Title: Mary Our Mother, Pray for Us: A Lesson on the Litany

Grade level: 3-4

Overview: The Catholic Church has a rich tradition of prayer. One ancient form of prayer is the litany, a prayer of petitions and responses. In this lesson the children will learn more about this form of prayer.

One type of litany used in the earliest days of the Church was the offering of a series of petitions with the response Kyrie Eleison—"Lord, have mercy." In later centuries, after the persecutions of the early Christians had ended, public devotional processions became popular. These feast day processions were called litanies and were often celebrated on days formerly associated with pagan festivals. Over the years the prayers offered during these processions—prayers in honor of the Trinity, the Blessed Virgin, and various saints—also came to be known as litanies.

During the Middle Ages litanies in honor of the saints became popular throughout Europe. Today the Litany of the Saints is prayed on Holy Saturday as part of the Easter Vigil liturgy. This litany is also prayed during the celebration of the sacrament of Baptism. The "Lord, have mercy" (Kyrie Eleison) prayers offered at Mass, with their petition-and-response form, and the prayers of intercession offered at Mass can also be likened to a litany.

Objectives:

1. The children will learn how to identify a litany and also learn when one is used.

2. The children will learn the various parts that make up a litany:

  • the invocation (addressing God)
  • the petitions (asking God for favors)
  • the responses ("Have mercy on us," "Pray for us," "Hear us").

3. The children will research the life and works of the patron saint of their own parish or school and also learn about other saints to be included in a new litany the class will write.

4. The children will work together to write a class litany to be prayed at a liturgy or at a special parish or school event.

5. The children will share their new litany on the school or parish Web site.

Suggested Time Allowance: 4 days.

  • Day 1: Have the children look up the word litany in a dictionary and locate examples of litanies on the Internet.
  • Day 2: Have the class discuss what a litany is and describe the different parts that make up a litany. Pray a litany together during class prayer time.
  • Day 3: Choose a topic or saint for the class litany and conduct the appropriate research.
  • Day 4: Write the class litany. Arrange to have it posted on the school or parish Web site.Resources/Materials: a computer with Internet access; software (HyperStudio or PowerPoint) for multimedia presentations; a large wall calendar covering the period of Advent, with space to add text and pictures.

Resources: computer with Internet access; dictionary

Activities/Procedures:

Note: You may want to locate the links suggested for this activity in advance and bookmark them for the students’ use.

1. Invite the students to look up the word litany in a dictionary. Discuss what the word means. You may wish to have the students consult an online dictionary for this activity. One such resource, the infoplease.com online dictionary, offers a definition of litany at www.infoplease.com/ipd/A0518677.html.

2. Have the students access the infoplease.com online Columbia Encyclopedia article on the history of the litany at www.infoplease.com/ce5/CE030872encyclopdict.html. (Note: You’ll find the infoplease.com home page, with its links to both the on-site dictionary and the on-site encyclopedia, at www.infoplease.com/encyclopdict.html.)

3. Discuss the meaning of the word litany with the class. Ask the following questions: What is a petition? What is a response? Point out that one such petition-and-response dialogue can be found in the liturgy of the Mass in the "Lord, have mercy" (Kyrie Eleison) and another, in the intercessions or petitions.

4. Have one student access the Litany of Our Lady of Lourdes online at www.cin.org/lourdes.html. Print out the Web page containing the litany and make a copy for each student in the class.

5. Using the Litany of Our Lady of Lourdes as an example, have the children identify the invocation (addressing God), the petitions (asking God for favors) and the responses ("Have mercy on us," "Pray for us," "Hear us).

6. Demonstrate to the class how to pray a litany, using the petitions from the Mass as an example. (Sample: Petition: For all the sick, let us pray to the Lord. Response: Lord, hear our prayer.)

7. When the students understand how a litany is prayed, prepare a prayer space and have the children gather together to pray the Litany of Our Lady of Lourdes.

8. Brainstorm with the class to choose the subject of the litany they will be writing. Suggestions might include the patron saint of your parish or school, a newly canonized saint, a favorite saint of the class, or a litany of saints representing the different ethnic and national backgrounds of the class. You can refer to the Litany of St. Aloysius (online at www.monksofadoration.org/43.html) or the Litany of the Saints (online at www.monksofadoration.org/litanyof.html) as examples of litanies to a saint or saints.

9. Research the life of the saint (or saints) you have chosen for your litany. When did this saint live? What are some of the important events in his or her life? What is this saint the patron of? For this part of the activity you might wish to consult the Catholic Online Saints Index, at saints.catholic.org/index.shtml or the Patron Saints Web pages, at www.scborromeo.org/patron.htm. (Note: For links to a selection of individual saints, see the links list at the end of this activity.)

10. Have the class work together to write their litany. Use the following outline:

a. Name your litany.

b. Start the litany with the following prayers:

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

c. Have each student write a petition to be included in the litany, such as Mary, our mother, pray for us, or St. John Bosco, patron of students, pray for us.

d. End the litany with the following or a similar Lamb of God prayer and the Lord’s Prayer:

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Our Father, who art in heaven . . .

11. Arrange to have your class litany included in a parish or school liturgy or other event. Arrange to have the new litany posted on your parish or school Web site.

Links:

Catechism Correlation: An approved edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church can be found on the Internet at www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm . Among the paragraphs that relate to prayer are numbers 2644 (the Holy Spirit instructs the Church in the life of prayer), 2647 (prayer of intercession), and 2650–2651 (the tradition of Christian prayer).

Created by: Mary Morin, Director, St. Luke Faith Formation, Carol Stream, Illinois. Mary began this ministry as a catechist and is now in her sixth year as Director of Religious Education.

 

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