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The Christian Training of Children – Prayers

Sister Maria Philomena, M.I.C.M. — Sat, 16 May 2009 19:04:58 +0000

Table of contents for Mother Love

Little Book of Instructions for Christian Mothers [continued]
(from Mother Love – A Manual for Christian Mothers – by Rev. Pius Franciscus, O.M.Cap., 1926)

On the Christian Training of Children

Chapter IX. – Prayers a Christian Mother May Teach Her Child.

[As I explained to the mothers at our last Mothers' Tea, the important thing to be drawn from this chapter are the sentiments that they should be instilling in their children, whether or not they have them memorize these verses. As a child, my mother read to us regularly from Monsignor Hugh Benson's A Child's Rule of Life (which is in rhyme). To this day, some of my prayers are more easily expressed by those simple phrases. Sr. M. Ph.]

Dear God, make me good, that I may get to heaven!

Dearest Jesus, Thou art mine;
Let me be forever Thine.
I am young, and pure my heart,
O dwell therein, and ne’er depart!
Heavenly Mother, stand by me,
That I thy little child may be!
Guardian angel watch o’er me,
That my heart from sin e’er free,
May to God most pleasing be!

A present for thee! What shall it be?
Thou best and dearest Child!
The earthly treasures are naught to Thee;
Thou lovest more the pure and mild.
So, take our hearts, we give them Thee,
We give them cheerfully,
O hide them in Thy own dear Heart,
And to them love and grace impart.

O my God, I believe in Thee, for Thou art the Eternal Truth!
O my God, I hope in Thee, for Thou art goodness and mercy!
O my God, I love Thee, for Thou art the best, the most beautiful, the Supreme Good!
O my God, I grieve that I have offended Thee!

I believe, O God, I hope in Thee,
And with all my heart I love!
O who shall dare to wrest from me
Those gifts from heaven above?
I’ll guard them with my blood and life,
And dying I’ll exclaim:
“I believe, I hope, I love my God,
Forever more the same!”

All that I have, I have from Thee!
All that I need, Thou giv’st me!
Thou art so good, Thou lov’st me so
That other love I will not know.
I love Thee, Lord, I love Thee, God
O teach me to love Thee evermore!
Thy child, Thy own child let me be,
Grant that all sin I ever flee!

Lord Jesus Christ, I thank Thee
For having died for me!
Let not Thy Blood and Passion
Be shed in vain for me.

O Mary, dearest Mother,
O help me every day,
That through God’s loving mercy
Thy child may never stray.

My parents I commend to Thee,
Preserve them, dearest Lord to me!
The good they do me, reward,
And many gracious gifts accord.

MORNING PRAYERS FOR CHILDREN

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

With God another day begins:
Direct it in Thy way,
And, Jesus, keep me from all sins
At home, at work, at play.

While Dressing.

As now I clothe myself, O Lord,
To Thee I humbly pray:
O let me ever heed Thy word,
And always with Thee stay.

While Washing.

The water flowing from Thy side
Is, dearest Lord, a saving Tide;
O let it cleanse me my salvation win.

Now kneel, fold the hands, and say:

O God, my Father, Thy sweet care
Has o’er me watched the livelong night!
For all the blessings that I share,
I praise Thee in the morning light.
Protect me also through the day
From sin, from evil, from distress;
Whate’er I do, or think, or say,
O best of Fathers, do Thou bless!
My Guardian Angel, thee I pray,
Stand at my side by night and say.
O Mary, pray before God’s throne
For me to Jesus Christ, Thy Son,
Whom we all love, whom we adore,
Whom we praise forevermore. Amen.

To purify the intention for the day, say:

All praise and honor be to Thee,
Thrice Blessed, Holy Trinity;
Whatever I may do or say,
For Thee it be, my God, today.
Forsake me not when dangers loom,
And save me from eternal doom.

When the child cannot be present at Holy Mass, let it say:

Hark! I hear the little bell
Calling to Holy Mass.
Dearest Lord, Thou knowest full well
It calls in vain for me.
Dear angel, do thou take my place
And when ‘tis over bring to me
Rich blessings full of grace.

