Tag: prayer

Godparent Day

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Next week, on the first Sunday of June, we celebrate Godparents on Godparent Day! Yes, that’s a thing! Your Godparent may be a relative or a family friend or someone else from God’s family, but whoever it is, we should thank God for them on Godparents Day (and every day!), and pray for blessings on their soul, so that they can do the very important work they have been called to do especially for you!

What is the work that Godparents are called to do? Some people think Godparents look after a child if they are orphaned, but that’s not the case. In fact, a Godparent is simply responsible for a child’s faith formation. Just like parents help their children grow in their everyday life, Godparents are there to help guide their Godchild in his or her spiritual life (not just on Sundays!), along with that child’s parents. If someone’s parents don’t teach them about the Catholic faith, it is a Godparent’s duty to step up and do this. And, just like parents protect children and keep them safe as they grow up, Godparents should also protect their godchild’s faith as it matures. Faithful Godparents pray for their Godchildren regularly, which is something you may not see, but I think it’s the most powerful thing they can do for you!

A Godparent should be a practicing Catholic, which means that at the very least, they must: go to Mass every Sunday, observe fasting and abstinence as taught by the Catholic Church, receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist at least once a year (hopefully more), and give what they can to the Church. Essentially, Godparents should provide real-life examples of how Catholics faithfully live out their vocation to holiness.

I am very grateful for my Godmothers, who have been shining examples of the Catholic faith, who have inspired me to pray, and to reflect on the nature of God, and examine my own life in light of the Catholic faith. They never fail to encourage me spiritually, even to this day!

Nobody is perfect, and some Godparents fail in their duty. If this sounds like someone you know, maybe it’s time to reverse the roles and invite them to participate in the life of the Church! After all, we want everyone to share in the glory of God, especially those near and dear to us on Earth. I remember doing this for my own Godfather before he passed away – I hope we will meet again in God’s courts!

Let’s take this opportunity on Godparent Day to pray for our Godparents. I have posted a prayer for Godparents below!

To our beautiful Godparents, thank you for helping raise our children in the Faith! Thank you for praying for them and guiding them to grow closer to God. Your reward will surely be great in Heaven!

A special shout-out to my baby’s Godmother who has already brought so many blessings even though my child hasn’t been around for too long. Thank you, Auntie Liz!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other (and our Godparents!). And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

Monthly Devotion: May

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May is the month of Mary!

I find it so intriguing that so few words of Mary’s were recorded in the Bible. In fact, the Bible only contains four passages where we can read what she said. These words must have been mightily importantfor them to be recorded, so we must pay attention to what they tell us about God. Today, I want to take a closer look at the words she spoke at the wedding at Cana.

There they are, at a celebration. It’s a wedding! Everyone is having a great time! That’s what happens at weddings. But then Mary learns they have run out of wine -didn’t I say they were having a great time? Well, in truth, weddings back then were less of an RVSP situation, and more of a “hey, so-and-so is getting married, come celebrate!” So numbers could easily get out of hand. Anyway, upon receiving this information, she relays the message to Jesus.

I think it’s interesting that she just lets Him know there’s a problem. She doesn’t tell Him what to do, or what they need, just what is happening: that these people have run into some trouble. She knows that He knows the best way to resolve the issue; it is not her role to tell Him, as many mothers might (yes, even to their adult children), and she acts accordingly.

We, too, should be unafraid to bring Jesus our problems, in a spirit of humility, like Mary.

Jesus responds by calling her “woman”. A lot of bible scholars agree that this is more like the way we might use “ma’am” today. It is full of respect. He asks her how it concerns them. But then… He performs the miracle anyway. Jesus did this to honour his mother, all the while maintaining respect for her.

This tells us that Mary’s intercession is powerful! If you ask her to pray for you, Jesus will listen.

As well as this, with Jesus as our brother, we too must honour our spiritual mother, Mary, and heed her instructions to us. What are her instructions to us? We’ll come to that shortly.

The second phrase she says is directed at the servants (I don’t think there is any irony in that). She says, “do whatever He tells you.”

This is so telling of Mary’s nature. She is always pointing us to Jesus, and encouraging us to follow Him. When we think of Mary, she leads us to think of Jesus. Even the rosary, a gift from the Blessed Mother herself, littered with mentions of her as we ask her to pray for us, is something that makes us meditate on the life of Jesus, for 15-30 minutes, if we pray a full set of mysteries. As the Church says, ad jesum per mariam – to Jesus through Mary.

