Show Children How to Worship God!

What is Worship?

Dear Catholic people,

I don’t know about you all, but this never comes up as a discussion in Catholic circles. In fact, my own understanding of worship is very narrow! This is because the only time I have heard this word used regularly was in Catholic charismatic prayer groups and it involved a lot of singing to the Lord! However, as I look a bit deeper – it is, in fact, much wider. It’s important to know how wide it is before we can introduce this important theme to our children.

Please look at these two very different forms of worship:

Child in adoration/worship



Fr. Rob. Galea singing a song of worship



See how wide worship can be?!

Worship is about showing up, acknowledging that God (The Blessed Trinity) is real and present, that He is our Creator and that we are His creation, we are His creatures. This means that we must be willing to do what is right, according to His Will, even when this is hard. We must give God attention and form a personal relationship with Him. We must seek to be close to Him, as a daughter or a son – and to be in Communion with Him. Worship means that we are surrender/ sacrifice our whole lives to Him (not just the part that seems easy and doesn’t take any effort!).

The highest form of worship is, of course, the Holy Mass! This contains prayer, sometimes worship songs/hymns and the sacrifice of the Mass. Jesus’ death on Calvary is represented to us on the altar – hidden in the physical form of bread and wine. Other forms of worship are your personal prayer, group prayer, bible study, doing something for another person to spread Jesus’ love, singing to God and Adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Here is a 3-minute worship song called ‘Counting my Blessings’ by upcoming Catholic artist, Seph Schlueter. I have purposefully used the Lyric video so that you can focus on the words! The words really made me gasp in wonder of God!



Seph Schlueter - Counting My Blessings (Lyric Video)

Now, take a look at this 4-minute video about the Mass as a form of worship. You may never see Mass in the same way again!



Why Catholic Worship Isn't Meant to Entertain You, but Transform Your Soul



Worship God by saying “Thank You” to Him for all that He does



A child knows how to say, ‘Thank you for my dinner, mum’! or ‘Thank you for reading me my bedtime story, dad!’.

So, it’s an easy step to encourage children to worship God by thanking Him for the beautiful universe that He has lavished upon us! It is worship because your child will be engaging with their Creator God, recognising Him as a real being who is superior to them. Doing this simple act of thanksgiving will help them fall in love with and appreciate God! Perhaps you could arrange for a visit to a farm, or the beach or to a nature resort and get them to take photos. This way their memories of God’s creation will be a bit more tangible.



During the day, make a time to stay still with your child in the open air and ask them to show you something that God created. At Nighttime prayers ask your child to thank God for what they saw in creation that day. You could also encourage them to bring the thing that they like to the family prayer-time and show you all what God has created and then thank Him for it. They might bring in a daisy from the garden or a plant in your flat or a live caterpillar! Expect to be surprised. Once everyone has thanked God for creation you could all sing this song together. The lyrics are below.



Lyrics: 

For the stars in the sky 

Birds that flutter and fly 

I am thankful, thankful 

For the leaves on the trees 

How they dance in the breeze 

I am thankful, thankful

With an attitude of gratitude 

For blessings, big and small 

I’ll show gratefulness and thankfulness 

As I praise the Lord of all 

Hallelujah 

Hallelujah 

I am thankful

For the bright shining light 

Of the Lord, Jesus Christ 

I am thankful, thankful 

For the life that he lived 

And the love that he gives 

I am thankful, thankful

With an attitude of gratitude 

For blessings, big and small 

I’ll show gratefulness and thankfulness 

As I praise the Lord of all 

Hallelujah 

Hallelujah 

I am thankful

I feel gladness every day 

When I pray 

With an attitude of gratitude 

For blessings, big and small 

I’ll show gratefulness and thankfulness 

As I praise the Lord of all 

Hallelujah 

Hallelujah 

I am thankful

I am thankful

My thoughts on nature as a child



Kids really like everything to do with nature from daisies to the moon! As a child, I used to love the forget-me-not flowers that we had in our back garden. The raised areas reminded me of the ‘Iced Gems’ biscuits that we sometimes had at parties. Can you see why I thought this?

As I grew up, I became more blown away by dramatic and beautiful skies, by blossom on trees - by so many things. They all seemed to flow into my being as I looked at them and their beauty sort of filled me up. It was like I was drinking the beauty in!

Adults Worshipping God



How will you worship God with your children during nighttime prayers? Which part of creation will you thank God for?



Worship in the Scriptures



The Psalms often remind us how much God cares for us. How He created us and gave us this amazing ‘playground of Earth’ to look after and to enjoy.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, 

the moon and the stars that you have established;

what are human beings that you are mindful of them,

mortals that you care for them? 

Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honour.

You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;

You put all things under their feet

Psalm 8:3-6 The Catholic Prayer Bible

Worship as a Middle-aged Woman

Now as a middle-aged woman, I can see that I must praise God for all this beauty and love that He has lavished on us.



Saying ‘Thank you’ to God out loud can feel strange if you have never done this before. Maybe you feel like you are back at school or at work doing a colleague bonding exercise! This used to be me. The more you do it, the easier it will become! And remember you are only doing this in front of your kids & spouse. Saying things out loud has its own power to make things real for humans who rely so much on their senses. Imagine if you said your wedding vows in your head only?! See what I mean?