In the Church’s tradition, we have the practice of Lectio Divina, “divine reading,” where we read a short passage of Scripture or writings from the Saints, focusing on just one word that touches our hearts. That word becomes a “teacher” for us, opening our imaginations to what God wants us to learn.
A similar practice is called Visio Divina, “divine seeing,” where we use artwork instead of words to turn our minds to God’s message to us. You can lead students of any age or level in Visio Divina, allowing art to lead them into prayer.
Where can you find art for Visio Divina? Your faith formation textbooks are an excellent source! Invite students to select an illustration for themselves from the pages or even the cover. They will discover beautiful color artwork on almost every page. It is good to choose a picture in which something is happening, but any kind of image will do. This is a novel way to use the resources you have on hand.
Explain that the spiritual practice of Visio Divina is a way of using art to turn our minds and hearts to prayer.
Allow students to spend some time exploring their faith formation textbook for an image that they like or that catches their attention. Each student selects an illustration to use during their prayer. Teachers, you might also like to choose an image for yourself and experience your own Visio Divina during this prayer time.
Prepare your hearts for prayer. You can make this is a silent experience. Invite the children to ask God to be with them as they examine the picture more closely, focusing on just one detail or corner of the picture. After a minute or two, they should close their eyes and try to remember that part of the picture in their imagination.
Pause and reflect. Have students open their eyes and look at the whole picture. After a few minutes, have the children close their eyes again. Guide the students by posing some questions: “What do you like about this picture? What does this picture make you think of? With whom would you like to share this picture? What else do you wish you knew about this picture or the story it is telling? What do you want to tell God now? For whom do you want to pray?”
When you judge that the class is ready, have the children open their eyes. Provide slips of paper for everyone to write down their prayer intention privately. Collect the slips into a basket and close the prayer time: “Lord, hear our prayers.” Time spent in Visio Divina, and all types of prayer experiences, sets a calming tone for the learning – and teaching – the lesson you have planned for the day.
For more ideas for classroom prayer, visit Catholic Resources for classroom prayers. Also, see recent blog posts: “Prayer in Your Classroom” and “Beautiful Art Brings Stories to Life for Children”
Dr. Lauri Przybysz specializes in equipping families to live their vocation to be domestic churches and signs of God’s love. Lauri received the Doctor of Ministry from the Catholic University of America, and she has been both a Catholic middle school religion teacher and a faith formation coordinator at the archdiocesan and parish levels. She is the mother of six children and grandmother of 21