Prayer
In its simplest form, prayer is defined as “talking to God.” It is a personal time of opening our hearts to our Heavenly Father and bringing everything in our hearts to Him. Through the Apostle Paul, God asked us to pray. Prayer can be a powerful force for change in our lives, and the importance of doing it on a daily basis should be instilled in our children.
Communication is the foundation for success in any relationship. When we communicate openly and freely with each other, we learn to know each other as individuals. This principle also applies to our relationship with God. By talking to God, we can learn more about who He is and what plan He has for us.
Please read on to see different examples of prayer at St. Teresa's.
Little Way Week
Saint Therese de Lisieux understood that not everyone can make grand gestures or give grand gifts. She compared this to flowers, realising that not everyone can be a beautiful rose or a blooming lily but that
the little wild flowers in the forests and fields were just
as important and that Jesus looked at them in exactly
the same way as any other flower.
Saint Therese knew that little acts of kindness done with great love would make a huge impact on someone and make a real difference to their day far more than one-off grand gestures or gifts.
During Little Way Week this year (2024) all the children in school took part in a reflection where they had to think about what little acts of kindness they could do for their family and friends during the coming weeks to make that difference to their lives. These little ways were written on petals for our new display of 'little flowers in the fields and the forests'.
One Million Children Pray the Rosary
On the 18th October 2024, all the children from Year 2 to Year 6 prayed a decade of the rosary at the same time in school. This was an international act of prayer in which children from all over the world joined together to pray for world peace. The children found it incredible to think that so many children would be united as one community praying for such an important cause and for something that is certainly needed in our world today. There was a wonderful calm atmosphere of reverence and respect whilst the children prayed the rosary
and we know that all these prayers will make an impact on leaders across the world and bring about the peace that everyone needs and wants.
Remembrance
Each year on the 11th November, or the closest date, the whole school joins together for a special Remembrance assembly. It is a time to spend time in prayer, praying for all those who have died and all families who have been affected by war in the past and present. The whole school family come together to prayer for peace across the world. This year, our Year 5 class family wrote reflective poems, with the following being performed to:
Christingle Service
Each year at the end of Term 2, our Year 6 class family lead the whole school in a Christingle service, ahead of our Christmas dinner.
Service in Honour of Mary
During May, the whole school comes together to honour Mary. the service is led by our Chaplaincy team.
Kintbury Retreat
Each year, our Year 5 class family spend 3 days away on a residential retreat. They spend time together as a class family whilst also reflecting on Advent.
Ash Wednesday
The season of Lent begins with a special Ash Wednesday service for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 children in school.
Lent prepares us for and points us towards Easter. It is a time when we think more about the Word of God and how we put this into action in our own lives. We increase our efforts to help others, particularly those worse off than ourselves, we take more time to pray and we might ‘give things up’ or look to others so that we can help and support those in need.
This year, the focus in school is on journeying through Lent. Children and staff throughout the school have been making Lenten Promises, written on footprints to symbolize
the journey. Lent promises have been focused on how:
- We can Look to God – When we pray to God, we get to know Him more and become closer to Him. We can tell Him anything that is in our minds. It is also important to listen and hear what He wants to tell us.
- We can Look to Ourselves - When we think about ourselves and how we behave, we can make good changes that help us get closer to God.
- We can Look to Others – When we reach out to others and help them, we are doing what Jesus did when He was on earth and so get closer to God.
Stations of the Cross
Each year during Lent, our Key Stage 2 class families each visit either St. Teresa's or St. Vincent's church to take part in praying the Stations of the Cross, led by Fr James.
Lent Prayer Stations
All classes visited the prayer stations and take time out of a busy school day to be still, calm and reflective. The prayer stations helped the children think about what they could give to others in Lent and they put their ideas in the 'Giving Back Bucket'. They also thought about how Jesus felt in the desert for 40 days and they said prayers for all those suffering in different ways across the world.
International Languages Day Mass
Each year in February, we celebrate International Languages Day with a special mass. At. St. Teresa's many of our children speak 2 languages. The mass celebrated us all being the 'People of God - one family'. As part of this mass we recorded the Our Father being said in different languages.
The video below is from our International Mass in 2021/2022.
