Diocesan inspection report said:
Pupils’ response to the present school prayer opportunities is outstanding, in terms of willingness to participate and a real sense of engagement in the life of the Spirit.’
Our Mission at St. Mary’s
Learning to live out our calling with compassion and love.
‘Christ has no body on earth but ours; ours are the hands through which He heals; ours are His eyes, His feet, His lips; ours are the hearts through which He loves.’
As part of our calling to carry out God’s work on earth, we seek to draw our inspiration from periods of worship and reflection. These spiritual moments are essential to build the strength needed to carry out our vocation in today’s world.
Collective Worship refers not only to whole school gatherings but to those acts of worship which take place in a number of different settings and groupings of people in and around the school:
Assembly
An assembly is a gathering of people. Strictly speaking, it is not a religious activity and is a means of communicating information to a group of people.
We take part in weekly assemblies where we reflect on the Sunday Gospel. We each write a mission task to show how we are going to live out our calling in relation to the Gospel reading.
Prayer and Liturgy
Liturgy is the worship lived and practiced by the Church. Liturgy encompasses all of the seasonal elements of the Church’s year (The Liturgical Year), the structure of daily prayer, specific rites such as the Funeral Mass and the celebration of the Sacraments. For schools, Liturgy is worship which incorporates elements of the rites and rituals, signs and symbols of the Church.
We conduct weekly worships in each classroom, with themes selected and planned by the children. Look at some examples of these below…
Prayer and Liturgy Gallery
We follow the four part structure of:
Mass
For Catholics, the Mass is central to practice of the faith. At Mass, the Last Supper is remembered but also recreated. Bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ. This belief (transubstantiation) is what distinguishes us from many other Christians. This sacrament is above all others because as members of the Church, “We receive the Body of Christ and are increasingly being transformed into the Body of Christ.”
Prayer
Deepen a personal relationship with God, prayer will help the pupils to become aware of God’s presence in their lives and of His love for them, by leading them to respond to Him.
Prayer Bags
We recently launched our wonderful prayer bags for children to take home each week and share in meaningful prayer and liturgies with their families. We ask that families try to link their prayer session to either something close to their hearts or the Liturgical Seasons.
Prayer and Liturgy Guidance
Amazing Examples of Home Liturgies
Year 1
Somdolma and Dougie
Year 2
Florence and Jack
Year 3
Jathusa and Sydney
Year 4
Elizabeth and Mason
Year 5
Janetta and Jeevan
Year 6
Kezia and Gab
🙏 Epiphany Liturgy 🙏
Thank you to Elizabeth, Sam, Cameron and Zofia for leading our Epiphany themed liturgy today. Hearing the story of the Wise Men and how they travelled such a distance to see baby Jesus reminded us of how we need to continue on our journeys in faith – getting ever closer to Him. It was also interesting to contemplate what gift we would present the Lord with if we were to visit the stable.
#catholiclifestm #prayerandliturgystm #year6stm … See MoreSee Less
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Thank you to Thomas and Milosz who led us in our final Advent stay and pray on the theme of joy. Thank you to the parishioners, parents and teachers who joined us each week. #prayerandliturgystm … See MoreSee Less
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Bless them ❤️
That was lovely Boys. 🙏🙏
👏👏👏❤️❤️❤️
✝️ Gaudete Sunday Liturgy ✝️
Thank you to Year 6 who led us in a whole school liturgy today. We listened to John's Gospel which informed us of Jesus' coming and thought about how we should rejoice and prepare the way for Him this Advent.
"Someone is coming who is much greater than I. I am not even worthy to untie his sandals".
#prayerandliturgystm #year6stm … See MoreSee Less
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🕊️Thank you to Ann and Izzy for leading today’s liturgy in St Peter. The girls focused on the theme of peace and asked the children to decorate a peace themed bookmark to remember the theme throughout their day. 🕊️#prayerandliturgystm #year6stm … See MoreSee Less
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On Monday, to mark the feast of the Immaculate Conception, we all took part in a liturgy reflecting on how we can use the example of Mary to live out our vocation. #prayerandliturgystm … See MoreSee Less
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Thank you to Mine and Milan in Year 6 for leading our Stay and Pray so beautifully!
Just a reminder that next week’s Stay and Pray will take place on Thursday 19th due to our concert taking place at Holy Trinity on Tuesday 17th at 2pm.
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🙏🕯️Thank you to Michelle and Maria for leading St Peter’s liturgy this week. As their liturgy was during the first week of Advent, they focused on the theme of hope and asked the children to write something that they are hopeful for on a candle image and share it with their families. 🙏🕯️ #prayerandliturgystm #year6stm … See MoreSee Less
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🩷Thank you to Izzy and Ann for leaving St Peter’s liturgy last week. They focused on the theme of kindness and wanted to spread kindness – just like Jesus taught us. 🩷 #prayerandliturgystm #year6stm … See MoreSee Less
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Thank you to Urszula and Alna who led our liturgy this week. The theme was love and asked us to reflect upon the loving work of CAFOD and the writings of St John in the Gospel. #prayerandliturgystm … See MoreSee Less
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