Every person is called by God for a particular purpose, for a specific vocation within their life. God calls all of us to lead a holy and faithful life, but He may call some of us to find that holiness as a priest or as a religious brother or sister. Today we pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Let us pray: Father, You call all who believe in You to grow perfect in love by following in the footsteps of Christ your Son. May those whom You have chosen to serve You as religious provide by their way of life a convincing sign of your kingdom for the Church and the whole world. Amen.

School Prayer Lord, I thank you for bringing me to another day. May I live it completely for You, Through you, With You and in you. Amen

Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for Us.

John B Keane, author and playwright, was moved by the story of the crucified Christ on Calvary turning to the thief on the Cross beside him and telling the thief they would be together in paradise.  A note to his wife, Mary, concluded: imagine a man of the quality of Christ making a promise like that on his death cross. We know he is going to keep it. I’m sure Christ in his infinite forgiveness won’t keep anyone out of paradise”.

Let us pray.

Act of Contrition:  O my God, because You are so good, I am very sorry that I have sinned against You and with the help of Your grace I will not sin again.

Amen

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/nl/CardinalNewmanWebsite/faith-matters/

All school prayers are available in the “Faith” tab

On Monday September 19 at Motherwell Cathedral, twenty of our S6 pupils joined their peers from across the Diocese to participate in the Caritas Award Commissioning Mass.  Bishop Toal lead the celebrations and blessed the Caritas Award badges before they were presented to the candidates.  The Caritas Community gathered thereafter for refreshments in St Brides Hall.

Three of our pupils had roles in the liturgy, with wonderful singing and reading from Lucy, Anne Clare and Niamh. 

Tuesday 13th September 2016 – St John Chrysostom
Introduction
St John Chrysostom was Archbishop of Constantinople, the capital of the Roman/Byzantine empire (which is in modern day Turkey) in the 4th Century and is one of the Early Church Fathers. He was a great public speaker and was well known for his preaching, especially against the abuse of authority, both in the Church and in Civil matters. Chrysostom comes from the Greek meaning ‘golden-mouthed’.
Reflection
He said that happiness can only be found by looking inward and learning to enjoy what you have. How many of us continue to be obsessed with whatever it is that don’t have? How often do we look elsewhere for happiness in material possessions instead of inward at ourselves to see what we need?
Prayer.
For those who are searching,
That those who are seeking meaning and purpose for their lives may “come and see” and find in Christ the teacher for whom they search.
School Prayer
Lord, I thank you for bringing me to another day.
May I live it for You,
Through you,
With You and in you. Amen
Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for Us.

Today is the second day of Vocations awareness week when we pray for all those called to a vocation be it priesthood, religious life, diaconate, marriage and so on. The feast today of the Most Holy name of Mary commemorates the many privileges that God bestowed on Our Lady. She is the model of vocation and saying yes to God. What sort of qualities did our lady demonstrate in her vocation as a mother and wife and also as somebody who said yes to God.
Reflection
Let us pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, that more young men and women will have the courage to follow a call from God to serve in His Church and keep the example of Mary.
Prayer.
That many may respond to the Lord’s call building the kingdom and caring for the flock – married, single, religious, deacons and priests.
School Prayer
Lord, I thank you for bringing me to another day.
May I live it for You,
Through you,
With You and in you. Amen
Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for Us.

“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the underworld shall not prevail against it”. (Matthew 16:18)

There is an old saying that there is strength in numbers. To stand alone for a cause is hard, but to stand with a group gives us bravado, purpose and identity. Jesus knew that. He knew that His mission would be accomplished more easily if many individuals banded together as one body to give strength and support to one another.

Do I give active support to the faith communities of my school and parish, or is my involvement in name only?

School Prayer
Lord, I thank you for bringing me to another day.
May I live it completely for You,
Through you,
With You and in you. Amen

Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for Us.

Feast of St Anthony of Padua
“The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by darkness, light has arisen”. (Matthew 4:16)
When do you find yourself preferring darkness to the light of Christ? Can you make some changes to your life that will lead you to the light of Christ?

