Never Too Old To Commit a New Prayer To Memory

Cradle Catholics, you are so lucky. If you have an arsenal of prayers committed to memory - thanks to a childhood rooted in the Faith - count yourself blessed.

It's not so easy to memorize prayers at my age. But, I'm trying.

Tonight, our 8th grade Confirmation class will begin reciting a new prayer. I'm tagged with the job of assessing their learning. Yes, you got it. That means I have to learn the prayer right along with them.

I'm glad I work with this group. And I'm also glad that I've been given the responsibility of monitoring their progress in the area of Catholic prayers. I guess God knew that I needed an extra kick in the pants in the area of memorization.

And I'm proving that it is possible to learn something new - long after the white hairs start growing.

Here's what I know so far:

Send your Holy Spirit upon us to be our helper and guide.

Give us the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding,

The Spirit of Right Judgment and Courage,

The Spirit of Knowledge and Reverence . . .

That's all I know so far . . . a few more lines to go before class tonight. So, I had better get back at it.

Why don't you take a couple of minutes to contemplate a prayer you learned years ago. And while you are praying, offer up petitions for the littlest souls in Haiti.

Lord, hear our prayers.