Opening class with a prayer

[kwitz]

As a teacher in a Catholic high school we are asked to begin each class period with a prayer - obviously a good idea. It’s a habit I’ve struggled with aquiring - I’m usually worried about attendance etc and getting the “academic” part of the process going. So the first part of this request is help for ideas on how I can make this an everyday part of my teaching.

Second request - any ideas for prayers to use? When I do pray, I often use the Hail Mary, Glory Be or some other standardized prayer. One of my friends opens each class with the same prayer every day and I kind of like this routine. She uses the formula “May all that we say and all that we do be to the glory of God.” I’m asking for suggestions on a specific Bible verse or personally composed prayer that might fit to open my classes with.

Thanks for your ideas in advance!!

Kris
I teach Chemistry if that has any influence on your suggestions.

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

I would recommend you develop a few prayers appropriate to what you are doing in class that day. A general one for when you are primarily teaching, one for when labs are being taken, one for tests, etc.

These prayers need to be inspiration to the students as well as addressing what will be done in the class.

For example

A Prayer for Chemistry Lab

Dear God, We thank you for creating us all and in developing the laws of the universe. Help us during our experiments to better understand the natural laws that you have created. Help us all to follow good practices of safety and keep each of us safe from harm.

You can probably do better than this and may want to tailor it to the try of lab experiments that you do.

Also add special intentions if students are injured or having difficulties.

 

[Fidelis]

Here’s one suggestion. It comes from a web page with several Catholic prayers for students:

Prayer Before Studying
O Lord God and Heavenly Father, bestow upon us the gift of Your Holy Spirit, that enlightened by Him, we may understand aright and may keep in mind all that we may learn, and may both begin and end all things well, to Thy glory, and in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Here’s the link to the whole page:

catholicyouth.freeservers.com/school/studyprayer.htm

 

[Annunciata]

I would recommend a prayer to the Holy Spirit.