Kids, Giving Thanks and Holy Thursday

Again, my children remind me about the power of prayer and giving Thanks.  The other day my five year old daughter was so excited about having her friend come over for dinner.  As we sat down for dinner, my daughter said she wanted to pray before we ate.  At first I did not understand what she was asking for as she is only 5 years old.  Then I realized she wanted to say Grace while her friend was joining us for dinner.  She wanted to share God and Jesus with her friend.  She loves her friend so much. It is amazing how our kids remind us as to what is important.

Why does it take a child to remind me that it is important to invite friends and family into our world of prayer.  So many people worry about inviting people into our prayer or praying around non-practicing Christians, but all we do is give Thanks to God and pray for our friends. How is that bad? Maybe sometimes just showing people the good in prayer will start them to ask themselves why don’t I pray more or maybe a little prayer could not hurt.

Saying Grace before meals is a great way for the family to bond and for each individual or the family to reflect on the gifts that God has provided for them.

The standard prayer is as follows:

Bless us,
O Lord,
and these your gifts,
which we are about to receive
from your bounty.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Holy Thursday is the commemoration of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, when he established the sacrament of Holy Communion prior to his arrest and crucifixion.  In celebration of this Holy event it just reminded me of my daughter’s wanting to give Thanks and share the experience with her friend who she loves and worries about.  My 5 year old worries that her friend does not know Jesus, so I tell her that she will be OK, just say an extra prayer for her friend and I’m sure God will hear it.  As Catholics Jesus allows us know him through the breaking of the bread and drinking from the cup, in celebration of his sacrifice for our sins.  It all started on this Holy Thursday.

We usually end our Thanks with a Hail Mary or an Our Father.

I hope you get to see how Holy Thursday changed our lives and that you get the chance to give Thanks with your family and friends.

God Bless.