Category: Chaplaincy

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How to share your faith…

Something that is always on my mind when creating lessons or retreats is how we link robust learning about the faith (Catechesis) with living and sharing our faith (Evangelisation).

In our lesson plenaries we often apply our learning by creating responses to critiques of Catholic teaching (Apologetics) and often reflect on ‘why is this Good News for the world?’ but I wanted to share some memorable bullet points for how to SHARE the Good News (Gospel) with those who have not encountered the Lord Jesus.

Use these points and add your own examples. This is called your ‘testimony’ and gives a witness to what God has done and is doing in your own life.

 

Find more info on our Prayer and Discipleship Page

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Tune in to God…

At the moment, our staggered break times make it difficult for us to gather for prayer. During this time, why not experiment with some of the apps that are recommended on our Discipleship Page…

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Holy Week Videos 2021

We have come to the holiest week of the year and it is so frustrating not being able to spend it together in learning and prayer.

It’s not much, but I have collected some videos for each day of Holy Week so that you can engage with each one more deeply.

Don’t forget:  Liturgy is not just remembering. The sacred liturgy makes the realities and events that we commemorate present to us. We don’t just remember Holy Week. We walk through it in real time. Churches are open. Book places if you can. Otherwise make definite plans of how you are going to pray through the days of the Triduum (Holy Thursday- Easter Sunday). None of us will forget about the eggs! Let’s make sure that we don’t forget about Our Lord and what he has done for us. 🙂

Holy Week

Palm Sunday 

Spy Wednesday 

Introduction to the Triduum 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ccc-nGGn0E

Holy Thursday

Good Friday

Easter Vigil 

Easter Sunday

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Solemnity of St Joseph

Happy Feast of St Joseph- a Solemnity, the highest grade of feast day. Be sure to relax your Lenten penances today and pray to St Joseph.

St Joseph is a role model to us all, and in a particular way to men and boys, showing us many virtues. Under the care of Our Lady and St Joseph, Our Lord Jesus grew in grace and wisdom before God and men. Similarly, if we devote ourselves to the maternal care of Mary and the paternal care of St Joseph, we to will grow in union with Jesus.

St Joseph is also patron of the Universal Church and Pope Francis has made this year a special Year of St Joseph.

Here are some devotions to St Joseph that you could use with your families today. May our families become increasingly like the Holy Family- cloisters of virtue, a domestic church centred around the Lord.

St Joseph, light of patriarchs, Pray for us!

St Joseph, glory of home life, Pray for us!

St Joseph, pillar of families, Pray for us!

Heart of Jesus, I adore thee,

Heart of Mary, I implore thee,

Heart of Joseph, pure and just,

In these three hearts I place my trust

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEhLN5QPsgA

Act of Consecration to St. Joseph

O dearest St. Joseph, I consecrate myself to your honor and give myself to you, that you may always be my father, my protector and my guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me a greater purity of heart and fervent love of the interior life. After your example may I do all my actions for the greater glory of God, in union with the Divine Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. O Blessed St. Joseph, pray for me, that I may share in the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

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The Grotto at St Dominic’s – A Focal Point for Faith

The Grotto at St Dominic’s – A Focal Point for Faith

The Grotto has been a gathering point at St Dominic’s for 5 years now but has grown significantly in importance since the presence of lockdowns. Since COVID hit in the UK in March 2020, places of worship have been closed and parishioners have been unable to gather as a community to practice their faith, so the Grotto has been a focal point for people to stay connected to their religion. The grotto has been a peaceful place for parishioners to safely visit in these times and provides an outlet to reflect, pray and seek the intercession of Mary. There is a serene atmosphere surrounded by plants and benches to allow people to sit and worship the statue of Our Lady. It allows people to feel secure in an environment surrounded by faith in a time when gathering in solidarity is exceedingly difficult.

