This year we have started something new at our school. We call it our Monday morning meeting, but the part that has become really important for me is the Monday morning prayer. We gather together as a staff before school to pray and to share information about the week ahead. For me, it has become a very meaningful weekly event, because it is an opportunity to pray in communion with an amazing group of people.
Prayer takes practice. Since becoming a parent, saying a prayer before bed has become a little more important for me, as it is a moment for me to teach my children how to pray. Over the past few years we have learned to praise God, and to think of those less fortunate. We also have developed some very important self awareness, as we pray for ourselves. My girls will sometimes mention in prayer how they are proud of themselves for trying something new, or to pray to God to help them with something important. We also pray for loved ones, the sick, the lonely, and the poor quite regularly. But instead of the saying the silent prayers I have said many times over the years, praying out loud with my kids has helped me get better with prayer. Like anything, its the regular practice that makes a difference.
This school year, the practicing has continued with the staff in my school as we gather Monday mornings. We stand in a circle, and make the sign our faith. Then we link hands - each person with one palm pointing up and one palm pointing down - to signify that we are all equal among one another. We also stand in a circle to pay respect to the teachings of our Aboriginal Elders in our community as we recognize that we are standing on Treaty 6 land. We begin our prayer with praise to God and we ask for guidance for the week ahead. We offer petitions to God as well, as people in our circle consider the challenges that will be faced by our students, families, and ourselves. We close our prayer with an Our Father usually, before discussing the week ahead. It is only takes a few minutes but is one of the most important things we do all week, as we take time for God to enter into our hearts and minds before our students arrive at school.
As I was thinking about this Monday morning practice, it occurred to me that I should share this practice with others because of the significance it has had on me. When we pray, we petition God for all sorts of things, most importantly we ask for help to be the best Catholic educators possible - caring, loving, compassionate, patient, forgiving. We will pray for guidance as we work with students who may be difficult to manage, or who require great energy to teach. We pray for help with being supportive to those who may be silent in our classes and flying under our radars. We pray for strength, as many of us deal with difficult personal situations but are expected to do amazing work with our students. We also pray for God to help some of our students and their families who may struggling with illness, underemployment, and other stressful challenges in life. It is so meaningful for me to know that our staff are thinking and caring about students and our families, and wrestling with the weekly challenges that students bring with them to school. Praying in our staff community brings together many hearts and minds reminding us all of the importance each of us are to our students.
Monday morning is an opportunity for our staff to pray together and it is an important start to our week. As we come together to pray for our students and for ourselves to be the best teachers possible, please add our students and staff to your prayers too.
Prayer takes practice. Since becoming a parent, saying a prayer before bed has become a little more important for me, as it is a moment for me to teach my children how to pray. Over the past few years we have learned to praise God, and to think of those less fortunate. We also have developed some very important self awareness, as we pray for ourselves. My girls will sometimes mention in prayer how they are proud of themselves for trying something new, or to pray to God to help them with something important. We also pray for loved ones, the sick, the lonely, and the poor quite regularly. But instead of the saying the silent prayers I have said many times over the years, praying out loud with my kids has helped me get better with prayer. Like anything, its the regular practice that makes a difference.
This school year, the practicing has continued with the staff in my school as we gather Monday mornings. We stand in a circle, and make the sign our faith. Then we link hands - each person with one palm pointing up and one palm pointing down - to signify that we are all equal among one another. We also stand in a circle to pay respect to the teachings of our Aboriginal Elders in our community as we recognize that we are standing on Treaty 6 land. We begin our prayer with praise to God and we ask for guidance for the week ahead. We offer petitions to God as well, as people in our circle consider the challenges that will be faced by our students, families, and ourselves. We close our prayer with an Our Father usually, before discussing the week ahead. It is only takes a few minutes but is one of the most important things we do all week, as we take time for God to enter into our hearts and minds before our students arrive at school.
As I was thinking about this Monday morning practice, it occurred to me that I should share this practice with others because of the significance it has had on me. When we pray, we petition God for all sorts of things, most importantly we ask for help to be the best Catholic educators possible - caring, loving, compassionate, patient, forgiving. We will pray for guidance as we work with students who may be difficult to manage, or who require great energy to teach. We pray for help with being supportive to those who may be silent in our classes and flying under our radars. We pray for strength, as many of us deal with difficult personal situations but are expected to do amazing work with our students. We also pray for God to help some of our students and their families who may struggling with illness, underemployment, and other stressful challenges in life. It is so meaningful for me to know that our staff are thinking and caring about students and our families, and wrestling with the weekly challenges that students bring with them to school. Praying in our staff community brings together many hearts and minds reminding us all of the importance each of us are to our students.
Monday morning is an opportunity for our staff to pray together and it is an important start to our week. As we come together to pray for our students and for ourselves to be the best teachers possible, please add our students and staff to your prayers too.
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