The Jesus Prayer is a simple and powerful way to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ with an open heart ready to receive his mercy: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This very ancient prayer is known as the Jesus Prayer. It has been used for centuries in monastic…
Prayers
Eucharistic Adoration for Kids
The following article is an expanded excerpt from chapter 4 of Christ in the Classroom: Lesson Planning for the Heart and Mind, which describes various ways to use contemplation in class to help students make personal connections to Christ through what they are learning. For many Catholics, myself included, the Eucharist and specifically eucharistic adoration played…
Planning a Catholic Prayer Service (with a Simple Format and Outline)
The following article is an expanded excerpt from chapter 3 of Christ in the Classroom: Lesson Planning for the Heart and Mind, which describes various ways to use meditation and prayer in class to help students make personal connections to Christ through what they are learning. The goal of planning a prayer service for class is…
The Lord’s Prayer Lesson Plan
Use this lesson plan to teach about the meaning of each part of the Lord’s Prayer (the Our Father). Students will learn the meaning of the prayer and apply it to their lives so that praying it becomes more meaningful and not mindless and memorized. This lesson plan format is based on the Lectio Divina…
A Class Litany of the Saints
The Litany of the Saints is a perfect prayer for All Saints Day or to supplement any lesson you teach about the lives of the saints. You can certainly use the official Litany of the Saints (found below), or try this variation on this wonderful intercessory prayer for Catholic schools and parish religious education programs….
A Prayer Service After a Tragedy
How do we teach after a tragedy? What is the best way to pray for the victims of a tragedy? People respond in so many different ways. Our students may not know how to respond especially if the tragedy affected them personally or affected their community. Our goal in the wake of a tragedy is…
Divine Mercy Lesson Plan and Activities
Give your students a great spiritual gift this year. Introduce them to the devotion to Divine Mercy with this lesson and activities. The Divine Mercy devotion originated with a polish nun, St. Faustian Kowalski, who had visits from Christ in the 1930s. She wrote down her conversations with Jesus in a diary, which included a…
School-wide Prayer: Tips for Making an Impact
Every Catholic school I know gathers together to pray in some way beyond the celebration of Mass. In grade schools especially, there are many times throughout the day that students and faculty stop and pray in unison. The challenge is making sure these public prayers do not become so routine that students and teachers lose touch with the deeper meaning…
A Catechist Blessing
What our Church needs most today is men and women who are willing to touch the heart and not just the head. As Pope Paul VI once wrote, we need to be more like witnesses than teachers. We need people who will not only catechize, but evangelize our Church’s youth. The following blessing for catechists…
A Teacher’s Prayer
TEACHER’S PRAYER Heavenly Father, Enable me to teach WISDOM, For I help to shape the mind. Equip me to teach with TRUTH, For I help to shape the conscience. Encourage me to teach with VISION, For I help to shape the future. Empower me to teach with LOVE, For I help to shape the world….
