As we continue through Lent, we try to take time to reflect on our lives and consider how we can help others. Pope Francis reminds us in his encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ that we need to work together to care for our common home. He reminds us of how Saint Francis of Assisi compared our common home to a sister with whom we share our life, and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us: “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs.
The girls have been busy writing Lenten promises based on this message and have considered the small steps they can take during Lent to help save and care for our planet. From reducing waste, to limiting their use of plastic and saving energy, the girls have written their Lenten promises on footsteps that are displayed all across the school. These footsteps represent following God’s path, and remind us each day to take small steps of change to help make a big difference to our planet.
Perhaps you can talk at home about how you can help care for our common home together as a family.
Ash Wednesday Mass and the Blessing of our Prayer Room – 6th March 2019
To mark the start of Lent, on Wednesday we came together to celebrate our Ash Wednesday Mass, led by Father Michael and a selection of girls across the different year groups.
As we received the blessed ashes, the girls reminded us that we are made by God, as is the earth and its dust, for life. These ashes were the palms of last Palm Sunday and, as such, they are also ashes of hope. We receive them to remind us that we are part of the creation of God.
Following the Mass, Father Michael and our year 6 faith leaders led us in a beautiful blessing of our prayer room. A selection of girls from each year group were able to share this special occasion from inside the prayer room itself, whilst the rest of the school community gathered in the hall. From here they were able to watch a live streaming of the blessing, ensuring that everyone could be a part of this wonderful event.
The prayer room is adorned with beautiful, heartfelt prayers, written by each girl in the school. The prayers spoke to God about a wide range of intentions: praising Him for the many wonderful things in our lives; thanking Him for the love we share with our families and friends; and asking for His guidance and assistance in helping us care for our common home, as Pope Francis has requested in his message of ‘Laudato Si’.
Our faith leaders reflected on how busy life can be at times, and how lucky they feel to have a special space in our school to retreat to; somewhere to be still, calm and reflective, and a place of sanctuary where we can listen and open our hearts to talk to God. May this be the beginning of many years to come for prayer and reflection in this blessed room. Thank you to all those involved in making this such a special occasion for our whole school community.
