To Teach May 2008

To Teach May 2008

Great ideas for parents in the May Issue of "To Teach" from USCCB:

• Download or listen to the daily readings and reflection podcasts on your computer. Use the readings and reflections as topics for discussion during family dinners.
• During the Memorial Day weekend, take time as a family to pray a few of the Prayers for Peace.
• Provide family members and friends who are not Catholic but will attend a First Communion, wedding, or Confirmation with a copy of Introduction to the Order of Mass. This book offers a detailed guide to the celebration of Mass, from introductory to concluding rites. Schedule some time to review the part of the liturgy with them before the Mass begins.
• Teach your children prayers and devotions to Mary during the month of May using the Book of Mary.
• Print out a copy of The Beatitudes for Women. Invite the children of the family to transfer the reflection onto a card or poster board and decorate it as a gift for Mother’s Day. Then pray the prayer together.
• With your children, find objects in your household that can be used as symbols for the mysteries of the rosary—a wine bottle for the wedding feast at Cana (the second of the Luminous Mysteries) or an olive branch for the agony in the garden (the first of the Sorrowful Mysteries). Place these objects near or around your statue or picture of Mary as you pray the rosary with your children.
• Review the common prayers that are recited during the rosary—Our Father, Glory Be, Hail Mary, and Hail, Holy Queen—with your children.
• As the month begins, read “Chapter 12. Mary: The Church’s First and Most Perfect Member” in the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults. Reflect on discussion questions 2 and 3 from the perspective of a parent.
• In celebration of Mother’s Day, invite your children to affirm Mom as someone who imitates Mary very well. Look at the prayers to and scripture stories about Mary for ideas as well as Chapter 12 on Mary in the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults. Write these affirmations on a big card, on pieces of ribbon, or on a banner made.