Today, I am going to start a series of 10 posts (God-willing) about cultivating a spirit of giving & gratitude for kids. And let’s face it, it wouldn’t hurt me to think about it myself so these posts will also be my guides during the 30-Day Giving Challenge.
In the Catholic faith, yesterday was All Saints Day & today is All Souls Day and so I thought that beginning in prayer was a good way to start. One of the spiritual works of mercy is to pray for the living & the dead.
One Verse
At Allume last week, I learned of a company called One Verse. One Verse is a bible translation company who is working feverishly to translate the bible into the various indigenous languages around the world. It seems to make a world of difference to the people who hear God’s word in their native tongue. One of the ways you could support their mission is to pray for one of their translation projects. Of course money is always useful, too, but we are talking about praying today :-).
Pray for the Dead
Since today is All Souls Day, it would be a great opportunity to pray for the souls of the deceased, such as grandparents, parents or other loved ones. If you are Catholic, this is a treasured favorite.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Traditionally the celebrate a very similar thing in Mexico. Yesterday was the Day of the Innocents & today is the Day of the Dead (el dia de los muertos).
For Non-Christians
You could also choose to specifically pray for one of the many unreached ethnic groups of the world. The Joshua Project tracks those groups and shares then by email or a widget like below.
For Someone You Know
Alternately, you could always select a family member or friend in need of prayer to make it more concrete for your children. Perhaps your grandparents have failing health, or someone is having a hard time in their pregnancy. Or maybe someone simply has the flu. Nothing is too big or too small to be prayed for! For the next 3 or 4 days, pick someone to pray for.
This post will be linked to Catholic Bloggers Network’s Monthly Round-Up.