 

The focal point of the Grotto is the statue of Our Lady, so anyone that comes to the grotto stops to worship and appreciate it. Many people visit every day, each with individual reasons. Some people visit the grotto whilst out a walk with family or friends and sit together to pray whilst adoring the statue of Mary. This gives people a holy destination to visit together and encourages families to take time out of their day to unite in faith. Others visit the grotto alone to pray the rosary at the foot of Mary, or to say their own prayers which hold importance to them. When asked about the impact of the availability of the grotto to people in these times, Fr Monaghan, Parish Priest of St Dominic’s, said “When people are unable to come to Mass the Grotto has become a focal point for prayer and also a mini pilgrimage place when people are out for their walks. People desire to be close to Jesus and by faith we know Mary takes us to her son, so they readily come to pray to Mary whom the Grotto is dedicated to.” It has been clear that the Grotto has encouraged people through these difficult times and the community have clearly appreciated and valued having a place to go to be close to God, whether they quickly stop and pray whilst passing by, or sit down and fully indulge in the serenity of the surrounding nature and presence of Mary.

In times of social distancing, face masks and staying at home, the feeling of solidarity is more difficult to find than ever, but also more important. Even though St Dominic’s church may not be open, the Grotto outside can give people a feeling of familiarity and consistency as it can be a place for people to visit daily, to remind them that although the world is full of uncertainty right now, God will always be constant in their life. Another aspect of the grotto that helps to achieve this feeling of unity, is the online devotions that Fr Monaghan leads from it.

Fr Monaghan has been leading online devotions from the Grotto which has helped to allow people to practice as a community and be together virtually to engage in prayer. This also means people can visit and appreciate the grotto without physically visiting it, if they are unable to for any reason. The online devotions are a new addition to the practice of the church but have been valuable and brought a more fruitful experience of the faith during these unprecedented times. Fr Monaghan has received a lot of positive feedback regarding the online devotions, “Parishioners tell me that when they get the message on their phones that there is a livestream they stop what they are doing and join in the prayers. It also gives a moment for the parishioners to greet each other online and in the messages.” This makes it evident that the people joining in the live streams appreciate the extra efforts of Fr Monaghan to keep the faith alive during the lockdowns and to make everyone feel like they are practicing together as a community united in faith, and also gives people hope that they will get to be together physically in church again one day.

 

Fr Monaghan offers different services online from the grotto, or from home if necessary, and people are eager to join in. He livestreams Mass which people can watch real time or can watch later on. He also leads a decade of the Rosary from the grotto which people can join in, a different mystery of the rosary is usually prayed each session to allow people to follow along easily and clearly, in the midst of their daily lockdown life. Other relevant prayers are often said too, such as prayers for the Faithful Departed. These devotions are often done on feast days, for example a rosary was led from the grotto on the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima. Fr Monaghan also added prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the month of June as this is the traditional devotion for this month. All of these different services contribute to the quality of the practice of faith from home, and each one brings parishioners closer to God.

Overall, the Grotto has kept people connected to their faith during these lockdowns and has provided a central area for people to dedicate their time for reflection and prayer in a time when maintaining a strong relationship with God is so important.

By Rachel and Rose, S6 Caritas Award

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Stations of the Cross 2021

Listen to a podcast of this blog post here. Stations of the Cross Blog 2021

 

When you think of Lent, often the first thought is ‘What have you given up!’ From our Lent 2021 post, you now know that fasting is part of a bigger plan of becoming holy.

Hopefully when you think of Lent, you also think of the Stations of the Cross. Prayed especially on Fridays during Lent (but not only then), the stations of the cross go all the way back to Our Lady, the Apostles and the early Christians who visited the various sites of Jesus’ suffering and death in order to pray and meditate on them. (St Alphonsus)

Over time, people began to travel to the Holy Land to visit them too. As this became more difficult, pictures of each stage of the account of Jesus’ suffering (passion) were set up closer to home so that people could visit the places in their soul without the physical traveling.

