Traditional PrayersGuidelines for teaching traditional prayers:

Traditional prayers are prayers that have been handed down through the generations and have become part of Church life. Adaptations have been made throughout the history of the Church to accommodate changes in theology and culture.

Much of the language used in these prayers today is unfamiliar to both students and teachers. It is important to teach students what the unfamiliar words mean. The main task is to teach them about the essence of the prayers ….what are they really praying when they say the words of traditional prayers.

Teaching traditional prayers provides students with a formula for prayer. It enables them to join in prayer with other members of the school or Church community and it also gives them prayers that they may pray in times of trouble when it may be difficult to find words.

It can be easy to teach the words so that students can recite traditional prayers on a regular basis. The challenge lies in teaching about the words and the prayersIt is recommended that traditional prayers be included in staff prayer so that there is a balances prayer experiences. (Beth Nolen Prayer Strategies 1999)

The most common traditional prayers are: Our Father Hail Mary Glory be to the father Nicene Creed Apostles Creed The Rosary Memorare Magnificat Hail Holy Queen Act of Contrition

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace,The Lord is with you;Blessed are you among women,and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.Holy Mary, mother of God,pray for us sinners

now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

This prayer is based on Luke 1:28, 1;42. The first part of the prayer comes from the angel’s greeting to Mary at the annunciation. The second part is Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary at the visitation. It is important to teach about the words in this prayer which are unfamiliar to students e.g. Hail, grace, womb.

The early history of the Hail Mary is not clear and it is difficult to ascertain when the prayer was distinctly used. One source attributes the distinct use of the first half to St.Idlefonsus of Toledo in the 7th century. Its use as a prayer begins to appear in the 11th and 12th centuries, though the first half only was regarded as the 'Hail Mary'. It is believed that the second part of the prayer appeared in the mid 15th century.

Here are the parts of the prayer:

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you

These words are taken from Luke 1:28 with the word ‘Mary’ gradually added by the Church

Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus

These words come from Luke 1:42 with the word ‘Jesus’ being added by Pope Urban IV in 1261

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

This part of the prayer appeared in the mid- 15th

Sign of the Cross

The sign of the Cross is probably the most often used prayer of Christians and for many, the first prayer they learned as children - “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.” Despite its simplicity, the sign of the Cross is an ancient prayer rich in meaning. References to it appear in writings dating back to Tertullian (d. 230 C.E.) and it is believed that it was in use during the earliest days of Christianity.

Initially, the sign of the Cross was made with the thumb, usually on the forehead but sometimes on the lips and chest. This small sign of the Cross was in common use by the end of the fourth century and is still used today, preceding the proclamation of the Gospel at the celebration of the Eucharist. In doing this, we acknowledge our belief in the Word of God, our commitment to spread God’s Word in our daily lives and our awareness of God’s presence in our hearts. In other words, we pray that we should understand it with our minds, speak it with our lips and believe it in our hearts. Likewise, the sign

of the Cross made with the thumb occurs when receiving the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Anointing of the Sick. It also is used for marking the forehead with ashes on Ash Wednesday. By the end of the middle Ages, the Western Church had adopted the practice of making the large sign of the Cross with an open hand and touching the left shoulder before the right. This is the form we continue to use today.

Our Father

In response to the request of his followers “Lord, teach us to pray as you do”, Jesus gave them the ‘Our Father’ or the Lord’s Prayer. Even though the Our Father is recounted in different words in the Gospels of Luke (11.2-4) and Matthew (6.9-13), this essentially reinforces the argument that the spirit of prayer is more important than the formula of words. The ‘Our Father’, itself providing a pattern of prayer for contemporary followers of Christ, captures key elements in the Christian understanding of the purposes of prayer- praising God, petitioning God, maintaining a relationship with God and a yearning for the coming of God’s reign in the ‘here and now’.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the Lord’s Prayer is a summary of the whole gospel. This document also refers to the Lord’s Prayer being a key part of the Divine office and the sacraments of initiation. The Lord’s Prayer is both theologically and historically the most important prayer in the Christian tradition.( Beth Nolen)

It is important for teachers and students to have an understanding of the meaning of each line. A helpful summary of this is one provided by Kevin Treston:

Our Father ‘Our’ is a God for everyone, not exclusive to any one group. Calling God ‘Father’ invites us to be children of trust with God being likened to a loving parent

Who art in heaven God is bigger than our little world and calls us to eternal values

Hallowed be your name God is holy. Let us reverence and praise God.

Your kingdom come God’s dream to create a world where gospel values reign

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

God wishes us to live in harmony with Gods will and God’s loving plan

Give us this day our daily prayer We ask God for what is needed to live each day: food, drink, shelter, love, community

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us

We ask for God to forgive us as we forgive those who sin against us

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil Amen

We ask that evil may not overwhelm us and that we be saved.

Glory be to the Father

The Glory to the Father is a doxology which is an acknowledgement of praise to God. A doxology is used at the end of liturgical prayers. The most common ‘Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours almighty Father for ever and ever, Amen’ is the doxology used to conclude the Eucharistic prayer.

Teach the students the traditional words of the prayer and discuss imaged with them. Discuss the concept of the word ‘Glory’. Students could select images to create a Power-Point to accompany this prayer. Younger children could decide on appropriate illustrations and create sacred actions to accompany the prayer. (Beth Nolen Prayer Strategies 1999)

Glory be to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spiritas it was in the beginningis now and ever shall be . AMEN