The following prayers of Saint Augustine are derived from a short piece of writing that was meant to instruct catechists about teaching. Although his intention was not to offer prayers for the use in catechesis, his hope was to inspire teachers to overcome their challenges and find inspiration in the love of God. The prayers…
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Building Prayer Habits as a Teacher
Prayer is central to effective catechesis. If a teacher does not pray, how can she or he possibly expect to open students up to the grace of God? But we all know how busy our lives can get as teachers. Finding time to pray is difficult and it can be challenging to set up good…
7 Practical Ideas for Prayer Before Class
Prayer before class starts is usually a crucial part of every religion teacher’s lesson plan. I included it by default on the lesson planning templates I created to support The Religion Teacher’s Guide to Lesson Planning. Use the tips below to help you remember to pray before every class session and to offer creative opportunities…
Student Prayer Partners
Looking for ways to foster meaningful prayer experiences in your religious education classes? Try assembling students as prayer partners for a quarter, semester, year, or month. The more ownership you can give students over their faith and prayer lives, the more they will learn about themselves, God, and others.
Advent Prayer Service Ideas and Tips
‘Tis the season for Advent prayer services. Most Catholic schools and parish education programs take the opportunity to gather students together in prayer in special ways during Advent.
St. John Chrysostom Prayers
St. John Chrysostom was a popular preacher and homilist during the fourth century. His ability to amaze his listeners with eloquent and convincing speeches earned him the nick-name “Golden-mouthed” or Chrysostom. Fittingly he is the patron saint of preachers, speakers, orators, and lecturers. St. John Chrysostom preached strongly against immorality especially against the mistreatment of…
Saint Thomas Aquinas Prayer Before Study
January 28 is the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas, patron saint of students, schools, and learning. In honor of his feast day, share this prayer before study below with your students. Copy and paste it into a word document and distribute copies for them all to use before big tests and exams. Saint Thomas…
Visualizing God in Prayer and Guided Meditations
When you pray, how do you imagine God? Do you visualize someone or something? Do you use images to help you pray? Too often we tend to focus on what we are praying for rather than the God to whom we pray. If you ask your students what they imagine when they pray, you may…
Prayers of St. Augustine of Hippo
In preparation for his feast day on August 28th, here are some prayers attributed to Saint Augustine of Hippo. As a teacher or catechist, you might share them with your students or use them in your own personal prayers for the day: From the introduction of The Confessions (Chapter 1): “Great are You, O Lord,…
Learning Hope through Prayer: Part IV
Hope in Meditating on Salvation We have hope in a salvation that will be an unknown experience and mostly indescribable. Many of our students have an understanding of this experience that is based on their exposure to the entertainment industry. Rather than strengthen their desire for salvation, these movies and books often limit their understanding…
