Help
With Your Rule
"Beginner" in Prayer at Home
Dear Holly,
I'm in the very beginner stage with the Catholic faith, so I think I need an extra effort with the first P. My husband is a cradle Catholic (from Africa, I assume the traditions aren't quite the same there), but hasn't been practising his faith very actively, at least not during all the time that I've known him. I know he prays a lot by himself, but has never considered important to go to the Mass or to confession or to teach the kids or me anything. And I have been even less active, being a non-practising Lutheran. My interest, which has grown larger and larger during the last few years, has made us much more active church-goers etc. But at the moment we really don't have any family prayer time or anything like that. As for the childrens' education: The two eldest children do religious studies at school once a week (they switched from a Lutheran group to a Catholic one this autumn), and their new school books have been an interesting read for me too, with some ideas for parents on what to do at home. But I know that really isn't enough, not for anybody in our family. Any suggestions on how to get started?
Labels: 1st P Prayer
posted by Holly at 2:47 PM
6 Comments:
I am sure many of MROL Website readers will have ideas for you, and perhaps even hopping onto the Internet and looking up Catholic Family Prayer might help you.
But for me, I guess, I'd start with morning and evening prayer with the family since it is considered the minimum amount of daily prayer for Catholics. I'd set up a little shrine in my home - with a candle or two, a statue, some Holy Water and a bible. I'd probably start initially by calling everyone together to say a Morning Offering before we all left for school or work, and make the sign of the cross and get blessed by the Holy Water. And for the evening, I'd find a nice Night Prayer we could learn and recite together, with the candles going and the Holy Water Blessing.
I would have a picture of the Blessed Mother there, and ask Mary to come and show your family specially how to live as God wants you to live, and I would pray with the family a Hail Mary daily for this intention.
I would 'call' the children and focus on making this a habit. And I would 'invite' my husband to join us every time. If he couldn't make it, I would include his intentions in our prayer.
This is how I would start, and in fact, how I did start with family prayer way back when my oldest was only 3 years old.
Research will bring you more ideas.
One thing that I have found very helpful is my cell phone (which normally I hate!!!) But I found some really pretty hymns in the ringer file. I set the alarm for prayer time and when it goes off it does it with a lovely hymn. We say the chaplet of divine mercy at three, and when for some reson we just can not do it I hear the hymn and my mind and been trained to pray even if we can't do it out loud and together. I friend of mine actually got me started doing this, her's is set for three times a day and her family prays the angelus.
When my first child was little (about a year old), we would say a Hail Mary at bedtime (plus our "Dear God, please bless..." litany) because it was short. A few years later, I realized he only heard the Our Father at Sunday mass, so I added it and the Glory Be to the nighttime prayers. Another year went by, and he learned the Guardian Angel prayer at preschool, so I added it and realized that this series of prayers was exactly what my mom had her 5 kids doing at bedtime when I was little. We recently added the prayer to St. Michael and we each take turns in leading one prayer at night.
Hi I have recently started saying the first decade of the Rosary every morning with my children while they are still in bed, as they are quiet and rested and it helps get their minds focused on their day ahead at school. They are learning the name of each decade are taking turns praying a Hail Mary and we finish with the St Michael prayer. The great thing is they dont have to wake any earlier to achieve this and I find the mornings are not as stressful anymore. Mary is present in our home and it makes a massive difference.
Peace Colette
Pray the rosary daily. Read some scripture, either the Mass readings or a selection from the Gospel and a psalm. Get a good catechism and include a reading from it too.
There is a site where you can sign up for courses for the whole family at a discount (type in homeschool as the discount keyword).
It is www.catechismclass.com.
Will your husband pray the Rosary as a family?
That is powerful!!!
And he can help with their education (by praying it as a family)!
PS. I was baptized Lutheran!
Welcome Home!!!
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