Posts tagged imagination

Children and imagination- they go together. It’s amusing to watch children play at make believe. They can engage in epic castle sieges with unseen swords and horses, or organize an instant tea party replete with invisible tea and every lush pastry their heart can desire—all instantly available with the use of their vibrant imagination.

In the same way, children’s imaginations can be enriched with the visualizations of Bible stories and the important events in the life of our Lord. Let them take time to imagine the stable where Christ was born, to smell the hay, then listen to the animals …

“What else do you think was there?”

Let them fill in the gaps. They may go a little overboard and start telling you about the dinosaur that was there, but a gentle nudge can help correct them:

“No, I don’t think a dinosaur was there. The Bible tells us there was an ox and a …”

Doing this will help the child to both visualize the story and to respect the written account.

Similarly, we can help our children use their imagination when they pray memorized prayers such as “The Our Father” and “The Hail Mary”. Let them think about each sentence and help add some sincere drama to it.

For example, you can pray some beautiful dramatic music when you teach them the “Glory Be”, so that it becomes a truly praise-filled prayer comprised of words UNITED to their heart.

These are some of the techniques we utilize in the upcoming “Brother Francis” episode, “The Rosary.”

We hope it will help enrich children’s prayer life and enamor them to God who loves them dearly, even though He too, is not seen with our physical eyes.

- Brother Francis

More info at: www.brotherfrancisonline.com