Image result for via dolorosa holy land photos

Eventually a set of 14 stations of the cross became a standard feature of Catholic church buildings and various sets of prayers have been written to help us to contemplate each one. This enables us to accompany Jesus as he suffers to bring about our salvation.

The stations of the cross are such a powerful prayer that the Church has given a special blessing attached to them called an indulgence. Where confession takes away the eternal consequences of sin, indulgences take away the temporal consequences of sin- making up to God what we have taken through our sins. We can even offer indulgences for others, especially the Holy Souls in purgatory!*Image result for catholic stations of the crfoss

 

To help you to pray the stations of the cross at home, I have put together a couple of options. (These are always on our Prayer and Discipleship page)

Praying the  Stations of the Cross (1) – A powerpoint that you can use as a family. (Click ‘notes’ at the bottom of each slide to see the prayers.)

Praying the Stations of the Cross (2) – A guided YouTube version with beautiful music.

If you find these a bit daunting, why not use the images in the PowerPoint to think about that station and just say a Haily Mary or Our Father.

 

*To gain indulgences we must fulfil the following conditions.

  1. Pray for the intentions of the Pope (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)
  2. Have a hatred for all our sins and desire to not sin again
  3. Receive Holy Communion within 8 days
  4. Go to confession within 8 days

It is not possible to receive Holy Communion when the churches are closed so we just place our trust in God who knows our situation and wants to bless us.

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Ash Wednesday 2021

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Holy Season of Lent. Because we are unable to be together we are happy to pass on two options for how you can mark this at home.

 

  1. Fr Monaghan will be live streaming Mass at 10am on his parish Facebook Page for you to pray along with if your timetable/schedule allows. This is a public page so you do not need a Facebook account to access the live stream.

 

  1. The Bishops of Scotland have authorised an Ash Wednesday liturgy that can be used in the home. This can be accessed here.

For more information on how to enter into Lent this year, see our recent blog post on Lent 2021

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Lent 2021

Listen to this blog post here- Lent 2021 Blog Post

My first thought on Lent 2021 is that lockdown 1 started during Lent 2020! It’s crazy to think that a year has gone by.

Over the centuries, Catholics have not only celebrated the faith in the Church and through the Liturgy. This is the high point of our prayer- the Mass is the ‘source and summit’ of the Christian life. Catholics, however, have also celebrated the faith in the home with prayers, recipes and parties! I have noticed even more of this spirit even among my non-Catholic neighbours this year.

Window decorations for significant days show that the religious instinct to celebrate what is important is still within us, even if we have not yet made it to the fullness of truth in the Catholic faith. Maybe this is also because, during times of trial, we all need to keep our spirits up!

Given all that we have gone through, we could fall into the trap of seeing Lent as a tedious trial that we just don’t need at the moment. Who is going to voluntarily do something difficult when so much else is going on?!

Let’s take a brief look at why this view would be missing the point and why Lent can be a time of refreshment and positivity!

Penance

During Lent we do penance. Penance is when we make satisfaction for our sins. When we go to confession we make a resolution to turn away from sin and turn back to God (Repentance) and our Penance makes this desire visible and puts it into practice.

From the beginning, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God,  sin has messed up our relationship with God, creation and others. So the Church gives us the antidote to each problem-

Prayer- Prayer reconnects us to God who is the source of love and peace. During Lent we make a special effort to take up some additional prayer, even something really small, and we become rooted in the one who made us, loved us, died and rose again for us.  (If you don’t pray much, how about a Hail Mary when you get up and when you go to bed? It’s a start 🙂 ) Image result for fulton sheen prayer and fasting

Fasting-Fasting disconnects us from our unhealthy attachment to material/created things. What are the things that I turn to instead of God? What are the things that take up so much time and attention that I neglect my duties or my family?

Almsgiving (Giving)– Giving to others teaches us to love our neighbour even when it costs us. We all like to help people who help us, but this can be a bit selfish. What about showing love to those who may not give anything in return. You could give to charity, give money, give your time…Pray about it and see what God sends your way.

