Year of Prayer
This year, Pope Francis has designated 2024 as the Year of Prayer, in preparation for the Jubilee year in 2025. The focus is a year for prayer, rather than about prayer, where we will deepen our understanding of our own prayer life and spend time with God.
Throughout the year, children will be participating in a range of prayer opportunities to encourage them to reflect on what we pray, how we pray and why we pray.
“Prayer unites us; it makes us brothers and sisters. It is in prayer that our hearts find the strength not to be cold and insensitive in the face of injustice. In prayer, God keeps calling us, opening our hearts to charity”. Pope FrancisDuring this year of prayer, the Pope has specifically asked us to focus on the 'Our Father', as this is the prayer Jesus taught us. We have been praying the Our Father in our assemblies and in class. The children have been given the opportunity to learn this special prayer in other languages as well. |
To mark the importance of prayer and the relationship between home and school, we organised the following...
Travelling Crib
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The children bring home a nativity set during November and December to share with their families. They are asked to pray with their families around the crib, to remember the journey of the Holy Family and to pray for the families of the children in their class.
In 1223, at Greccio in Italy, St Francis of Assisi gave us the crib as a reminder of the beauty of the first Christmas Night. He used real people and animals in his first crib which he set up in the cave where he was living. He invited people to bring their donkeys, sheep and oxen. He asked people to be the different characters and so a crib was set up just as there had been in Bethlehem. They then celebrated midnight Mass together to welcome in Christmas Day.
Ever since then many people have placed cribs in their homes and most churches have a crib. The crib can be used as a wonderful focus for prayer either at home or in the church during this time of year. A simple place, usually a safe shelter for animals and storage for goods, fit for the birth of the Son of God.
The great lesson we learn from the crib is that the Good News is for all people, not just the rich, the powerful, the strong, nor the poor, the weak, the powerless but for all people. Everyone was welcome at the crib; everyone is welcome in to the presence of God.
Travelling Stations of the Cross
During Lent KS2 classes share a travelling Stations of the Cross. Each bag contains the stations of the cross book, a cross and an LED candle. All instructions are contained in the bag. Children pray with their families the Stations of the Cross. This is a wonderful opportunity for families to pray together and reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made for us all.
It is lovely to hear the children noticing the different stations of the cross in church therefore linking home, parish and school life together.
Travelling Rosary
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During May, all the children throughout the school had the opportunity to pray together with their families when they brought home the travelling rosary bags. The children had the opportunity to pray with Our Lady. The children also had the opportunity to pray collectively as a class in the prayer garden at school. As part of our Marion Celebration for the Year of Prayer we commissioned a special grotto in her honour. It is at the entrance to the school, so parents can take a moment of prayer should they wish.
St Edmund's Remembrance Wall
During this Year of Prayer, we created a remembrance wall in the Prayer garden for those members of our school community who have returned to God.
This is a way to remember the contribution of those individuals to our school community, as well as encouraging the children to pray for departed souls.
The Rainbow groups have found this space a great source of comfort and as a school community, we have also used it at times of remembrance.
