Dominican Blessing
We have all heard the phrase, “The family that prays together, stays together.” The most important thing we do as Catholics is come together every week for Eucharist - Mass. We celebrate, offer praise and recognize our relationship with God. Every morning before the school bell rings, the staff of Holy Angels come together and pray. We come together not only to praise God, but support one another, share happiness and sadness and remember what God has done for us. It’s become a ‘family ritual’ and gives us comfort for the rest of the day. We have the comfort of not only pray for someone but with family.
On the first day of school, our school principal introduced another prayer - The Dominican Blessing.
DOMINICAN BLESSING
May God, Creator, bless us.
May God, Redeemer, heal us,
And may God, the Holy Spirit, fill us with light.
St. Dominic, pray for us.
How can we bring more prayer into our family’s life?
✩ Pray before and even after meals.
✩ During night prayers ask your children what intentions they want to pray for. (ex: My daughter is 5 years old and she prays, “God, please let all the kids have food tonight.”) PRAY WITH YOUR CHILD! Take turns leading prayers with your child.
✩ Set up a prayer table with objects associated with prayer - bible, rosary, children’s religious art pieces, etc.
✩ Pray for good things - not just the bad to give your child the opportunity to give thanks. (ex: Ask your child to give the same number of thanks to God matching their age.)
✩ In the car, turn off the radio and pray.
If you can think of other ways to introduce prayer into your family’s life, I would certainly love to hear from you.
