— Children Thirst for God —
TRADITIONAL PRAYERS
This site, drawn from the Catholic prayer tradition, offers support to those
helping children to pray as they begin their relationship to God.
The Our Father
Here’s the prayer Jesus taught. God is his Father and our Father, he said. And so we pray with Jesus and with everybody everywhere:
Our Father,
We can’t see God with our eyes. God’s far beyond us, in heaven. But God still hears us and is always with us. And so we pray:
who art in heaven, HALLOWED BE THY NAME.
God’s name is holy, because God made all things. God made us and loves us. And so we pray:
hallowed be thy name.
God wants to bring good things to the whole world. We can help by doing good things every day. And so we pray:
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.
God, like a kind father, knows we need food to be strong, clothes to be beautiful and warm, and so much more. And so we pray:
Give us this day our daily bread
When we do something wrong, God forgives us. But then we must forgive those who do something wrong to us. And so we pray:
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Wherever we go, God takes our hand to guide us. Even in danger, God helps us to know what to do and where to go. And so we pray:
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
The Sign of the Cross
I open my hand and touch my brow.
In the Name of the Father
I say: Come bless me, God, bless me, bless me in every way.
Bless what I see, bless what I hear, and bless what I think and say. Then I touch my heart with my hand, and say:
and of the Son
Bless me, Jesus, bless my heart that I may love everyone. I touch my shoulders left and right,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
I say: Thank you, God for giving me this day. Your hand is in mine as I bless myself. The Cross of Jesus blesses me too, the Cross of Jesus’ love.
The Hail Mary
In heaven God said, “One day I will send my Son to help all people and show them how to live.” And God chose Mary of Nazareth to be the mother of Jesus, God’s Son. So God sent his angel Gabriel to Mary and the angel said:
Hail Mary,
The angel Gabriel went to Mary in Nazareth, in Galilee, and said to Mary God loved her. Mary was:
full of grace,
The angel Gabriel told Mary that God, in heaven so far away, had come to be with her. She was to be the mother of Jesus. The angel said:
the Lord is with you
After the angel left her, Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Her cousin knew how good God was to Mary. Elizabeth said:
Blessed are you among women
Mary’s cousin Elizabeth knew that Mary was going to be the Mother of Jesus Christ. Elizabeth said:
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus
We pray to Mary because she is close to God, and because she is close to her Son, Jesus Christ. And so we say:
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners
Like a good mother, Mary always hears us when we call to her. She hears us now, at this very moment, and when we come to the last moment of our life. And so we pray:
Now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
Everything I see – the earth, the sky, the sea -are gifts of God to me.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
And I believe God’s greatest gift is Jesus Christ, God’s only son, who came to earth to be my friend and brother.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, long, long ago; he was born of the Holy Spirit, and Mary was his mother, long, long ago.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
Jesus, so good, was put to death, crucified by Pontius Pilate, a cruel Roman judge, and all seemed lost when he was buried in a tomb, but it wasn’t.
He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.
I believe God raised Jesus from the dead.
On Easter Sunday, his friends saw him alive,
and all his friends rejoiced and sang — Alleluia!
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
Amen.
Yes, the Holy Spirit gives life to me, too, and not only to me, but to all the friends of Jesus, who are his church, and all creation. The Holy Spirit forgives our sins, and gives us hope of life forever. Amen.
Glory Be
Here’s the last prayer we usually say. It’s like a cheer for God who’s so good: “Hooray for God, whom Jesus tells us is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever.
“Hooray for God, who made things good from the beginning, when everything was new.” “Hooray for God, who is good right now and holds us in his hands.” God is always good. Every day. And we say:
Amen
