Ordinary Prayertimes

Lest I mislead anyone, I should clarify that our prayer times are very simple and brief; never more than about 3 or 4 minutes. Nothing complicated here, and no one is walking around eagerly anticipating the next opportunity to "be still and know that I am God." It's just what we do, and it's part of our routine.

I hope this post helps give a more accurate picture. The breakdown is something like this:

• Breakfast: we sing a little Morning Offering, Guardian Angel Prayer, St. Michael, one Hail Mary and then sing the invocation "O Mary, conceived without sin...", the Angelus, then a little song, and Grace.
• Lunch: Angelus, short examination of conscience, Act of Contrition, Grace.
• Dinner: Angelus, occasionally a seasonal/feast day prayer, Grace.
• Bedtime: "Now I lay me down to sleep...," Guardian Angel Prayer, "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, bless the bed I lie upon...", a rhyming prayer we wrote for our parents, examination of conscience and Act of Contrition.

Our examination of conscience is very kid-friendly. At that point of our prayers, someone blurts out the customary cue: "Now let's close our eyes and think about Jesus." Not everyone manages to keep their eyes closed or even hold still, but it is quiet enough for everyone to remember what they should be working on. So I let them offer their own points for the examen, adding my own when I need to make a POINT. Someone will say something like, "Were we good today? Did we say 'please' and 'thank you'?" "Did we grab things from others or did we wait our turn?" "Did we remember to help somebody today?" "Did we stand in front of the TV when somebody was trying to WATCH something for SCHOOL and then NOT GET OUT OF THEIR WAY when they were asked NICELY?" and then the retort, "Did we examine our OWN conscience and not somebody ELSE's?!" So that Mom has to say, "Did we forgive everyone all the way if they irritated us today?" When we've examined enough, I say, "Now let's tell Jesus we're sorry." Here's our Act of Contrition, revised for littles:

O my God, I'm very sorry for all my sins, because they hurt You and others.

I know You love me and want me to be happy with You in Heaven.

Teach me to love You and my neighbor as I should and

help me to be good always. Amen.

This comes tumbling out quickly, as memorized prayers do; our pastor says our family prayers sometimes sound like a boulder rolling downhill. Hmm. Gotta work on that, but for now I'm content with working on the habit of prayer.

And just because I'm typing out prayers this evening, here's our prayer for parents, said at bedtime:

Dear Lord, bless my parents; may they live long with me.

Protect them and help them to be like Thee;

Repay them for all the good that they do,

working and loving the whole day through.

Teach me to be a good child for them

and we'll all live together in Heaven. Amen.

There are a few more prayer-songs we've written. But that's another post, I think.

Comments

[Carol]

Hmm, your pastor's remark puts me in mind of the nuns whose angel stamps on my husband's perfectly correct and carefully neat papers for such a small boy -- yet bearing one erasure or thumbprint -- always read something like, "A good try!" Anyway, it all sounds wonderful, Kathryn.

[Janet]

> Wonderful and a great kindness of you to open and share your
> mothering in the Catholic tradition. I have often longed to ask
> others and wished I were a fly on the wall when I see families
> that are so different than the cultural norm and in a positive
> way!! May your message of hope reach all who seek a little more
> direction in our vocation of mothers, mentors and friends to each
> other. I'm so glad you sent it to me- it is the hope I have had
> for a long time that I would learn to do just what your site
> says- breath in the rhythm of the church, personally and as a family.
>
> Thank you!!!
> Janet