Want Your Kids to Fall in Love With Prayer? Start With St. Ignatius’ Simple Practice| National Catholic Register

Ignatian contemplation turns prayer into a vivid, joyful encounter with Jesus — drawing children and adults alike into deeper conversation with God.

I remember as a child telling my mother about a camping scene I had just read in a book. I described the scent of the evergreens and the soft crush of dried pine needles beneath brown suede shoes.

“It’s almost like you were there,” she said.

And I was. That was my first vivid recollection of how story and imagination could transport me completely.

Years later, I discovered that St. Ignatius of Loyola had experienced something similar. During his recovery from a serious injury, he picked up books about the life of Jesus and the saints. As he read, he pictured the stories unfolding in his mind — walking beside Jesus, listening to his voice, watching him heal. These mental images filled him with peace, joy and love for God.

Ignatius realized that God could speak to the heart through the imagination. This became the foundation for a kind of prayer, now known as Ignatian contemplation, in which we are invited to step into Sacred Scripture with all our senses and encounter the living God.

As a writer of faith-based books for children, I offer this specific invitation to young readers: to enter the stories of Scripture, engage their imaginations, and meet Jesus in a real and personal way.

Learning from the Best

Jesus, the Divine Storyteller, was a master at drawing people into his parables. When he told the Parable of the Prodigal Son, who in his audience wouldn’t have sensed the stench of the pigpen, the cold slime of the mud, or the tightness in the throat as the son trudged home?          

Who couldn’t picture the father running, arms wide with love? Or hear the music and laughter at the homecoming celebration and taste the salty tears of regret and reconciliation?

Like Jesus did, we can help children place themselves in Scripture stories with all their senses and discover the God who speaks directly to their hearts through their imagination.

St. Ignatius outlined the simple steps:

• Choose a Bible story. Perhaps even read it aloud in a group.
• Imagine the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings of the setting.
• Place yourself in the scene, as one of the characters or even as someone new.
• Speak with Jesus as a friend.
• Listen for what he may be saying to you through this experience.

You Don’t Even Have to Read

Even very young children can enter into Scripture using their imagination. Have them draw a picture or color a Bible story page. As they work, ask:

• What kind of day is it — sunny, cloudy, rainy?
• What do you smell — flowers, animals, food cooking?
• What do you hear — birds chirping, people talking, water flowing?
• What do you taste — fresh bread, sweet fruit, salty seawater?
• What can you touch — Jesus’ hand, the hard stone in David’s sling, the rough wood of Noah’s ark?

Rembrandt Painted It

Religious art can also be a gateway into this kind of prayer. For example, show children Rembrandt’s painting Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee. Ask what they might see, hear, or feel if they were in that boat. Who would they be in this scene? The brave apostle grappling with the sails, the one pleading with Jesus, or perhaps the poor soul doubled over with seasickness near the rail?

Then point out something remarkable: Jesus had only 12 apostles — but there are 14 figures in the painting. Look closely. The man in the blue robe and red cap is Rembrandt. He painted himself into the story.

And he’s looking straight at us, almost as if he’s saying, “Come with me. Get in the boat.”

That’s Ignatian contemplation — diving into the story and finding ourselves there with Jesus.

Use Everyday Experiences

In my latest book, Through Living Waters: An Origin Story About Baptism, Rachel is afraid of water, like many young children can be. But when she witnesses a gentle man named Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River, something begins to change inside her. Could water be more than something to fear? Could it be something … good?

Using everyday experiences like this can help children see the beauty of trusting in Jesus, and the great peace and courage that come from following him. In this story, they come to understand the purpose and power of the sacrament of Baptism as they are immersed in the story of Jesus’ Baptism, and what this means for them today.

Another example of using everyday experiences is when I recently took eight of my grandchildren to a nearby living history museum. It wasn’t a religious setting, but it offered countless chances to reflect on Sacred Scripture and our Catholic faith.       

A pair of oxen stood eating in their pen. Nearby, hanging on the wall of an 1860s barn was a yoke. We talked about how it worked, how it joined the animals together to share the load.

The kids imagined its weight, and that opened the door to reflect on Jesus’ words: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).

In another part of the farm, we saw adorable newborn lambs, which naturally led to a conversation about Jesus, the Lamb of God.

It was a morning enjoyed by all, and the words of St. Frances Cabrini kept running through my mind: “The impressions of childhood are never obliterated.”

My prayer for those kids — and all children — is that they become attentive to the details that can gently guide them into prayer — not just with their minds, but with their whole beings.

That’s the beauty of Ignatian contemplation: We learn to pray not just with words, but with wonder.