Fostering a prayer life in children

On a recent visit with a spiritual director, he asked me straight out "how to you teach your children how to pray?"

I sat for a second with a stone face and then realized all the many things we do.

Mass is very long prayer time filled with many prayers.  We try to spend one weekday morning at church to participate in the liturgy. We attend weekend Mass together.  My children participate in different ways based on their ages.  I have two teenagers that lector, one of my sons serves at the altar.  I also have some kids who like to wrestle me and each other.  It makes for a lively time for me.

I've made a rosary box that gets a lot of use.  It's a way of giving the children something tangible to hold and look at for each mystery.  It helps to ground them into the moment.  {I personally find the rosary to be a practice of focus for myself!}

We do the stations of the cross all times of the year.  I also have a box to hold an item for each station.  We do so much like to do the stations with the small candles that are extinguished as we finish each one.

I have an area that is specific for personal prayer and family prayer.  We call it a prayer corner, but it's more of a wall facing east in this new house.  We have compline in the evening together as a family here.  We've also added a little reading from the Catechism each night as suggested.

We've taught our children how to use the Jesus Prayer and the Divine Mercy Prayer.  Did you know there are even Apps for these?  I'm pretty low media in this house, but there are times when I let my kids use an App to help them follow their place with these.

I gave a talk about fostering prayer in children at a local churches moms group...It is good to re-read this.  It takes a little bit of time for a habit to be lost.  It's great to be reminded of what we hope for and want to do with and for our children.

But what is the best practice of all?  Making time for silence in the midst of a child's daily chaos.  Our American lives create some much noise.  How can we ever hear the voice of the Shepherd?  There must be times in the day carved out for quiet.   I have sand timers that we use often.  I keep a 7 minute timer near the prayer corner.  A child can use it to keep their body still and quiet for 7 minutes.  For the younger children, I have a 1 minute timer.  (you've got to start somewhere!)

My children over the age of 8 have weekly sheets that tell them what lessons to accomplish on their own each day.  I include a "quiet time with Jesus" on each of their lists.  What they do during that time is very flexible and open for them.  I try to have taught them a variety of personal prayer styles to allow them to grow their own relationship with God.

I keep many books rotating in the prayer area.  Some that I have found especially helpful to my children are:

The Children's Illustrated Bible

The Jesus StoryBible.

A is for Altar, B is for Bible

An Alphabet of Catholic Saints 

The monk who grew prayer 

The Praises

The Jesus Prayer and Me. (not sold by Amazon...link here)

Discloser: When you click on one of these books and buy, Amazon rewards me with a small kick back.  Thank you.  I hope you enjoy the books as much as we do.  

AND modeling is very important.  Do your children see you praying and want to join you?  Have they observed you quietly making the sign of the cross before you begin an activity?  Do they hear you participate in the liturgy?  Have they joined you in praying the Divine Mercy chaplet at 3pm?  Have they seen you initiate meal prayers?  

And that, Father J-T, is how I foster prayer life in my children!  

Celebrating the Double Canonization...

and learning about Popes is our focus for Bright Week.

With two Popes being Canonized on Divine Mercy Sunday, we are doing some extra studying.
Are you doing extra learning with your kids?  Here are some simple things we will do:

What is Canonization?

Pope John XXIII (the Good)
Learn to say "Good Pope" in Italian.  il Papa buono.
Learn his given name.  Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli
Count to 14.  He was #4 out of 14 kids.
Find Lombardy province, Italy on the map.
Eat spaghetti.
Watch the movie Tree of wooden clogs to facilitate discussion about sharecroppers.
Read a book about trains and how you can buy a one way or return ticket.
Talk about the Second Vatican Council.  (1962-1965)  Add this to our Century books.
Copywork quote  'We were all made in God's image, and thus, we are all Godly alike.
Talk about World War I.
Memorize his motto: Obedientia et Pax ("Obedience and Peace")
Find the places he was Papal Nuncio on the map.  Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, France.
Talk about Jewish persecution during 1935+ compared to now.  Visit the local synagogue.  Celebrate a passover meal.
Read Gaudat Mater Ecclasia, opening statements from Vatican II.
Watch some of the videos from his pontificate and talk about the "Speech of the Moon".
Visit the altar of St. Jerome in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, Italy.
Find your stomach.  Talk about digestive system. Learn about stomach cancer

Pope John Paul (the Great)
Look at photo albums of the personal times we saw him.
Learn his given name.  Karol Józef Wojtyła
Find Poland on the map.
Watch the movie Karol.  (sensitive for young children)
Talk about World Youth Days. Find Denver, CO on the map for his 1993 visit.
Talk about Parkinsons Disease
Memorize his motto: Totus Tuus. ("All Yours")
Find the places he visited.  (the whole world!)
Talk about papal letters and read parts of an encyclical. (He wrote fourteen.) I personally will read parts of Veritatis Splendor.
Copywork Quote: "Do not abandon yourselves to despair.  We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song."  other quotes here.

Icon

Last week we went to see the Kursk Root Icon that was traveling through our area.