These words, then, are her instructions to us, the servants of God: “do whatever He tells you.”

As mothers, let us use this month to meditate on Mary, and learn to better imitate her. Let us humbly bring our cares and concerns to Jesus, and encourage others to do whatever He tells them.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

May Prayer Intentions

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Alright Moms, here is where we stand shoulder to shoulder with one another! This post is dedicated to your special intentions for the month of May. Simply leave your prayer requests in the comments, even as they crop up throughout the month, and pray for each other’s requests – that’s all you need to do!

I’ve also decided to share the pope’s prayer intention for the month, so we can include it in our prayers.

May: For church movements and groups
We pray that Church movements and groups may rediscover their mission of evangelization each day, placing their own charisms at the service of needs in the world.

Let’s send those prayers up and bring down the blessings!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

Book review: Prayers for Children

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Prayers for Children (A Little Golden Book Classic)
Various authors
Illustrations by Eloise Wilkins
ISBN: 0307021068
ISBN-13: 9780307021069
UPC: 033500021060

This beautifully illustrated book was gifted to me at my baby shower. At first, I thought it was nothing more than a sweet little collection of prayers, but once I opened it up and began to turn the pages, those timeless watercolour illustrations flooded my mind with memories from my childhood. Suddenly, these 26 pages became nostalgia and something of an heirloom. Folks, this book has been rattling around bookstores (and now the internet) since it was first published in 1952… yes, over 70 years ago. And I think there’s a reason for it.

This book contains 19 prayers and poems, including the staple Our Father – it does have the doxology (i.e. “for the kingdom, the power and the glory…”) tacked on as the protestants usually pray it, but this isn’t a bad thing. There are other familiar prayers as well, such as the Evening Prayer (“now I lay me down to sleep…”). Some of the poetry was written by greats, like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The last page is dedicated to a musical arrangement of the evening prayer, so if you are a musically inclined family, you could even sing the prayer together!

Other than some of the thee/thou language that can simply be explained or changed to the modern version, it definitely stands the test of time. The many rhyming prayers will also help with memorisation, when the time comes for that.

We have the hardcover format, which is the classic format for Little Golden Book titles. It does not lay flat, but it is fairly light, and because of the nature of the book, you probably won’t be reading it from cover to cover in one sitting, so holding it isn’t too difficult. I can’t speak to the quality of the paperback or board books, though they are fairly scarce, so they may not be easily sourced, in any case.

In all, this is a good book of traditional style prayers. It is not strictly Catholic, but it has good material that can help little ones connect with God. The illustrations are what managed to stick in my memory for decades, and I still find them beautiful to behold. This is a good book for early prayers that has remained true to its claim of being a Little Golden Book Classic for several generations, and will likely continue for several more.

Do you have this book? Did you have it as a child? Have you bought this for your own child? Which prayers from this book stand out to you?

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

Reflections on Parenting: Praying as a Parent

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Real talk: I don’t have all of the answers. That’s above my paygrade (it would be even if anyone were paying me!). But I do have questions. Today, I’ve got questions for you about prayer. But first, a little backstory…

Personally, I do the bulk of my personal prayer just before bed. I’ve never been great at morning prayer, and adding Mom duties to the mix – hubby takes the first morning shift before he goes to work so I can sleep an hour or two – doesn’t give me a lot of time.

I pray with my baby, too. We do morning prayers (most days, I’m working on it), we say grace before meals (I’m so used to silent grace just before I eat, so again, this is something I’m working on), and bedtime prayers. I try to use that time as well, as a moment to connect with God.

In all, I spend probably about 40-60 minutes in prayer each day (I added probably an extra 30-40 minutes during Lent). I don’t spend all my prayer time asking for things and rattling off the classic prayers (although they do take a little space in my prayer time) and I am making time in my prayers to listen, letting God speak to me through the Bible. And I know that most of the time (when I don’t feel like I’m running on autopilot, at least), my heart is totally in my prayers. So, what my prayer consists of what I’m praying for, or how much or how fully I’m praying isn’t in question, at least not this time.

The thing is, I don’t believe I am offering our Lord the best of my time, because by the time my own bedtime rolls around, I’m exhausted and some days I find myself drifting off to sleep during prayer time – even when I’m sitting up! And I do want my time with God to be quality time. Trouble is, I don’t know what time of day those first fruits are.

