Meditation for kids: Jesus our healer

I wrote this meditation for my boys last week, to end our unit on Jesus’s first healing miracles in the Gospels. Use it to supplement your own Bible study or the liturgy.

Read it aloud slowly with lots of pauses, so your children have time to imagine and think about the scene. Have them repeat the final prayer, sentence by sentence. When you have finished, ask them if they’d like to share what they imagined. I don’t require my boys to do this. For some people, meditative prayer is too intimate and personal to talk about. Define “Divine” before beginning, if necessary.

“Close your eyes and imagine you are a paralytic. You are lying on a mat. You cannot move your arms and legs. You have been this way for years. You would give anything to be able to get up and play! [Pause]

“Now imagine you see Jesus bending over you. His face is full of love and mercy. He gently touches your forehead and says, ‘Get up, take your mat, and walk.’ [Pause]

“Think about how you react (don’t say it aloud). What do you say and do? [Longer pause]

“Let us pray. Lord Jesus, thank you for your love and mercy. [They should repeat this part.] Thank you for doctors and medicine that heal me. I know you always hear my prayers when I ask for help. When I am sick or hurt, please make me well again, either through science or through a miracle. You are our Divine Doctor, and I praise you. Amen.”

Connie Rossini

Share with us: Have you tried meditating on Scripture with your kids? Can you recommend any good sources for meditations? If you tried this meditation with your kids, how did it go?

This is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Monthly Roundup.