WHAT IS MY CHILD LEARNING THIS MONTH?
This month, your child learned that prayer is a relationship with God. By praying, we engage in a conversation with God: we talk, listen, and respond to God. Like any friendship, by spending time with God we grow to him. We learned about the different forms of prayer using the acrostic A.C.T.S: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. The Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father, is a model of how we should pray, and we went over how A.C.T.S is covered in the Our Father.
Terms we went over:
Prayer: the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God. When we engage in prayer, we are uniting ourselves to the heart of God. This relationship is living, meaning that we are in the presence of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Because of our baptism, our prayer and lives are always unified with God. (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, §2558-2565)
Adoration: to praise. When we say we adore God, we are acknowledging God for who He Is (i.e. Good, Holy, Fatherly, Our Savior). Although God has no need for our “compliments,” we do so out of love for Him. Like when you compliment a friend, you are acknowledging certain truths about them. For example, when I tell my friend that she is a good listener and has a wonderful smile, I am stating certain truths about her and bringing it to her attention because I want to let her know how much I love and care about her. (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, §2639-2643)
Contrition: to ask for forgiveness. There will be times where we fail to live up to the call God has for us, and we harm our relationship with Him. When this happens, we return into his loving arms and ask for forgiveness to heal our relationship. Just like sometimes we hurt or wrong a friend, we ask them for forgiveness to repair our relationship. While we are encouraged to do this in prayer, the relationship is healed in a special way by going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1422 & Article 4: The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation)
Supplication: to petition, to request, to ask for help. In this prayer, we express humility and awareness of our relationship with God. We realize we cannot do everything ourselves and need God to provide for us. Jesus tells us, “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened for you,” so we are encouraged to ask the Father of all our needs (Mt. 7:7-8). (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, §2629-2633)
BRINGING THIS SESSION HOME
All baptized people are called to a life of prayer. Perhaps you were never taught how or why to pray, or the business of your life prevents you from engaging in prayer. Whatever it is, prayer allows us to enter deep within our hearts, our dwelling-place, and draw further into communion with God. Watch this video from Father Mike to learn more about the power of prayer:
PRAY TOGETHER AS FAMILY:
Loving God,
Thank You for the gift of this day and for the many blessings You have given us. Thank You for our families, our friends, our teachers, and everyone who cares for us. Thank You for the opportunities to learn, grow, and discover the gifts You have placed within each of us.
We are grateful for Your love, Your mercy, and Your constant presence in our lives. Even when we face challenges, remind us that You are always with us, guiding us with hope and strength.
Give us the courage to do what is right, the kindness to care for others, and the wisdom to make good choices each day.
May we always have thankful hearts and remember to see Your blessings in both the big and the small moments of our lives.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
