Family with Teen(s)
Our sessions this month was all about different ways to pray. This page is a resource for you to further explore these ways to connect to prayer. Lent is the perfect time to start a new prayer practice.
Praying in Relationship: Talking to God/Listening to GoD
Talking to God
Here is just one example of many ways to start and keep a conversations with God.
The Prayer Process : Taken from The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic
Here is just one example of many ways to start and keep a conversations with God.
The Prayer Process : Taken from The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic
- Gratitude:
Begin by thanking God in a personal dialogue for whatever you are most grateful for today. - Awareness:
Revisit the times in the past twenty-four hours when you were and were not the-best-version-of-your-self. Talk to God about these situations and what you learned from them. - Significant Moments:
Identify something you experienced in the last twenty-four hours and explore what God might be trying to say to you through that event (or person). - Peace:
Ask God to forgive you for any wrong you have committed (against yourself, another person, or Him) and to fill you with a deep and abiding peace. - Freedom:
Speak with God about how He is inviting you to change your life, so that you can experience the freedom to be the-best-version-of-yourself. - Others:
Lift up to God anyone you feel called to pray for today, asking God to bless and guide them. - Pray the Our Father.
Keeping a prayer journal is also a great way to talk to God if that is your style. Here are some ideas to write about:
Listening to God
Listening to God - Preparing Your Heart to Hear Him
Listening to God is like listening to anyone-before you can hear Him, you must be ready to listen. Just as in a conversation, you cannot hear the other person if you are talking or if your mind is distracted. So it is with God. If you want to hear Him speak, you must be quiet and you must be focused on what He is saying. Regular conversation with God can transform your life! Consider identifying a place and time to meet with God everyday.
Prayer is how you begin a conversation with God. Think of it as saying "hello."
Listening to God - How Can I Hear Him?
Listening to God requires a deliberate choice to shut out the chaos around you and focus your thoughts. Is God someone you can hear? The Bible says He is, and the Bible is one of the main tools through which He speaks.
We live in a world of noise. Almost everywhere we go, we find sounds competing with our minds, keeping us from letting our thoughts get below the surface level. Hearing God's voice means not listening to the noise of the world around us. It's not easy, but it can be done.
King David, author of most of the book of Psalms, gave us a model for meeting with God, "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul" (Psalm 143:8).
He sought God's direction in the morning, at the beginning of the day. Like a general in God's army, he wanted to hear from his Commanding Officer before he entered into battle. Beginning each day fresh with God is a great reminder that, as the Scripture says, His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22, 23). You must find the time of day that works for you, but morning is the best time if that is possible.
Do you want to hear God speak to you? Listening to God requires regular Bible reading, since the Bible is the Word of God. To listen to the Bible, click here.
Listening to God - Preparing Your Heart to Hear Him
Listening to God is like listening to anyone-before you can hear Him, you must be ready to listen. Just as in a conversation, you cannot hear the other person if you are talking or if your mind is distracted. So it is with God. If you want to hear Him speak, you must be quiet and you must be focused on what He is saying. Regular conversation with God can transform your life! Consider identifying a place and time to meet with God everyday.
Prayer is how you begin a conversation with God. Think of it as saying "hello."
Listening to God - How Can I Hear Him?
Listening to God requires a deliberate choice to shut out the chaos around you and focus your thoughts. Is God someone you can hear? The Bible says He is, and the Bible is one of the main tools through which He speaks.
We live in a world of noise. Almost everywhere we go, we find sounds competing with our minds, keeping us from letting our thoughts get below the surface level. Hearing God's voice means not listening to the noise of the world around us. It's not easy, but it can be done.
King David, author of most of the book of Psalms, gave us a model for meeting with God, "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul" (Psalm 143:8).
He sought God's direction in the morning, at the beginning of the day. Like a general in God's army, he wanted to hear from his Commanding Officer before he entered into battle. Beginning each day fresh with God is a great reminder that, as the Scripture says, His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22, 23). You must find the time of day that works for you, but morning is the best time if that is possible.
Do you want to hear God speak to you? Listening to God requires regular Bible reading, since the Bible is the Word of God. To listen to the Bible, click here.
