Tag: prayers for children

A little prayer: The Jesus prayer

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Today’s little prayer is a simple but beautiful one. It is often prayed by our brothers and sisters in the Orthodox Church, but some Catholics are also familiar with this prayer (and definitely a lot of Eastern Catholics!). It is short so it is easy to remember, but even in its brevity, it glorifies Jesus’ holy name and magnifies Him as the Son of God, our Lord, and the Christ, and humbles us as sinners in need of His mercy.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

That’s it!

The prayer is biblically sound, as the scriptures reveal Jesus to be our Lord, the Son of God, and the anointed one, or the Christ. The last part of this prayer harken to the words of the tax collector in the parable Jesus tells in the Gospel of Luke, 18:9-14. Unlike the proud pharisee who relies on his own merits before God and boasts about all he has done to win God’s favour, the tax collector is acutely aware of his sinfulness and he humble begs for God’s mercy. The difference in posture towards God is one we must be careful to check in our own hearts, and this prayer is a simple way to get our heart’s dispositions in order.

This prayer can be used in different ways. One way to use it is to pray it repeatedly and meditate on the words. Another powerful use of the prayer is to invoke the mercy of God when we are tempted to sin. -call out to the Lord in those times and allow Him to mercifully save you from the temptation!

Of course, those paragraphs you have just read may go well over the heads of some of our younger ones, but that’s mostly fluff. The point is, this is a beautiful prayer with deep historical and Biblical roots. It may seem quite solemn, but I think solemnity is sometimes called for in life, and children don’t need to be sheltered from it. What I like about this prayer as a parent, is that it is easy to teach little ones because it is so short, but it remains a solid foundational prayer that can easily become a touchstone for them throughout their spiritual journey.

For the littles, I would suggest breaking the prayer down into four parts as follows:

  1. Lord Jesus Christ
  2. Son of God 
  3. Have mercy on me
  4. A sinner

Each of these lines announces something different and important within the prayer. The first line Invokes Jesus and His God-appointed lordship, the second acknowledges His divinity and our acceptance into God’s family, the third names our request and the last line identifies our place before God. Most of these lines are also made up of familiar wordings that can be found in other prayers, which can make it easier to remember.

Have you heard of the Jesus prayer before? What do you think about it? Is this a prayer you would teach your child? Why or why not? How would you teach it to your little ones? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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!