NIGHT PRAYERS FOR CHILDREN.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Before I lay me down to rest,
I raise my heart, O God, to Thee.
For gifts with which I have been blest,
I give Thee thanks repeatedly.
If Thee I have displeased to-day,
Forgive me, Father, ere I sleep!

Let the children make a short examination of conscience, and the say:

I love The, my Lord, I love Thee, my God,
O would that I loved Thee more!
I am so sorry now for all my sins,
O grant me Thy pardon and grace!

Whilst Undressing.

Lord, take from me whatever might
Thy gracious eyes displease!

One Our Father and Hail Mary for the poor souls in Purgatory. Then say:

Lord, grant the departed eternal rest
In light perpetual ever blest.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

BEFORE MEALS.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Come Jesus, Lord, and be our guest,
And let these gifts for us be blest.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.

AFTER MEALS.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

For all these favors now, O Lord,
Our thanks we gladly give;
O grant when this our life is spent,
We may with Thee then live.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.

Prayers for Parents.

Infinitely good God, Thou who hast imparted to me through my father and mother, my maintenance, a Christian education, and so many other benefits, I thank thee for Thy bounty. Grant me the grace ever to show them the obedience that I owe them, sincere love, and great reverence. Never permit that they should suffer chagrin and trouble through my fault; but keep and guide me in the way of Thy fear and Commandments, as I have been taught. Reward them richly for all the good they have done me. Be their protector in danger, their consoler in every care and anxiety. Grant them long life, good health, and a blessed eternity. Amen.

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The Christian Training of Children – Combating Pride

Sister Maria Philomena, M.I.C.M. — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:19:14 +0000

Table of contents for Mother Love

Little Book of Instructions for Christian Mothers [continued]
(from Mother Love – A Manual for Christian Mothers – by Rev. Pius Franciscus, O.M.Cap., 1926)

Looking at science projects

On the Christian Training of Children

Chapter VI. - How the Christian Mother Should Combat Pride in Her Child.

In the last two chapters I have briefly pointed out how a Christian Mother may successfully counteract in a child its inborn lust of the eyes and of the flesh. The means recommended are, indeed, effective but not infallible, unless the mother will reenforce [sic] her instructions, her admonitions and her corrections by the mortification of her own evil inclinations and by presenting to her children in her own daily life an example of self-denial and restraint. Teaching and good example are practically certain of producing favorable results under the grace of God. In the present chapter I shall give a more detailed instruction on the manner of combating the third concupiscence, called by St. John the pride of life. The conquering of this concupiscence is more difficult, because the sins caused by it, seemingly contain something elevating and pure, although they are more offensive to God and more destructive to the soul. Some pious author distinguished the lust of the eyes as a human fault, the lust of the flesh as a bestial aberration, but the pride of life as a hellish, a devilish guilt. Pride is, indeed, the worst of the three concupiscences and must, therefore, be combated just as relentlessly as the other two.

St. Michael the Archangel with the cry-Who is like to God-drove the bad angels out of heaven and out of the company of the good angels. In the same manner a Christian Mother should contemplate the dignity and majesty of God, and remember His rightful claim upon our worship and submission; hence like St. Michael she must not relax in her efforts, until the devil of pride is cast out of the heart of her child, and the child itself, strengthened in earnest piety, has become an angel of humility and modesty, of obedience and good deportment.

The first visible sign of pride in a child is wilfulness [sic]. In combating it, the mother must, indeed, manifest a knowing and prudent love which never connives at a child’s contrariness or humors its exhibitions of obstinacy. The child may weep and cry, it may fuss and stomp its feet-the more unruly it conducts itself, the more the mother must ignore it. Such treatment will soon put an end to its noisy demonstrations, and the child will gradually show a more tractable disposition. Then also insist on immediate and prompt obedience. “A good child must obey quickly.”

