| Prayer Service for Catholic Schools Week |
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A Prayer Service for Le Chéile Schools to mark Catholic Schools Week 2012
This service may be edited to suit the needs of the school. Choose Hymns to begin and end the service. The Le Cheile hymn “New Beginnings” would be appropriate The following symbols may be carried in procession or arranged in an appropriate and visible way.
Introduction The theme for Catholic Schools Week this year is "Christ's Living Body Active in our World". It is a reminder to us that through our efforts to be faithful to the Gospel values that guide our school comunity we are making Christ present in our world. Ours is a school in the ......................... tradition (e.g. Dominican, De La Salle, Holy Faith). We acknowledge that we share in the rich heritage of our founder ...............who devoted her/his life to the work of education. We are happy to share in that heritage and to promote it through our belonging to the Le Chéile Schools Trust. In our prayer today let us reflect on the blessings we share and the challenges we face as we seek God’s help in becoming the best school we can be.
Opening Prayer Loving God We make this prayer through Christ our Lord
Scripture Reading: The Second Letter of St Paul to Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you, for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and of self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to our Lord. Rely on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy – not because of anything we ourselves have done but for his own purpose and by his own grace. Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me in the faith and love that is in Christ Jesus. With the help of the Holy Spirit look after that precious gift given to you in trust. This is the Word of the Lord. Psalm (sung)
Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus said to his disciples “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden and no one would light a lamp and put it under a bowl. A lamp is placed on a lamp stand where it can give light to everyone in the house. Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.” This is the Gospel of the Lord
Reflection: We need to hear from time to time that we are gifted. We need to be reminded because we can easily doubt ourselves or we can hold on to the negative things we have heard about ourselves and if we believe those voices either from within or without we are not going to do well. The readings we have just listened state two very important things. In one we are told that there is a gift of God within us – and that is a wonderful thing to hear. Even more so when we realise that the gift is a source of power. That power is the gift of the Spirit of God that lies within us. It is a power to do good, to recognise and use our talents in a way that makes our life creative and meaningful. However if the gift lies unwrapped, unopened, then it won’t be much use. In the other reading we are told that we are the light of the world. Jesus here is not only speaking to us as individuals but as a community. When we come together to share our gifts then we become a light to one another and to the world around us. When we reflect on what these readings mean for us a school community we realise that the offer us a very positive and hopeful message. We can be a source of power for one another, enabling each other to be the best we can be, we can be a light for our community reminding those around us that even though we are going through bad times now when we put our trust in God and our energy into supporting each other then a bright light shines that will help us overcome any darkness that threatens us. Today let us pray for the faith to believe that God is always with us, that we have been gifted with his power through the Holy Spirit and that together in our school community we are called to be a bright light that will help others to see the goodness of God.
Prayers of Intercession 1. For our school community
We pray today for all of us here gathered. May we always be open to receive your light and love so that our school can be a living example of faith in action. May we be true to the heritage of ……………………….(our founding congregation) and the inspiration of ………………….. (name of the founder) Lord Hear us 2. For Leadership We pray for the leaders of our country,our community and our Church. We pray especially for the leaders here in our own school community: our Board of Management, our Principal and Deputy Principal, our teachers and our student council. May they always make decisions based on justice and respect for the dignity of the human person. Lord Hear us
We pray for the work of the Le Chéile Schools Trust. May all the schools in the Trust benefit from sharing together their values and vision and continue making a rich and dynamic contribution to education in Ireland.
We pray today for those people who struggle to find God in the world around them, for those who find it hard to believe in the love that God has for us. Loving God, help them to feel the light of your guiding and comforting presence in their lives. Lord Hear us
Martin Luther King once said that everything which is done in the world is done by hope. There is much to be done in our world today. Loving God, help us to face the challenges and promises of the life which you have given us with resilience and courage. Lord Hear us
Concluding Prayer St Francis’ Prayer for Peace Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; For it is in giving that we receive;
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