Archive for the 'Praying with Others' Category
Last night was a night of ups and downs. We began by reviewing how to pray the Rosary and then we moved into our reflective prayer and prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, connecting this to our last class when we learned about the Cross of Jesus. A couple of the young people were pretty hyper and couldn’t sit still. I even had to pause at one point to ask one of them to apologize to the group for interrupting the prayer with various noises and comments.
It was frustrating for a while but eventually toward the last third of the prayer, they had achieved a calm. This allowed me to use a few minutes after the Rosary to invite them to talk to Jesus in the silence of their own hearts which they did very nicely for about 5 mintues.
We then moved into a review of the material that we have covered over the past 6 weeks. This did not go as well as planned since they were not able to keep their focus. I think my mistake was not giving the review to them as a quiz first and then going over the answers.
Finally, in the midst of that review, one of the young people who had been acting up throughout the evening (and for several weeks) finally pushed me too far and I had to firmly confront his behavior and challenge him to act more maturely. I never enjoy doing this but at the same time, I reminded the entire group that it’s my job to make sure that they begin to grasp an adult faith and that I will never hesitate to challenge behavior that is not conducive to doing so.
I also realize that the well-behaved kids appreciate it when poor behavior is clamped down on. They are annoyed by the bad behavior and feel that their time is wasted if such behavior is allowed. We do the entire group a favor by keeping discipline. It’s just not our favorite thing to have to do, right?
All in all, last night was not one of my best experiences but I think the tone is set for next week and I feel compelled to step up my efforts to facilitate an engaging session!
Remember how Rodney Dangerfield would always use the line, “tough crowd, I tell ya, tough crowd”?
Well that’s how I felt after last night’s class! The kids were pretty wired for some reason. I think it had to do with the fact that they had the day off from the school district and spent the day at the mall drinking slurpies (sugar) and Pepsi (caffiene)!
Having a fire drill 15 minutes into class didn’t help either!
Anyway, in general, 3 or 4 of the kids were pretty hyper and couldn’t sit still or stop making noises or side-talking. I had to stop a number of times to get back their attention and eventually told a couple of them that if it keeps up, I will have to call their parents.
“You have our parents’ phone numbers?!” one of them asked, apparently in shock.
“You bet I do and I’m not afraid to use ‘em,” I replied. That seemed to get them to calm down!
We did spend a good chunk of time learning about how the Nicene Creed teaches us what we need to know about Jesus and then we looked at examples of heresies in the early Church that led to the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople where the Nicene Creed was eventually hammered out. We focused specifically on the understanding of Jesus as FULLY human and FULLY divine and why we need to avoid descriptions like “part human/part divine” or “half human/half divine.” We also talked a little about modern day “heresies” such as the Da Vinci Code which can lead people to false understandings about Jesus.
What worked best, however, was moving into our reflective prayer for the last 20 minutes or so. By spreading them out througout the room and assigning space to the few who were acting up, I was able to lead them into a prayerful mood. They were very quiet for the 15 minutes or so that we reflected, first listening to a recorded dramatic rendition of the “Who do you say that I am?” passage (on CD in the Finding God program) and then listening to me as I led them to imagine Jesus sitting down with them and asking them, “who do you say that I am?” I asked them to enter into a simple conversation with Jesus, sharing anything they wanted to talk about, listening to Jesus, and thanking him for this time together.
They are learning to really appreciate this prayerful time and they ask each week if we’re going to “do that prayer thing.”
Hopefully, next week they will be back to normal, tired out from a long day at school and less hyper!
Hey, that’s life as a catechist!
Let’s not forget that October is the Month of the Holy Rosary.
I’ve spent some time on previous posts talking about reflective prayer, aka, meditation. The Rosary is a unique form of meditation for Catholics. By focusing on the mysteries - events in the lives of Jesus and Mary - we encounter the Lord in a special way, through the intercession of Mary.
It occurs to me now that praying the Rosary with my 8th graders this month will be a wonderful opportunity to introduce them to another form of reflective prayer.
Any other plans out there for incorporating the Rosary into your lessons this month?
For last Monday’s session, as we were focusing on the nearness of God, I began by showing a 5-minute clip of the movie E.T. (The Extra Terrestrial). The clip is the very beginning of the movie that shows how E.T. gets left behind on earth. Most of the kids had seen the movie before so, after a little trip back to their early childhood, I asked them to summarize the plot of the movie. Simply put, E.T. spends the rest of the movie trying to get the attention of his home planet (”E.T. phone home”) so that they will return and save him.
I used this to illustrate the mistaken notion that many of us have about our relationship with God. All too often, we have this impression that we are alone down here and God is way up there somewhere and that we need to get God’s attention by being good and by praying hard enough. I explained to the kids that prayer is not about us trying to get God’s attention, but is about us responding to God who is trying to get our attention! I used the phrase, “God is nearer to us than we are to ourselves” and asked the kids what that meant. One girl responded, “that means that He’s in our heart.” She got it right.