I spend naptimes getting things done, making bookings and other arrangements, running home admin, various chores, that kind of thing. Most of these need to be done during office hours, so they can’t be moved. Admittedly, I take a little time during the day to blog (let’s call it digital journaling), and while it isn’t strictly prayer time, I consider it to be spiritually-motivated, as it does turn my thoughts to Godly things, I get to grow in my faith as I read and reflect on Church teachings, upper and lower case T traditions, the lives and writings of saints and the doctors of the church, and my own interior life. And I sincerely hope that publishing my own thoughts will also help to bring others to Him – other moms, and their children. Practically speaking, in terms of the technology I use, unfortunately it’s not feasible for me to switch this with my bedtime prayer time. Besides, some prayer – my daily examen immediately springs to mind as an example – must be done at the end of the day.

Then again, I think of St Paul’s words…

As parents we can offer up all of our day to God. Every diaper change, every middle of the night feed, every toy we pick up, every frustration, every mundane moment, as well as prayers of thanksgiving for every smile, the things they do that melt our hearts, and all the other good things that come with being a parent. In this way, we can be a living prayer, uniting our parental sacrifices with Christ and saving souls (perhaps our children’s souls!), offering our lives to God, literally praying without ceasing.

That said, I want to have time to just sit and be with God. I know it’s just a season and that God understands. I get that I have responsibilities that mean I no longer have the luxury of just skipping off to an adoration chapel whenever something is weighing on my heart (ah, youth, less responsibility, and living less than 10 minutes from a 24 hour adoration chapel…). But I still want to do better by Him. I would like to make quality time to pray.

So my question is, how can I make that quality time for God? How do you do it? How does it fit into your day? Looking for some real answers here, hoping you have some tips for me!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!

Divine Mercy Sunday

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This Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday! What a beautiful feast to share with your children! Mercy is such a beautiful gift, but definitely a very advanced concept. Buckle up, Mamas, this one is a little long…

I have always loved Portia’s speech on mercy in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice:

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea;
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.
Portia, in William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene 1

Let’s break this down a little.

The quality of mercy is not strained
The use of “strained” here is linked to the word “constrained”. What Portia is saying is that mercy is a free gift – it is not something that can be forced out of someone or limited.

It is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes
Similar to forgiveness, mercy is a gift not only for the person who receives the mercy, but it is also a blessing on the one who bestows it.

it becomes the throned monarch better than his crown… mercy is above this sceptred sway; it is an attribute to God himself; And earthly power doth then show likest God’s, When mercy seasons justice.
This part of the poem talks about the power of earthly kings. This power strikes fear into the hearts of people, but while they wield this power, they have within them an even greater power: to be merciful, like God.

…in the course of justice, none of us Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render The deeds of mercy.
I think this is the part I like most about this extract. It highlights the importance of mercy in the framework of justice.

Now, justice isn’t bad. It’s a fair way to deal, particularly human to human. In fact, it’s the stepping stone between lawlessness and mercy. But imagine if God gave us justice – what we deserved. Even the smallest sin is a stain on our souls, and God is completely and utterly perfect – would we deserve to be in His presence, let alone be welcomed into His family and called His children?

Justice is good. It is fair and it is easy to see the merit in fairness. But mercy is better – it is unfair, but it is an unfairness that is freely given to benefit the person who would be slighted by justice. Thank God we have His mercy!

Now, how to condense all of that into something digestible we can give to our children in light of Divine Mercy Sunday… What do we know?

Nobody on their own is able to go to Heaven, because you need to be perfect to do that and there is nobody who is perfect except for God. Even the best person who ever existed is evil when compared with God. If people got what they deserved, it would be to be far, far away from God.

The good news is that Jesus came to be with humans on Earth and showed us just how much God loves us by giving up His life for us. He taught that there is one absolutely sure way to get to Heaven, and that is to trust in Him, that He will not give us what we deserve. Instead of spending forever far, far away from God, if we trust in Him and do what He says, we can go back to God and become part of His family in Heaven forever!

This Sunday, we celebrate the fact that God gives us so much good, even when we deserve something much worse. We place our trust in Jesus and decide every day to follow Him, that He will keep His promise to bring us back into God’s family.

Talking points

  • Do you remember a time you were merciful to someone? What did it feel like to show the other person mercy? Why did you do it?
  • Do you remember a time that someone was merciful to you? What did it feel like to receive their mercy? Why do you think they did it?
  • What did you do after giving/receiving mercy? Did it change anything about the way you and that person interacted?
  • What do you think might have happened if you didn’t give them/get their mercy?

How would you describe mercy to your children? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time, let’s pray for each other. And remember, we can do Mom things through Christ who strengthens us!