“Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.” -Psalm 147:7
“Prayer is first of all, listening to God. It is the particular key which opens up the mystery of God’s relationship with God’s creature; it is a key which belongs to God but which God gives to all God’s creatures regardless of denomination, class, or race; it is a key which is indeed, all people pray in differing forms, according to the culture and religious expressions of their own countries. As Christians we pray through the mediation of Jesus Christ. Our prayer is both a preparation and a vehicle for arriving at the greatest prayer of thanksgiving: the Eucharist.” Gianna Gobbi, Listening to God with Children
In the atrium, everything we do is prayer: the work, the silence, the songs, the artwork, the freedom, and the discipline. The children’s prayer has special qualities to it that are wonderful models to us on how to pray. The three- to six-year-old child prays almost exclusively with praise and thanksgiving. What perfect examples they are to us, especially this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving in America, to open our eyes to the abundance of gifts and to truly be thankful, like the child is thankful.
Diane Olsen joins us on the podcast again to discuss how children pray, how we can foster their prayer, and how they are examples to us in how to pray. Diane Olsen has been involved in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd since 1990. She has received all formation levels and was recognized as a formation leader in 2002. She is actively involved leading catechist formation around the country and was recognized She is co-director of CGS at Holy Trinity Parish, Lenexa, Kansas. Diane has a philosophy and math degree from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies-Catechesis of the Good Shepherd from the Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis, Missouri. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother.
Listen to another episode with Diane Olsen.
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