From there, I was able to explain why, when we pray, we try to remove distractions, quiet ourselves, and focus inward…because that is where God resides and that is where we encounter him.
We are not E.T. - struggling to get God’s attention so that he will “come down” and save us. We are temples of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is our attempt to enter into the temple of our hearts where God resides. It is there that we come to know God and ourselves.
Last night saw great improvement in the kids’ behavior and ability to participate more maturely in reflective prayer (meditation).
By the way, one of the boys asked at the outset of class, “Are we gonna pray again like last week?” I got a kick out of that because he was one of the kids who had trouble being still the previous week, although he was not a problem per se. I think he enjoys the “something different” feeling that the prayer opportunity gives him and he was eager to have this time again. I’m sure he doesn’t fully understand the reflective prayer experience, but he’s obviously attracted to the experience if only for the change of pace.
I did a reflection on the nearness of God, focusing on Psalm 139. As always, I began with a few directions for centering and relaxing…focusing on breathing, relaxing shoulder and back muscles, etc. Throughout, I had soft instrumental music playing in the background. The kids were spread out around the room, most on the floor, some in their chairs. Lights dimmed. Fake candle flickering (we have fire restrictions).
Next, I guided them through some reflections on Psalm 139 (provided in the catechist guide) eventually ending up with them speaking and listening silently to God who is nearer to them then they are to themeselves. In all, the reflection lasted about 10 minutes. The last 3 minutes, I faded out the music and told them to just spaek to God about whatever is in their hearts.
THE KIDS WERE PERFECTLY SILENT FOR THOSE 3 MINUTES!
I invited them to gradually return their focus to the room and to return to their seats. I congratulated them, saying, “Congratulations, 8th graders…you just meditated!” They were very proud of themselves. I told them that what they just accomplished is not easy nor is it common for kids their age in this noisy and busy world.
This was very good progress and it bodes well for future guided reflections (meditations). Soon, I will show them how they can take this technique and use it on their own instead of relying on someone to lead the meditation.
I like to do science experiments in religion class from time to time! They make for good attention-grabbers.
Tonight, our focus is going to be on the nearness of God and our textbook emphasizes the fact that, since the Enlightenment, advances in science have led many people to conclude that God is not actively involved in creation. The textbook goes on to show that science helps us to understand how God’s creation works while Scripture helps us to understand the intimate relationship God has with all of creation.
So here’s my science experiment. It requires a 12 oz. can of pop, a clear drinking glass, a third of a cup of sugar, and a shallow tray.
- Pour the can of pop into the clear drinking glass (which should be standing in the shallow tray)
- Draw attention to the bubbling/fizzing.
- Next, tell the students that you can magically make all of the bubbles disappear!
- Pour the sugar into the glass
- It will foam up and over the rim of the glass causing spillage (thus the need for the shallow tray)
- When it settles down, the pop will no longer bubble/fizz…it will be “flat”
- Ask if anyone knows why.
- Before giving the scientific explanation, tell the students that, years ago, when someone claimed magical powers, audiences believed those powers were either divine or demonic. Emphasize that, before science was able to explain all of the things that it can explain today, people attributed all things to either God or some evil spirit(s). Since the Enlightenment (the late 1700’s), science has been able to explain many things. As a result, many people have concluded that God is now irrelevant. Others condemn science and cling to explanations from the Bible as being scientifically accurate (fundamentalists, creationists). The Catholic Church teaches us that science and religion are not at odds with one another and that God is intimately involved with all of creation, especially us human beings who are made in God’s image and likeness.
- Give the scientific explanation of what caused the bubbles/fizzing to disappear: the bubbling/fizzing is caused by the gradual releae of carbon dioxide. Sugar acts as a catalyst, speeding up the release of carbon dioxide in the soft drink. When it is all released, the pop becomes flat (explain that the same thing will happen if pop is left out for a long period of time)
- Conclude by telling the students that science helps us to understand how God’s creation works and that the Bible helps us to understand how God is intimately invovled in all of creation.
I’ll be using this as a springboard for reflective prayer later in the class when we’ll meditate on Psalm 139 which reflects on the nearness of God.
Just this weekend, when the pope was ordaining some new bishops, he spoke of the nearness of God “who is nearer to us than we are to ourselves.”
Monday evening, I led my 8th graders in their first guided reflection. We were focusing on the Holy Spirit and how the Spirit helps us to pray.
I invited the young people to make themselves comfortable…most chose to sit or lay on the floor. The guided reflection I used is from the Finding God program and is on a CD.
