Prayer is turning our minds and hearts to God. In our classroom lessons, we rightly emphasize the importance of prayer in the life of a Christian. Students pray together in class, at Mass, and at seasonal events. Our dearest hope is that these lessons will translate into lifelong prayerful faith when students are not in a school or parish setting. We want them to establish a habit of prayer that they take into adulthood.
 
How can we better motivate young people to turn to God and open their minds and hearts to him in their daily lives? What will increase the potential for prayer to become a habit?

Teach the benefits of daily prayer. Blest Are We Faith in Action teacher’s editions have an excellent summary of “Teaching Prayer” at T30 of each level. The fourth chapter of every unit of the student book centers on “How Catholics Pray” and instructions for setting up a classroom Prayer Center. Every chapter concludes with prayer.
 
Promote memorization of traditional Catholic prayers. Knowing some prayers by heart makes it easier to pray when we are feeling stressed or hurried. You will find short Catholic prayers at the beginning of student editions of Blest Are We Faith in Action, Be My Disciples, and Family Life.

Begin every class and event with prayer. When the teacher says, “Let us recall that we are in the holy presence of God,” it makes a difference to the students and the teacher. Some teachers even ring a little bell or chime. All are alerted that they are in a special space.

Practice. Propose an “on-your-own challenge” to pray one time each day outside of the classroom setting, over a set period of time. We Catholics already have such a habit-forming timeframe. We call it Lent! But don’t wait until Lent to do this exercise. Thirty days is a good target.

Prayer Partners. It helps to have a buddy when you are establishing any healthy habit. Partners should meet weekly to check in with each other about how they are doing with their resolution. 
Ask students to suggest non-school times when they could pray.

• “When I arrive home, I will thank God before I eat my snack.”
• “When I shut down my computer for the night, I will remember God loves me.”
• “When my feet hit the floor in the morning, I will ask God to protect me.”
• “When I brush my teeth, I will thank God for my health or pray for someone who is sick.”

Have them write down their resolution on the inside cover of their faith formation book. After 30 days, ask students to reflect on their experience and invite them to continue to practice praying daily.

Resources for Home: Catholic Prayers and Practices. These handy, portable guides help young people learn, celebrate, and reference the prayers and practices of the Catholic faith. Available in bilingual and other languages.  

About the Author
Dr. Lauri Przybysz specializes in equipping families to live their vocation to be domestic churches and signs of God’s love. Lauri received the Doctor of Ministry from the Catholic University of America, and she has been both a Catholic middle school religion teacher and a faith formation coordinator at the archdiocesan and parish levels. She is the mother of 6 children and grandmother of 21.

 

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Catholic Prayers and Practices 

This small book, Catholic Prayers and Practices including The Order of Mass, contains traditional practices and prayers that unite us as Catholics. It is designed to support you in your faith life, and it can assist you in helping the younger members of our Church learn, grow and live as active members of the Catholic community.

This resource can be used for private, family, or communal prayer. The Order of Mass section incorporates the language of the revised Roman Missal. Share the faith by giving copies of this book to others. In this way, you are sharing in the ministry of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who called us to be His disciples and to share the Good News with all people.

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