In conclusion, Lent provides us with an opportunity to disconnect from the things that give us a short term happiness and reconnect to God who is our ultimate joy.

In RE, young people will be learning about the significance of 40 days in the Bible- always a period of purification, turning to God and getting rid of the baggage that weighs us down.

Someone who is getting fit has a goal and they use their will power to turn away from unhealthy food and turn towards exercise, we have the goal of realising our spiritual potential- holiness, sainthood. Penance isn’t a negative thing, it is just like getting fit but for our soul.

At the end of our 40 days of purification and conversion we will be ready to contemplate the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus who emptied himself for love of us and calls us to love him in return.

 

Lent Resources

Ash Wednesday Service for use at home

Resources for prayer and growing in the faith

 

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Advent Learning and Teaching in RE

Advent is one of my favourite seasons of the Church year and every year I discover new layers of meaning in the prophecies of the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the New Testament. There are also so many beautiful ways that the liturgy and devotions unwrap the layers of the greatest gift ever given.

This year is the first that all of the BGE classes have all been engaging with our brand new courses.

S1 started by studying life in Palestine at the time of Jesus’ birth and its place in salvation history or ‘God’s Timeline’. By applying their literacy and Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), pupils engaged with a variety of Biblical and video resources to gradually build up a picture of the political, cultural and religious climate for the people of God at that time. S1 had a good idea of what God’s people were expecting from the Messiah and began to think about how Jesus fulfilled this.

S1 then went on to explore ways in which we practice our faith in Advent, dividing the learning into ‘Liturgy’ and ‘Devotions.’

S2 built on what they learned last year by studying the Old Testament prophets in the last part of November. They worked in groups to track God’s Timeline, analysing the messages of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Amos. They saw that God is always faithful despite his people’s infidelity ad recognised the promise of the Messiah, the rescuer.

S2 continued to work in their groups through December to explore the clues of what the Messiah- The Anointed One- would be like. They studied the figures of the Old Testament who were anointed- Priests, Prophets and Kings and began to explore how Jesus would be the ultimate priest, prophet and king.

S2 concluded their study by analysing the O Antiphons and selecting ones that complemented their learning. Sadly, we could not sing them this year but maybe next year’s S2 will get a chance!

S3 expanded their prior learning by exploring the concept of Covenant in more depth. Applying their HOTS, pupils engaged with Biblical texts to identify the Covenant characteristics that they had learned. Again, by tracking salvation history and the development of the covenant through Noah, Abraham and Moses, young people then drew conclusions about the New and Eternal Covenant that Jesus was going to institute.

Image

Unusually, S4 were in school for lots more of Advent this year due to the Absence of prelims. They followed the first episode of Word on Fire’s Catholicism series, deepening their understanding of the role of the Messiah and the paradoxical way in which God chose to rescue his people.

Advent Adoration

In harmony with the curriculum, our chaplaincy programme offered opportunities for prayer and meditation on our need for the coming of Jesus in our own lives and in the world. This was most powerfully evident in our Advent Adoration on Monday lunchtimes- the Advent of Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament at the heart of our school.

Prayers and Devotions

In place of Mass, which is not possible at this time, pupils and staff joined in morning prayers, novenas and other devotions. An adapted version of our Bearing Gifts retreat was undertaken for each class, reflecting on the Annunciation, the poem ‘In the bleak midwinter’ by Christina Rosetti and ending with the Angelus.

What can I give him poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part, yet, what I have I give him,

Give my heart.

Family Learning

Advent is a season that is very rich in liturgy ad devotions and so our families were provided with a one-stop-shop for living Advent in the home. This blog post featured prayers, crafts, recipes and even playlists of traditional and modern Advent music!

Advent Service

On the last day of term we joined for an Advent Service on Teams in which we reflected on the promise of the Messiah, his Advent to us in the present and our readiness for his coming in glory at the end of the world.

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