Shut the Door - a skit performed by the 7th & 8th grades for Saint Patrick's Day

Irreverence, stubborness [sic] and insubordination must not be tolerated. A command given by father or mother, must be carried out, and the child that will not obey, should be banished from the table and from the presence of father and mother and no conciliatory countenance be turned to it until it has fulfilled the will of its parents. Certainly the directions and the commands of father and mother must not exceed the limitations of the child; they should be reasonable and well-considered, and be given with dignified earnestness, in brief and gentle words, and with perceptible marks of affection. Children should be taught to obey cheerfully to please their parents; they should obey conscientiously, whether they be observed or not, because Jesus Christ gave the example of obedience, because parents are representatives of God, because the will of the parents is the will of God, because obedience or disobedience to them is obedience or disobedience to God, and therefore will be rewarded or punished by God.

Considerate and affectionate demands on the part of the parents, and ready, cheerful obedience on the part of the children are the foundation stones of a good education. When, therefore, a good education is not achieved it is usually due to some defect in the exercise of parental authority or in the observance of filial submission. Generally speaking, the greatest fault is on the side of the parents. Children are so completely dependent on their parents, that they must practically obey, if the parents earnestly insist upon it. When the children are disobedient, disrespectful, bold and spiteful, there is no other cause but lack of firmness and enforcement of parental rights. In every Christian family one principle must always stand forth in the fullness of its meaning, namely: Not the will of the children is law, but the children must obey the will of the parents without exception and without contradiction.

Another St. Patrick's Day skit

Other manifestations of pride are meddlesomeness, lying, and an assumption of cleverness and wisdom. Among girls are to be found especially dissimulation, self-love, vanity and conceit. A child must be trained to be truthful and sincere in its words and its conduct, and simple and modest in all its dealings with others. Whatever good it may possess, it should consider an undeserved gift of God, for which it must be grateful, and of the use of which it must some day render a strict account. The child’s attention should be called to its own shortcomings, and at the same [time] be directed to the good qualities of others, to the virtues of the saints and to the perfections of God, so that it may learn to think lowly of itself and willingly humble itself before others.

Pride shows itself also in quarrelsomeness, in lording it over others, and in vengefulness. Among boys, in particular, we also find as a fruit of pride a certain spirit of independence which brooks no restraint, and ambition that tolerates no rivalry, and a coarseness of feeling that borders on brutality. All these qualities are evidences of a hard heart and must be corrected with a firm hand; and, if no improvement is observed, mother and father should even resort to severe corporal punishment.

After the child’s natural roughness has been pretty well polished off in this manner, it must also be taught to get rid of its sensitiveness or touchiness and to conquer its natural aversions or dislikes. The wonderful example of Christ should constantly be kept before its mind, especially His patient endurance of all kinds of injuries, His imperturbably meekness and mildness and His everready [sic] willingness to forgive His enemies and traducers for whom He even prayed after they nailed Him to the Cross. Surely this example will have a powerful influence over the impressionable child-mind and inspire the child to earnest efforts of imitation.

Immaculate Heart of Mary - The high school classroom statue

The worst fruits of human pride are sins against God Himself, namely, indifference to religion and religious practices. These manifest themselves by repeated neglect of divine service, particularly, of the Holy Sacrifice of Mass, by irreverent conduct in Church and at devotional exercises, by desecration of the Lord’s Day and feast days of obligation, by superstitious observances and mockery of religion, by ridiculing the veneration of the saints, their pictures and relics, by cursing and sinful taking of oaths and such other sins against the three first commandments of the decalogue. Indifference towards God and all that relates to Him is, indeed, at the bottom of man’s perversity as of all sin, and only in so far as this indifference can be rooted out, can the heart of man be remodeled and the image of the Divinity be restored in him. Hence the principal efforts must be directed towards this purpose and parents must never cease till they have implanted into the hearts of their children a sincere love of God and a salutary filial fear of Him, till they have awakened in them an ardent zeal for His honor and glory and an eager, joyous readiness to live according to His Will. In this matter, particularly, parents must give a good example, so that the child may see that they themselves are sincerely and truly religious.

