Sirens are always met with prayer, loving hearts at St. Dominic

February 11, 2020

By Elizabeth Talbot

Every year during the first week of school, we go over procedures with our brand-new kindergarten students. One of our procedures that quickly becomes a habit for our little ones is to bow our heads and say a prayer when we hear a siren. Our school is across the street from a fire station, so we hear sirens quite often.

Sometimes we pray together aloud; sometimes we each say a silent, simple prayer in our heads. Usually, we ask God to help the emergency vehicle arrive safely to the person who needs the help as well as help the injured or sick to feel better soon.

Almost always, the siren will barely begin to wail when someone will shout out, “A siren!”

One recent Tuesday morning, we heard the order for “Lockdown” on the P.A. system, and my 5- and 6-year-olds sprang into action. Sadly, they know exactly what to do and how to huddle in corners throughout the classroom.

I had no idea what to tell the children, because in reality, I had no idea what was unfolding in our neighborhood. Then, the sirens came – they came loud and often – and my students knew exactly what to do: They bowed their heads and quietly prayed.

My little ones did not know for whom they were praying, but they knew that someone, somewhere needed help, so they prayed.
Even if I had known exactly what was happening, I would not have shared it with these young children. That was not my job; my job was to keep them safe.

In the safety of our beautifully Catholic school, we had the blessing and the privilege of praying.

I do not know what prayers the young children sent up to God that day, but I learned later from a fellow teacher that the older children offered prayers for the “bad guys.” They prayed for them to make better choices. They prayed for them to let God come into their hearts. They prayed for them to turn their lives around.

How beautiful and compassionate of these students! And how lucky are we, their teachers, to be able to pray with our students! We teach them that God is always here with us, no matter how big or how small our prayer is. He was here in the innocent kindergarten room as we prayed silently. He was here with the middle school students, who were old enough to know that their prayers were really needed.

God is good, all the time! All the time, God is good!

Elizabeth Talbot is a kindergarten teacher at St. Dominic School in New Orleans. Teachers may email reflections to [email protected].