Praying for Those in the Media:
an activity to use with students
Ask the students to think of one of their favorite celebrities. It could be an actor, singer, musician, dancer, tv show host, artist, comedian, famous chef… any celebrity they like and admire.
When we like a celebrity, we might follow their work, or follow them on social media. We might even try to meet them one day at a concert, conference, or convention… or get their picture if we see them in the street.
But have you ever thought about how you can pray for your celebrity?
Your favorite celebrity is a real person. A real person with likes and dislikes, with wonderful qualities and faults, with talents and limitations, with personal joys and struggles. Have you ever noticed or thought about what some of these might be? Have you ever brought these to God for them?
Even if you never meet your favorite celebrity, you are connected to them through prayer. You can lift them up to God, and intercede for them.
Hand every student a piece of colored paper and a writing utensil. Have each student write down the name of the celebrity that they wish to pray for today. It might be their favorite celebrity, or maybe it’s a celebrity that God is placing on their heart today for them to pray for.
Once the students have chosen a celebrity to pray for, have them write out a prayer for their celebrity. Encourage the students to include an element of thanksgiving (thanking God for the life, talent, inspiration, etc. of their chosen celebrity) and an element of petition (interceding for a particular need of this celebrity, or a hope that they have for their life, or asking that their celebrity come closer to God, etc.).
After students have written their prayer, provide them some time to pray with it quietly (1-2 minutes of silence). If strapped for time, pray an Our Father or Hail Mary on behalf of all the celebrities chosen, and encourage the students to pray their written prayer on their own at home. *
Challenge the students to take up this prayer as a novena: to pray their prayer for their chosen celebrity each day for a 9-day stretch.
*Help them to set a specific time when they will pray this prayer for their chosen celebrity.
© 2020, Pauline Center for Media Studies.