The parents must also carefully observe the child at its prayers, never condone any fault in the recital of them, immediately correct any faulty pronunciation of the names of God or of the saints, and, in general, supervise its conduct in all matters pertaining to religion and its practices. Faults and sins against the first three commandments must not be considered lightly and should be earnestly reprehended and, if necessary, more severely punished than faults and sins against any other commandment. The degree of firmness with which parents persist in their efforts to educate and train their children in the proper reverence towards God and religion, will naturally depend upon the degree of esteem in which they hold their dignity as representatives of God and guardians of His honor; the more they realize the dignity of their position, the more they will uphold and defend the rights of God.

To be continued . . .

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Plato and Liberal Education – Part One

Sister Maria Philomena, M.I.C.M. — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:04:24 +0000

by Brother Francis Maluf, M.I.C.M.

[Editor's note: This article was originally published in From the Housetops in 1946. It is one of the most important summaries of our educational apostolate. The article is also included in the notes accompanying the course on Logic in Brother's lectures on Philosophia Perennis.]

Plato and Liberal Education

I. What is Education

Even the Blueberry Fiddle Festival is an education!

Plato conceived education as an art of perfecting man. According to this view, education is possible because man is a perfectible being. Nobody ever talks about perfecting God, because God is not perfectible, but perfect; nor do we ever discuss the education of angels, because, although an angel is not absolutely perfect, he is perfect within his own essence, which means that an angel receives all the perfection that is due and proper to his nature in one instantaneous act. To be sure, there are in the visible world other perfectible things besides man; but even so, the notion of education does not seem to fit the modes of perfectibility of things that are not human. A machine, for example, can be constructed and improved, while a tree attains its proper perfections by growth. Yet we would all hesitate to talk about the “education” of a plant or of a machine; and it would be just as incorrect to speak of the education of an animal. A dog, for example, may be trained; but a dog could never be educated. A dog is trained by being made subject to human purposes and notions, not even remotely entertained by the dog itself. Besides, it is trained, not to become a more perfect dog, more suitable for beastly society, but rather, in order to become more useful or more amusing to man, even if in the process it loses its intrinsic properties and gets to be, not more, but less of a dog.

Education remains, therefore, a distinctively human affair, and as such, derives its distinctiveness from man’s peculiar way of growing into his perfections. Like all living things, man possesses within himself a vital principle of growth; but in man, this principle is further determined by rationality. It is by virtue of his rationality that man can consciously entertain his purposes, choose his means, and criticize his own actions. This coincidence of growth and rationality in the same being is a privilege which renders man unique in the whole universe. Plato must have been fascinated by this marvelous blend of qualities in man, this blend of intelligence and growth, for he makes it the central theme of practically all his Dialogues. In these Dialogues we have a most vivid picture of education. In every case we find that education is a growth, a movement from confusion to clarity, from ignorance to knowledge; and also we find that in every case, the student is his own first teacher. The role of the teacher is simply to help the student in his seeking and to guide his steps. The teacher of the Dialogues, usually Socrates, is supposed to be the wise man, the man who has
already attained those perfections desired for and by the student. The teacher stands as a proximate exemplar; and, by virtue of the fact that he is supposed to see the end of the road, he can also guide and direct, by ruling out false starts and by suggesting better ones. To put it in a more characteristically Platonic simile, the teacher is a midwife, who assists at the birth of the idea in the mind of the student.