After getting the young people to shift gears, I turned down the lights and put on the CD. The reflection lasted about 12 minutes during which time my aide (Kris) and I were free to move about and make sure kids were focused. The guided reflection invited them to imagine they were meeting Jesus and speaking with him about prayer.
For the most part, things went very well. Most of the kids were quiet and cooperative. There was a smattering of antsy-ness and giggling that Kris and I continually and quietly addressed.
When it was over, we talked about the experience. I told them that this was something new and that I expected there to be some difficulty. I also told them that at their age, it can be difficult to hold still for an extended period of time. Finally, I told them that a few of them were just downright acting immaturely and needed to act their age. I reminded them that I wasn’t scolding them…I was coaching them on a skill for Christian living and giving them tips and advice on how to grow into it.
I asked how many would say that those 12 minutes were the most peaceful moments of their day…every hand went up! I explained that we could continue to work at this each week if they promise to try harder or we could just forget it and do book work. Every single one of them requested without hesitation that we do this every week.
This was a fascinating experience to introduce young disciples of Christ to a facet of Christian life that has been practiced for over 2000 years! It requires patience and an understanding of the adolescent mind and heart. Was it a challenge for me? Absolutely. At times I was frustrated. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity and look forward to mentoring them into a prayer relationship with the Lord, guided by the Holy Spirit.
I know that an athletic coach recognizes that kids need to learn step by step. I’m sure that when a coach introduces a new skill or a new play, the first few times around can be a bit rough. The coach’s job is to develop those skills…to polish them and to move his or her players to the next step. I am using the same philosophy in teaching reflective prayer to young people. The first time around, they handled it as I would expect 13-year-olds would. I am satisfied with how it went for the first time. I am not satisfied that this is the best they can do.
We catechists walk a fine line between reaching for ideals and taking kids where they are at. Next week, they’ll be better and the week after that they’ll be even better.
I must say that a number of the kids appeared to be truly intrigued with what we were doing and I find that to be very rewarding. Wait till I tell them that what they are learning is called MEDITATION! I think I’ll wait another week or 2 before I say that….I don’t want them to think that I’m trying to make them holy (even though that’s exactly what I’m trying to do!).
Tonight is week 2 for religious education and a big chunk of the time will be devoted to an opening prayer service in the Church. Of course, this provides an opportunity to teach the young people about reverence. In many ways, reverence is a lost art in our society. Simply put, reverence means recognition of the sacred. In the church, we gather in a sacred space, aware of the presence of the Living God. One might say, “But isn’t God present everywhere? Why behave differently when we are in Church?” To that I would reply, “Yes, God is present everywhere and that means that the reverence we practice in church, especially in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament (the sacramental presence of Jesus), is the same reverence that we should show to our neighbors and to all of God’s creation when we leave the church.”
In other words, reverence is a virtue (actually a Gift of the Holy Spirit) that we are called to practice at all times, not just in church. If we behave differently in church than we do elsewhere, we don’t “fix” that hypocrisy by being casual in church but by being reverent in the world!
The other day, I wrote about leading children in reflective prayer or meditation. People often ask just what this “looks like.” I thought it would be helpful to share an example.
The following guided reflection is from Finding God: Our Response to God’s Gifts, Grade 5 (Loyola Press):
Called to Holiness
Time: approximately 10 minutes
We all have imagination. Imagination allows us to go places and to do things that might otherwise be impossible. Today we are going to use imagination to help us pray. (Pause.)
Now before we begin, find a position that feels most comfortable to you. (Pause.) If you like, close your eyes. (Pause.) Now relax your entire body—your neck . . . your shoulders . . . your arms . . . your legs. (Pause.) Feel all the tension flowing out of your body, into the air and away.
(Pause.) Now be very still and listen to the rhythm of your breathing. Listen. (Pause.) Feel your breath go in and out, in and out, in and out. (Pause.) Now let’s begin. (Pause.)
In your imagination see yourself in a place where you’d like to be. Maybe it’s a place where you’ve met Jesus before, maybe it’s a different one. You choose, because anything is possible in imagination. Why not make it your favorite time of year? (Pause.) Make the weather suit you today. (Pause.) Be there in your imagination. Wait for Jesus to join you. (Pause.)
He does almost right away. As he comes in sight, you go to meet him. He’s obviously glad to see you. Hear him tell you how glad he is to be with you again. (Pause.) As usual, he asks you what you were just doing. Sometimes your answer to that question would be, “Not much.” But today it’s different. He asks if you’ve been thinking about a verse from the Bible: “For I, the LORD, am your God; and you shall make and keep yourselves holy because I am holy.”*
Now that’s not your usual line of thought. But there’s something in this verse that puzzles you. You don’t have trouble with the idea of God being holy. But the idea of you being holy, of making and keeping yourself holy, well that needs a little more explanation.
