A Family Liturgy for Times of Fear

I write this as a fellow parent looking over the cliff of self-quarantining with my four children for the next two-to-six weeks. Coronavirus has captured the headlines and etched fear onto our collective imaginations. We are having some difficult conversations in my home while trying to take health precautions with a baby, a thumb-sucking three-year old, a six-year old who is constantly messing with her loose tooth, and an anxious eight-year old. With four young children and a husband who works in one of the largest hospitals in the nation, it is so easy for me to slip into panic. Thankfully, there has been a little prayer that has been popping into my head as my hands clean and sanitize our home, one my Mom equipped me with in middle school, a rendition of Saint Patrick’s Breastplate. Below you will find a few tools to bring some peace into your home and hearts, methods I have used with my children over the years. I hope they bless you.

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Read

Using either a children’s Bible or Genesis 41, read about Joseph. Remember, Joseph was separated from his family, sold into slavery, and wrongfully imprisoned. It would be understandable for Joseph to feel hopeless. And yet, the prison guards, the other prisoners, and eventually Pharaoh himself all recognized that Joseph was not filled with fear, but filled with the Spirit of God (Genesis 41:38).

For a summary and discussion guide for this passage, click here to download the Family Worship Guide for Times of Fear.

You may also use: Isaiah 43:1-7, Matthew 6:25-34, Romans 8:18-30

Pray

Act out each line of the prayer together. Sometimes, when our fear inhibits our faith, the intentional movement of our bodies can enliven the words we pray. Repetition and movement occupy our senses, breaking the perseveration of fear, allowing hope to instead fill us.

Saint Patrick’s Breastplate Adapted

Christ, be with me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ where I lie,

Christ where I sit,

Christ where I rise.

I am loved by God.

I am saved by Jesus.I am made strong in the Holy Spirit.

May your salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.

Amen.

Sing

It Is Well With My Soul by Horatio G. Spafford

Explore the verses together or just repeat the first verse and chorus together. For extra encouragement, take a moment to look up a brief description of Spafford’s life to see what inspired the lyrics of this hymn. Music can bring light to the darkest times. Where words themselves fail us, we may find God’s truth is still hidden in our hearts but set to a tune.

Bless

Place your hands on the head of your loved one as you pray over them. If they have been baptized, you may also want to trace the cross on their forehead with your thumb to remind them they are sealed and marked as Christ’s own forever.

Lord Jesus, you know every pain and anxiety, because you lived on this earth before us. Look on your child, ____________, in love, sending your Holy Spirit to bring him/her comfort, peace, strength, joy, and hope. Amen.

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And for you, reader, may you remember that you were not made to be marked by fear but anointed as heir to a Kingdom incorruptible. Remember whose mark you bear. May others see the undeniable presence of God’s Spirit in your life that is founded on hope.