Pray without ceasing?

Prayer is necessary

I think most of us will agree that a prayer life is a good and necessary part of our spiritual life. St. Paul tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and that can be difficult for many of us to understand, let alone do in the intense world many of us occupy these days. As catechists and parents, we want to instill a love of prayer in those we teach, so they can see the beauty of it themselves.

There’s a book for that!

How Our Family Prays Each Day: A Read-Aloud Story for Catholic Families by Gregory K. Popcak; Illustrated by Jacob Flores-Popcak, published by Ave Maria Press is a read-aloud picture book. In it, Marty and his family talk about all the ways they pray each day. It shows typical family situations  – siblings not getting along, mealtimes, going to Church, sports practice – and how to incorporate prayer into them.

The book makes the point that prayer is not reserved for Sunday Mass, but can take place all the time.

I read this book to my pre-school grandchildren, and they loved it. (The suggested age range is 4-8.) The illustrations are bold, there is the right amount of text on each page and following the pelican added to the fun of reading and talking about the book.

How can you use this book?

Read it to your class, making sure you hold it up so they can see the pictures. Then, talk about ways they can pray every day in their own life. There is a note for parents in the book as well to give you some tips and pointers. It also reveals why a pelican is the family pet!