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Prayer has a special place in this program. Through prayer we form our relationship with God. Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts invites each catechist to create a climate of prayer for every session. Throughout the program, the catechist's presentation of the truths of the Catholic faith will take place within the context of a prayerful relationship with God. The design of the sessions and the instructive Catechist Guide help the catechist
- teach prayer as a relationship with God
- mentor children into a life of prayer
- model many ways of praying—from memorized prayer to communal and liturgical prayer to praying from one's heart
- pray with children in each session (By praying from within the truths they are taught, children begin to internalize the faith message and develop a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.)
Since we, as catechists, mentor by doing, Finding God includes three natural opportunities in every session for catechists to pray with the children.
| | 1. | The first opportunity, near the beginning of the session, is an invitation for children to become aware of God's presence. This prayer of petition invites participants to ask for God's help on their faith journey. |
| | 2. | After the children have explored Scripture and Tradition, a second opportunity for the catechist to pray with them, using the session's Prayer Page, offers a reflection that flows from the focus of the session. Through such reflective prayers, children are invited to enter into sacred time and space so that they can talk and listen to God and recognize God's presence in their daily lives. Experiences of reflective prayer also give the children opportunities to take to heart the basic prayers of the Catholic faith. |
| | 3. | Finally, near the end of the session, the children are given a third opportunity to pray, a prayer of gratitude, that is related to what they have just learned. |
Finding God: Our Response to God's Gifts provides each catechist with five audio Guided Reflections for use at his or her grade level. These guided prayers—one for each Finding God unit in a grade—support the catechist in mentoring children into a life of prayer.
Recorded onto CD, they feature the talents of professional actors and provide appropriate pacing, music, and sound effects to facilitate reflective prayer.
Scripts for each Guided Reflection are also included in the Catechist Guide, and Finding God invites the more experienced catechist to lead these guided prayers, adapting the material as needed to any particular group.
The five audio Guided Reflections are presented on the Spoken Word CD, complimentary with each Catechist Guide.
 Play a portion of a sample Guided Reflection
(make sure that your computer's sound preferences and speakers are turned on)
The program also provides resources to help mentor catechists, parents, and other adults in the parish in a life of prayer.
The Catechist Guide nurtures the catechist's own spirituality through prayer experiences and other features that help him or her reflect on the presence of God in daily life. The Catechist Preparation pages and Get-Ready Guide that precede each session, for example, offer a 3-Minute Retreat for the catechist's personal spiritual growth and reflection.
A Parent Guide to Prayer gives parents common Catholic prayers and prayer practices for use at home. This 64-page book is provided complimentary to each family in parishes using the Finding God program. Also available for separate purchase in English or Spanish. Call 800-621-1008 to order.
Take-Home Parent Pages corresponding to each children's session engage the hearts of the significant adults in a child's life. Each page offers a Focus on Prayer that helps parents understand—from an adult perspective—what their kids are learning about prayer.
The Parent Newsletters, written by Tom McGrath, a nationally known Catholic author and speaker, help parents recognize God's action within their family and nurture, among other things, their own prayer life. Each four-page full-color newsletter gives adults the language to help identify and share God in their lives—a key building block for growth in prayer. Also available for separate purchase in English or Spanish. Call 800-621-1008 to order.
Gathering Sessions bring adults in the parish community together for meaningful conversation and faith sharing. The complete, ready-to-use sessions contain points for group and personal reflection, offering models for prayer.
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A FindingGod.org multimedia
3-Minute Retreat |
FindingGod.org is an Internet extension of the Finding God program that makes prayer resources available to the whole parish community. This Web site provides common Catholic prayers, articles, and suggestions for deepening one's prayer life, multimedia prayer experiences, and much more.
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