Our veneration of the icon and participation in the Akathist hymns were our way of showing the unity we share with our Eastern brothers and sisters. 

Before the service, a woman went outside with the visiting priest.  I loved catching this confession in progress.  Isn't it beautiful?  You can see the priests stole wrapping her in reconciliation.  

 And an edited at home closer look.  

Have you been able to take advantage of confession this Lent?  There is still time! 

A house blessing

There's nothing magical about comitting your house for God's use.  Choosing to have a house be a blessing to others is a yearly commitment we make at Epiphany.

But then we moved!

So after we moved we asked our priest to come and help us bless this house for God's use.

Here are the photos (long overdue!) from the blessing in July.

May God take this little abode and turn it into a blessing for others.  

(and thanks to a God mother who took all these photos!)

Presentation in the Temple

Several years ago I made a special candle to use on our table each year for the Feast of the Presentation.  (I also made a candle to give away for another family to use on the Feast of the Presentation each year).

Bishop John of Parma, Ohio

Since we have both boys and girls in this house, we try to find ways to celebrate their specialness.

(this icon for sale at easterngiftshop.com)

Back in November when we celebrated Mary's entrance into the temple (November 21st), the girls (all three of them) took lunch into work with Daddy.  I dropped them off at the front door with a nice lunch and picked them up one hour later.  They felt special and daddy was able to show them off to some of his co-workers.

This year the Feast of the Presentation falls on a Saturday.  Daddy will be feasting on a special breakfast with the bigger boys after First Saturday Mass.  

And today I'm sharing some time with friends and made another candle to give away.

Do you have any special traditions surrounding the Presentation in the Temple or the Presentation of Mary? 

Are you still celebrating Easter?

It's the fourth Sunday of Easter.  Good Shepherd Sunday.  We will enjoy our last session of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for our oldest today.  9 years of Catechesis has gone by too quickly!

I'm still reflecting on the Easter Liturgy we attended.  The children are continually telling the story of singing "Christ is Risen from the Dead.  With death, he trampled death.  And to those in the tombs he granted Life" over and over.

Here are some photos from our Easter 2012.

Family photo at the front of the church.

Blessing of the Easter Baskets after Liturgy.

Peeking into others Easter baskets.

Yummy raisin bread in our Easter basket with the traditional Byzantine cross.

After the Liturgy a friend of ours received the Rite of anointing with oil.  She was scheduled for a kidney transplant in the Easter season.  It was wonderful to witness this!  Here you can see the priest holding a Bible over her head.  

Besides reflecting on our Easter Liturgy, we are taking family trips and doing more fun schooling.  We are also spending lots of time in nature.

Forgive me a sinner

Many years ago my family was able to attend Forgiveness Vespers with the Bishop John of Parma (Byzantine Catholic).  It was an experience I return to in my mind each year when Lent begins.
In our Roman Catholic churches we anticipate Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday while in our sister Eastern churches (Byzantine, Orthodox, etc) they have begun yesterday with the Forgiveness Vespers.  This Rite of prayers and "Lord have mercy"s repeated over and over is just a taste of the beauty of the Divine Liturgy.  Insense fills the air and the sung prayers are heavenly.
There is nothing like a bishop in all his splendor to ask you in your face "Forgive me, a sinner".  To which I replied with a kiss to his ring.  And then as I asked him "forgive me, a sinner" he replied with a kiss to the check and a profound bow.
I wonder how my attitude might change if my pastor or my bishop offered this gesture to me!  Would my bishop's attitude towards me change if I was able to ask his forgiveness?  It's at times like these that I wish my bishop even knew my name.  There are some good things to be said about having a small community!
So I ask you my reader...."please forgive me, a sinner".  May your Lent be frutiful.

Breaking the Winter Doldrums

What do you do to keep your sanity in the winter?
Does the continuation of week after week of cold and grey get you down?
 It does create some "cabin fever" in this family.
So we broke things up a little last week.  We invited over some friends.

The front door was decorated with "welcome to the winter warming checkers tournament".

A tournament board was created with "fair opponents".  

A suitable "trophy" was erected by an 11-year old and her accomplice brother.

A hearty and warm meal was served (oops forgot to take pictures of Shrimp Diablo-hot sauce optional).
A frozen desert from a local ice cream shop topped off the delightful meal.
And then the games began.

The games were heated!  That really helped fight back the cold.  

Is it any wonder who would win this game?  Our parish priest.  Congrats Fr!  

Care to share what you do to keep winter fun in the midwest?

20+C+M+B+11

Sometimes the simplest traditions can be the most full!   And we like the consistency of having the same priest friend over each year.  

Brother Incense bearer

the "Presider" at our home blessing for 2011.

Sister icon bearer

Sister chalk bearer

first Epiphany listener

All interested except lil guy.

He really enjoyed being part of it all.  

a gift from Jerusalem that plays the most annoying music....over and over and over.  Thanks Fr. E.

Visiting the camel at the zoo.  (thanks for being one of the first to adore!)