Perhaps Jesus asks you to think of qualities that you would use to describe God—maybe qualities such as loving, forgiving, patient, understanding, generous, and so on. Let’s call these “God qualities.” Then he asks you to think of someone you know who has some God qualities. Who is it? Tell Jesus about this person. (Pause.)
Jesus, a great storyteller himself, might ask you to share a story about this person. It may take some time to choose just one story, but that’s OK. Take the time to remember and then share your story with Jesus. (Pause.)
Jesus explains that God is all-holy. He tells you that you are holy when you act in a God-like manner. When you live your life with generosity, understanding, patience, then you are holy. Yes, you! You are holy.
What an awesome statement. Now think about that. (Pause.) Do you tell Jesus that being holy is what you want, but you’re a little bit worried about being able to live up to that calling? (Pause.)
As usual, Jesus is reassuring. He wants you to know that you don’t become holy all at once. You grow in holiness. You’ll make mistakes but that’s OK. You can always learn from them and try again. He reminds you that the Holy Spirit is always with you to guide you. Jesus says that he himself will help you anytime you need him. (Pause.)
Does that make you feel better? (Pause.) Go with Jesus now deep down into your heart. You’ve discussed a lot with him already, so now just rest in his love. Words are no longer needed. Be still together. Know how much he cares for you. (Pause.)
You recognize that it’s time to go now. If you want a special blessing from Jesus, just ask for it. Remember to thank him, and then say good-bye. (Pause.)
Gradually bring yourself back to the room. (Pause.) Straighten up. (Pause.) Stretch. (Pause.) Plant your feet firmly on the floor. (Pause.) Look all around you. (Pause.) Everyone’s here. We’re all back.
* Scripture citation in this reflection is Leviticus 11:44
We sometimes think of meditation as something reserved for mystics and monks. Meditation, however, is simply prayer that focuses attention on God so that we can recognize his presence in our daily lives and respond to what he is asking of us. Meditation, also called reflective prayer, involves the imagination. Kids have great imaginations and, as a result, they love to pray in this way. Here are some tips about leading reflective prayer (meditation) from my book, The Catechist’s Toolbox:
Reflective prayer (meditation) uses an approach inspired by St. Ignatius of Loyola. It invites us to pray by using the senses of imagination—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. We thereby create a setting in our minds: a welcoming place—whether it is a biblical setting or a place of our own choice—to enter into conversation with Jesus. St. Ignatius said that such conversation should resemble the way “one friend speaks to another” (The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius, 54).
As we share reflective prayer or meditation, we lead participants to use reflection and imagination, to engage in prayerful conversation with God, and to recognize his presence in their daily lives. Here are some basic steps for leading reflective prayer.
Getting Ready for Reflective Prayer—Invite the participants to focus on God’s presence. Establish a quiet, prayerful, and comfortable environment and mood to help them overcome the distractions. This first step may take anywhere from three to five minutes. Consider the following as you join them in reflective prayer:
- Encourage a Comfortable Posture—If possible, move your participants to the prayer center and invite them to find a position in which they can be comfortable yet alert. If space is limited, invite them to get comfortable in their seats. Encourage your participants to close their eyes or to focus their attention on a symbol or a picture.
- Invite Deep Breathing—Take two or three minutes to help the participants to relax and breathe deeply. Ask them to rest their hands and to slowly and silently breathe in deeply and then breathe out gradually. Help them establish a rhythm to their breathing by having them count slowly to three as they breathe in, and asking them to breathe out as you count to three.
- Use Reflective Music—Reflective (instrumental) music can help by covering distractions and providing a soothing setting.
Leading the Reflective Prayer—Begin the reflective prayer with an invitation to reflect or meditate on an aspect of the theme that you are teaching—often a Scripture passage or a traditional prayer. Reflection time with your participants can range from just a few minutes to a half hour depending on the age of your group and the circumstances.
- Step-by-Step Directions—Through a series of age-appropriate “directions” that you have prepared or are following from a resource (such as a book of guided meditations for children, teens, or adults), you invite your participants to engage their imagination and enter into a setting where they can encounter Jesus, dwell on his words, and converse with him.
- Speaking Slowly and Pausing—By speaking slowly and pausing for emphasis after each line of the reflection, you invite the participants to pray more reflectively.
Allowing Quiet Time with God—In closing, invite the participants to spend time in silence with God, while being aware of God’s presence. This is called contemplation. This last step may take anywhere from three to five minutes.
Silent Prayer—Invite your participants to rest in God’s presence. Allow one or two minutes for silent prayer, depending on the responsiveness of the group.
- Transition—A few gentle words provide a gradual transition of inviting the participants into the next activity.
- Respect—Your participants’ thoughts and reflections in prayer are theirs alone. You show respect for their conversation with God by letting them keep these thoughts to themselves.
