About the book

 

CHILDREN’S DAILY PRAYER UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS
is a scriptural and liturgical prayer book for each day of the school year. It is prepared annually for use in the southern hemisphere by students in years 3 – 6. The prayer is designed to be led by students. Following the Church's year, this prayer book enables students:

  • to pray through all the liturgical seasons
  • to celebrate the major feasts of the liturgical year
  • to meet saints, old and new.
 
CHILDREN’S DAILY PRAYER UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS  includes:
  • days from other Christian and multi-faith traditions:
    • Orthodox Easter
    • Saints of the Lebanese Church
    • Pesach, Yom Kippur, Shavuot (Jewish faith)
    • Ramadan (Muslim faith)
  • the commemoration of prophets and peacemakers of our time some of which are:
    • Mum Shirl
    • Weary Dunlop
    • Caroline Chisholm
    • Dame Whina Cooper (NZ)
    • Sister Irene McCormack
    • Pope John XXIII
    • Fr Ted Kennedy
  • prayers for days in the civic calendars for Australia and New Zealand
    • Waitangi Day (NZ)
    • National Harmony Day
    • Anzac Day
    • National Sorry Day
  • significant days from world calendars some of which are:
    • International Red Cross Day
    • World Day for Peace
    • International Day for the World's Indigenous People
    • World Environment Day
    • World Day for Water

 For ease of use, CHILDREN’S DAILY PRAYER UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS is published each year. This makes it possible to have the prayers and readings right there on the right day and the right date; it is like a diary. This user-friendly nature of the prayerbook means that students can lead the prayer without confusion. 

THE PRAYER FOR EACH DAY

CHILDREN’S DAILY PRAYER UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS is an adaptation for primary schools of the church's tradition of daily prayer – the Liturgy of the Hours. Prayer is provided for the following ‘hours’ of the school day: the beginning of the day, lunchtime and the end of the school day. Like all good ritual, the pattern of prayer for each day is repetitive. This makes it easy for students to lead the prayer.

The pattern is always:

  • An Introduction which might be about the liturgical season, the feast day, the reading, one of the 'prophets and peacemakers' or about a day outside the liturgical calendar which is being commemorated
  • A Psalm. CHILDREN’S DAILY PRAYER UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS provides a psalm for a month or a season. This way, children can become familiar with psalms over the time.
  • A Scripture Reading. CHILDREN’S DAILY PRAYER UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS has its own schema of readings, selected to introduce students to the great figures, epic stories and major themes of the bible. Longer readings are spread over a number of days. The translation is that used in the Lectionary for Masses with Children
  • A Closing Rite which includes time for petitions and a final prayer.

 

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