Adoration is AVAILABLE at 7 p.m. in the day chapel every monday. All are welcome to pray.
Praying In All That We Do
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Art, music, sports, learning, engineering, speech, service, advocacy, taking care of creation! All of this can be done in prayer. The following videos are a few examples of people who show us how to do this. Reflect as a family on this question : What things can you do in your daily life that can be offered up as prayers to God? |
Praying in Community
Your community comes not only from the people you go to church with, but Mary and the Saints. Praying with them super charges our prayer and connects us to the greater Church community. Watch this video to see a quick explanation of this:
The Rosary not only invites Mary to pray for us, but it is something that we can do as a family. The following links will show you not only how to pray the rosary, but how to make your own out of twine.
Make your own Rosary
How to Pray the Rosary
Make your own Rosary
How to Pray the Rosary
The Mass is the greatest way that we can join in the community of the Church. Join us for special services during holy week as well!
Weekend: Saturday 5:00 P.M.
Sunday 8:30 & 10:30 A.M.
Weekday: Tuesday 5:30 P.M. (FOLLOWED BY SOUP SUPPER DURING LENT)
Wed.-Fri. 9:00 A.M.
Holy Week: Holy Thursday - March 29th 7:00 P.M.
Good Friday - March 30th 7:00 P.M.
Holy Saturday - March 31st - Easter Vigil 8:30 P.M.
Find communal reconciliation services in the area HERE. Ss. John and Paul will celebrate the sacrament together on March 19th at 7:00 P.M.
Weekend: Saturday 5:00 P.M.
Sunday 8:30 & 10:30 A.M.
Weekday: Tuesday 5:30 P.M. (FOLLOWED BY SOUP SUPPER DURING LENT)
Wed.-Fri. 9:00 A.M.
Holy Week: Holy Thursday - March 29th 7:00 P.M.
Good Friday - March 30th 7:00 P.M.
Holy Saturday - March 31st - Easter Vigil 8:30 P.M.
Find communal reconciliation services in the area HERE. Ss. John and Paul will celebrate the sacrament together on March 19th at 7:00 P.M.
When and Where of Prayer
Discuss as a Family: When do you pray? Is it the best time for you to pray or would some other time be better? Where do you pray? What kind of space do you need for prayer?
After finding the best time and place for you to pray, use the following tool to help you enter into prayer. You many also dim the lights, close your eyes, light a candle, play soft music, and remove all distractions if that will be helpful to you.
Right now, take 30 seconds to relax your body, reduce stress, and ready your mind and body for prayer:
Stand up or otherwise change positions.
Roll your shoulders forward... and now roll your shoulders back.
Clench your hands into fists... hold... and release.
Stretch your arms out and stretch your hands wide open, reaching up above your head. Spread your fingers wide. Reach your arms high.
Now relax your hands and lower your arms.
Lower your shoulders, away from your ears. Ease your shoulders back slightly. Let your shoulders relax.
Relax your jaw by dropping the lower jaw slightly. Make sure your teeth aren't touching.
Now count silently as you breathe:
Inhale... two, three, four...
pause...two, three....
exhale...two, three, four five....
After finding the best time and place for you to pray, use the following tool to help you enter into prayer. You many also dim the lights, close your eyes, light a candle, play soft music, and remove all distractions if that will be helpful to you.
Right now, take 30 seconds to relax your body, reduce stress, and ready your mind and body for prayer:
Stand up or otherwise change positions.
Roll your shoulders forward... and now roll your shoulders back.
Clench your hands into fists... hold... and release.
Stretch your arms out and stretch your hands wide open, reaching up above your head. Spread your fingers wide. Reach your arms high.
Now relax your hands and lower your arms.
Lower your shoulders, away from your ears. Ease your shoulders back slightly. Let your shoulders relax.
Relax your jaw by dropping the lower jaw slightly. Make sure your teeth aren't touching.
Now count silently as you breathe:
Inhale... two, three, four...
pause...two, three....
exhale...two, three, four five....
Scripture can also open us up to new places and ways to pray, if we use our imaginations! Read the following explanation and example to help teach you to enter into the stories of the Bible, to better understand it's importance to you today.
The Picture-It Method Of Bible Meditation
The Picture-It Method Of Bible Meditation