School Prayer

Lord, I thank you for bringing me to another day.
I live it completely for You,
Through you,
With You and in you. Amen
Our Father
Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for Us.

On Monday June 6, 1040 young people from across the country received the Pope Benedict XVI Caritas Award in recognition of their dedicated service to their school and faith communities.

Over 3000 pupils, teachers, parents and family members attended a special ceremony in the Glasgow Clyde Auditorium, where those who have been participating in the programme over the last year were presented with their award.

In a special greeting and Apostolic Blessing, Pope Francis urged the young people “to courageously witness to the love that God has for every individual person”.

Lord,
We give you thanks for our lives, our families and our
Education.
Help us to care for one another,
To help those who teach us and share in our struggles,
To be a living school community.
May we be given the strength to work hard, and the
maturity to love God fully.
We pray for the poor and suffering for those who suffer
Hardship through life.
May we realise how fortunate we are in all we have.
Watch over our community and keep us safe at all times.
Grant us the courage to follow Cardinal Newman our
Patron,
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Lord, I thank you for bringing me to another day.
I live it completely for You,
Through you,
With You and in you. Amen
Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for Us.

Tuesday, 31 May 2016      The Visitation of the BVM

Reflection:

In the gospel Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist, after the Annunciation.  Prompted by the Holy Spirit, Mary’s humble ‘yes’ to God led to her great song of joy, the Magnificat.  How can we approach our vocation with that same sense of trust and gladness?

Prayer: (The Magnificat) 

My soul glorifies the Lord,
My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.
He looks on his servant in her lowliness;
Henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

The Almighty works marvels for me.
Holy his name!
His mercy is from age to age,
on those who fear him.

He puts forth his arm in strength
And scatters the proud hearted.
He casts the mighty from their thrones
And raises the lowly.
He fills the starving with good things,
Sends the rich away empty.

He protects Israel, his servant,
remembering his mercy,
the mercy promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his sons for ever.

Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for Us.

We bring before the Lord those who have recently been baptised or confirmed – or who are about to be – that they may be true to themselves and may live their faith in a genuine and credible way.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Keep all our SQA candidates in your thoughts.

School Prayer
Lord, I thank you for bringing me to another day.
May I live it completely for You,
Through you,
With You and in you. Amen
Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for Us.

O Lord, from whom all good things come:
grant to us your humble servants,
that by your gifts of the Holy Spirit
we may be inspired to act and proclaim your gospel as the apostles did on the day of Pentecost.
We ask this through Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.

School Prayer

Lord, I thank you for bringing me to another day.
May I live it completely for You,
Through you,
With You and in you. Amen

Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for Us.

Reflection

This Eastertide all of us are called to experience the great joy of the Resurrection. A great way to do that is to imagine yourself with Mary outside the tomb of Jesus. And to try to experience the marvellous joy that flooded her whole being at the moment that she recognized Jesus. Try to recognise the importance of Jesus in your own life.

Prayer
Almighty God, who through your only‑begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life‑giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

School Prayer
Lord, I thank you for bringing me to another day.
May I live it completely for You,
Through you,
With You and in you. Amen
Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for Us.

Reflection
Think about the person that looks after you? Mum, Dad, Gran, Sister, etc. What do they do to make your life happy, healthy and peaceful that you don’t usually see them do it or even pay attention to them doing it? (making lunch, going to the shops, doing the laundry, smiling when you need encouragement, quizzing you on a spelling test). Now think about the things the Holy Spirit does for you to make your life peaceful, happy and healthy. Think today about how we can show God how thankful we are for the Holy Spirit and those who look after us.

Prayer
Jesus, our brother, thank you for loving us and calling us to follow you. Help us to listen to your Word and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and those who love us. IN your name we pray. Amen

School Prayer
Lord, I thank you for bringing me to another day.
I live it com
pletely for You,
Through you,
With You and in you. Amen
Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for Us.