We can learn a great deal more about human nature and also about education, by observing with Plato, the way man grows into the attainment of his perfections. In contrast with other intelligent beings (God and the angels), man must accomplish his rationality through effort and discipline. Because human rationality is an accomplishment, it enjoys only a precarious existence. All our human concerns which manifest man’s rationality under any aspect, whether of order, purpose, truth, or beauty (the sciences and the arts, institutions, laws cultural values, etc.), depend for their continued existence upon the disciplined activities of men. Cathedrals do not grow like weeds, and no painting was ever made haphazardly. Every new-born baby is an absolutely new beginning, and every new generation of babies is a terrific challenge and threat to the existing civilization and to the established order of things. Indeed, our life here is an explosive situation! Man is a joining together of the nothingness and am infinity, and it is education which must span the chasm
between the two extremes. No wonder that Plato, having understood the nature if education, should view it as the highest social function, commensurate with the whole of life, and absolutely necessary for the perfection of the individual and of society. Plato had such a profound appreciation of the importance of education, that starting to describe the building of a state, he ended up, in his famous Republic, with a kind of super-school on his hands.

But there comes a point where we must remind ourselves that, after all, we are with a pagan philosopher, and should be on guard lest we let him mislead us in matters about which we ought to know better. And we do, as a matter of fact, know more than Plato about the origin and purpose of our human existence. Let us, therefore, be on the alert for any possible defects in Plato’s educational theories and practices which might flow from his pagan errors about man. Plato certainly understood that education must be of the whole man, which means of the complete composite of soul and body. He also rightly defended and emphasized the primacy of the soul in matters of education. He knew that the human soul is immortal, and at least vaguely suspected that man’s life-long educational activity finds its consummation in another life. But Plato also held some erroneous doctrines about the soul. It is a well known fact, for example, that he taught that the human soul exists prior to this life. We Christians, on the other hand, know that every individual human soul is created singularly and immediately, at the moment of conception, by a separate act of God. Here we have in this issue what might seem at first glance like a slight difference of belief: but on more careful examination, this disagreement between the Christian and pagan outlooks, reveals such a chasm as can only be explained by the tremendous intervening fact of the Incarnation.

Plato can hardly be blamed for missing the point with regard to the fact, the manner, or the purpose of creation. This kind of knowledge requires a far greater intimacy with God than was given to the pagan world. It remains to the immortal credit of Plato that he attained, by mere reason, a clear concept of the kind of reality the human soul is. He knew the soul in its spirituality and in its simplicity; he recognized its power and its dignity; he understood its activity of life in the body, and its activity of knowledge beyond the body; and he proved philosophically, that this kind of being cannot be dissolved or destroyed by natural means. But the same kind of argument led Plato also to believe that the soul could be neither made nor developed by any natural process. He, therefore, concluded that the soul is not only immortal, but also eternal, having no beginning as well as no end in time. The Christian alternative, namely, that the soul is created out of nothing by the omnipotence of God, did not present itself to Plato; for to him, God is neither infinite nor
omnipotent, and the very idea of creation out of nothing would have sounded to him as no less that a philosophic absurdity.

Dirt is our natural element!

Plato, therefore, according to his own lights, had to educate a soul which was never created, which had no beginning in time, and no definite destiny for the future. The human soul to Plato is a little sad deity which cannot die, but can lose everything else it ever attained; even to the very memory of its personal identity in previous lives. This unconscious deity is accidentally united to, or rather, imprisoned in a material body, which it must leave after a certain length of time, to be united, perhaps to another body, and to go through the same cycle all over again. This soul has already had more intimate contacts with eternal realities that it has in this life, and therefore must have been in a higher state of perfection than in its present state. Unfortunately, however, it has lost all memory of these perfections and must now make a new start at re-ascending the scales of perfection to lose them again once more. How futile the whole thing must appear when viewed from the total perspective of eternity! And yet, this is as optimistic a view of human existence as the pagan world ever attained.

These errors of Plato are at least partly responsible for some of the most obvious defects in his theory of education: depreciation of the body and of sense experience; a false theory of knowledge according to which we learn by remembering what we already knew in a previous life; and, most seriously, a relative disregard of personal values by treating the individual primarily as a function of the state. Yet, in spite of these defects, Plato remains, even today, a great master of the art of teaching, and the leading champion of the very concept of liberal education. It is in this last capacity that we are now primarily interested in Plato, and therefore, let us proceed to examine more specifically what Plato means by liberal education.

To be continued . . .