope’s recent additions and revealing its relevance to a new generation. She breaks down the Rosary into its twenty components, prefacing each with a selection from Scripture that identifies the prayer’s source in the Bible. Combining practical instruction with meditative reflections on the prayer’s spirituality, she reveals the Rosary’s richly contemplative nature and shows how praying the Rosary can inspire peaceful, calm attitudes, and an awareness of the universal spiritual mystery that connects all Christians. –Amazon.com

The Rosary: A Path into Prayer, by Liz Kelly. Loyola Press. Printed Length: 174 pp. Kindle Price: $9.56.

An introduction to the rich tradition of rosary devotion, with new material on the recently added Rosary - Kellyluminous mysteries.

The rosary is a central element in the prayer lives of countless people, though it is still often neglected and misunderstood. The Rosary, an updated and revised version of The Seeker’s Guide to the Rosary (Loyola Press, 2001), is a comprehensive look at the history, practice, and benefits of rosary devotion. Designed to introduce the reader to the mysteries of this simple meditative prayer, author Liz Kelly gently guides the reader on an exploration of this powerful prayer that is well suited even to this modern world.

15 Rosary Resources for October

Because October 7 is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, October is traditionally considered the month of the rosary. This is an excellent time of the year to reacquaint your students with this beautiful method of prayer.

The following links may be helpful as you plan your religion lessons for the month:

  1. Rosarium Virginis Mariae – Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter on praying the rosary
  2. How to Pray the Rosary – from the Rosary Confraternity
  3. Come, Pray the Rosary – A beautiful site for praying the rosary onlineRosary Beads
  4. For People Who Can’t Stand the Rosary – 4 reasons to give the rosary a chance
  5. Rosary Army – “Make them. Pray them. Give them away.”
  6. Rosary for Job Seekers – From the Anchoress
  7. 12 Tips for Praying the Family Rosary Daily – From Taylor Marshall
  8. USCCB Rosaries for Life – Beautiful rosary meditations that focus on the value and wonder of human life
  9. A Rosary for Healing and Protection – From the USCCB Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection (pdf)
  10. Real Men Pray the Rosary – Facebook Page
  11. Scriptural Rosary Podcasts – Sound files from Franciscan University of Steubenville
  12. The Rosary from CatholicTV – Various different video rosaries, including some which feature Catholic school students and others which are in 3D (yes, 3D!)
  13. RosaryLive.com – During live recitations of the rosary, viewers can contribute prayer intentions
  14. Online Rosary – An easy-to-follow aid to praying the rosary
  15. Holy Rosary Deluxe – An iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch app for praying the rosary

The Hail Mary in Different Languages:

Fr. James Martin, SJ on the Rosary:

More First Day of School of Prayers

This time of year, Catholic School Chronicle always gets visited by people looking for prayers to use on the first day of school. It’s been a couple of years since we posted this prayer, so it’s time for some more. The following two prayers are adapted from prayers written by Dolores Curran. The originals can be found in Curran’s book Family Prayer.

Parent-Teacher-Student Litany

Leader: Dear God of all creation, thank you for the marvelous gift of learning. We beg you to hear our prayers for our school life. Come into our midst, into our minds and into our hearts.

(After each of the following petitions, all respond, “Hear our prayer, O Lord.”)

For school boards and superintendents,
For principals and secretaries,
For custodians and bus drivers,
For librarians and cooks,
For teachers and learners,
For buildings and playgrounds,
For budgets and books,
For parents and families,
For assignments and grades,
For field days and field trips,
For book reports and homework,
For kindergartners and school aides,
For first graders and reading teachers,
For second graders and music teachers,
For third graders and school nurses,
For fourth graders and room parents,
For fifth graders and speech therapists,
For sixth graders and playground supervisors,
For seventh graders and assistant principals,
For eighth graders and resource people,
For freshman and activity directors,
For sophomores and coaches,
For juniors and drama teachers,
For seniors and counselors,
Keep us all under your loving care this year, Lord, and teach us to love one another as we learn from one another.

(After each of the following petitions, all respond, “Pray for us.”)

Mary, mother of all students,
That we may all be what God wants us to be,
That we may accept the responsibilities of learning,
That we may support our schools and teachers,
That we may perceive, judge and act wisely,
That we may grow in age and grace,
That we may furnish educational hope for all,
That we may change the world,
That we may make new friends and keep old friends,
That we may be patient with our students and teachers,
That we may keep our school clean and pleasant,

Come, O Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts and minds of your faithful. Grant us faith, knowledge and perseverance so that we may go forth and spread the Good News. Amen.

A Prayer for the First Day of School

Teacher: As school begins, Mary, we put this year in your hands. We pray that our class will emerge in June more educated, more prayerful and more compassionate to others.

All: Please pray to Jesus for us, Mary.

Teacher: That all children everywhere will experience loving teachers and enlightening classes,

All: Please pray to Jesus for us, Mary.

Teacher: That the school year will be filled with good friends, exciting school activities, and God’s love,

All: Please pray to Jesus for us, Mary.

Teacher: That we have a minimum of illness, unfinished homework and unkind behavior,

All: Please pray to Jesus for us, Mary.

Teacher: That we help new students to feel welcome these first days of school,

All: Please pray to Jesus for us, Mary.

Teacher: That we notice and are grateful for the many blessings God gives us this year,

All: Please pray to Jesus for us, Mary. Hail Mary, full of grace, hear our prayer for a school year that will please your Son, educate us, and help us to fulfill God’s plan for us in his world. Amen.