Prayers and Art from St. Bride's

We had our first group of Primary 7s this year, from St. Bride's Primary School. They had a lovely day thinking of ways of letting their light shine! They certainly brightened up Monday for us on the team. Have a look at some of the ways they did that, below...

Dear God,


Please take care of all the people who have been caught up in the floods all over the world.
Help them to stay strong. Please make all the flooding go away so they can be happy.
Through Jesus Christ Our Lord.


Amen.

Dear God,

Please bring peace to the world and to stop people from suffering and help us to be more kind to others.

Amen.

Dear God,

Thank you God for helping me when I am going through hard times especially now when we have to do hard exams.
Thank you Lord for my family and friends also for the world around me.

Amen.

Dear God,

We pray for all the children at our school; help them to keep healthy and in good condition.
Help them to make friends, and guide newcomers to friendships.
We also pray for all the teachers and staff.

Amen.

Who is God?

In the year 11 retreat, we spend some time thinking about two questions...

Who is God?

and

What are the needs of the world?

Two vital questions!

Below are some of the thoughts of the lads from St. Mary's... everything from questions about how to believe, thoughts about the church, Christological statements and the word that sums it all up... Love!

Journeys with Jesus

In some of our groups, the students spend some time imagining going for a walk with Jesus, where they may meet some people along the way. The images, imaginations and impressions of the students of what Jesus looks like what he says and what t never fails to intrigue us... here's a few pictures and words that describe the fertile imaginations where people met Jesus, the everlasting companion who never ceases to surprise us.

Prayers from St. Mary's

Last Friday was our final day with the lads from St. Mary's - we had 8 classes, and it was a great stint with them... We were particularly impressed with their prayers - their awareness of the world around them, and the importance of friends to help us live well... great stuff lads! We'll look forward to seeing you again hopefully.

May the Lord help those who are laughed at or put under pressure because of their appearance.
Give them the strength and courage to put their appearance behind them and forget about what others think of them.
Amen.

Dear God,
We pray for the less fortunate in the world as they might have no rights or they could even be lonely.
Amen.

Dear God,
I pray for all the poor people in the world and that somebody would have the decency to help them. God give me the strength and courage to do my best to help their charities.
Amen.

St. Mary's Year 11

The boys from St. Mary's have been in with us again this week. We were talking about the world we live in and how we're all connected, which means we have a responsibility to each other. The boys wrote some great prayers for their Prayer Service.

Dear God
We pray for those who are discriminated against and for the people who feel they don’t belong in our society. We pray that they may be treated equally and be included in our society. We pray for those who don’t have friends and that we may extend our circle of friends to include these people.
Amen

Dear God
We ask that everyone in our society is accepted for who they are, and that race, religion, appearance, educational ability and background are not a factor in being accepted.
Amen


We also explored our thoughts about God.



Dear God,
Thank you for giving me hope and faith in others.
Keep me from judging others.
Let me be understanding toward them.
Amen

There were lots of questions about what God might look like, or be like.
Mystery was one of the words that came up when we were talking about God.
Lot's of people said they think of Light when they think of God!




Some of the other words the lads associated with God were...




Oh God,
I ask you to help us obtain the target we hunger for.
Let us have love.
Let us have friends.
Thank you, God.
Amen


Dear Lord
We pray for the sick people in the world.
May they get better.
We pray for the less well-off people.
Help them to get through the hard times in life.
Amen


Dear God,
Please help those who feel imprisoned by guilt, fear and sadness in their lives.
Help those who have lost control over their lives and give them hope for the future.
Give confidence to those who are fearful of others and let them feel free.
Amen


Dear God,
Thank you for our families and the place we live in.
Give us the faith and strength to deal with life.
Amen

And what better way to end our day together than this short but magnificent prayer of thanks.
Sometimes less is more!!

Dear God,
I am glad with the day you have given me.
Amen

St. Patrick's, Bearnageeha

Last week we had the boys from St. Patrick's Bearnageeha in the Centre. It was the first time we'd worked with St. Patrick's and we had a great week. We talked a lot about God and about love. We explored the scripture passage 1 Jn 4:16 "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."

God loves us all in His own way.
On my own I would think of my life and how good it is.
Deep down I know that I know a lot about Him.

Friendship was everything.
Understanding about God
Now I’m sad because I have to go.

Relaxing and taking it easy.
Everyone enjoyed themselves.
Love and peace resemble God.
Anytime you feel sad, pray!
eXamining your conscience.

We meditated on 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8.

Dear God,
Help me through every day.
Keep me far more than OK.
I love You God,
I might not show it,
But You and I will always know it.
Amen

Dear God,
Please help me to forgive those who have betrayed me or hurt me in any way.

Help me not to hate them forever.
Amen

Dear God,
Keep our loved-ones safe and well and also take good care of the older members of our families. Keep the people who have been taken from us safe.
Amen

Dear God,
Thank You for all my family and friends and for keeping them safe.
I ask you to look after them all through their lives and to keep them on the right track.
Amen

Dear God,
I’m asking You to take care of all the sick people in the world.
I ask You to help them and to give them a better life.
I thank You for making me and my family healthy.
Amen

Dear God,
I am praying for our wellbeing.
Make sure we are safe at all times.
Help us to look after each other.
Amen

Dear God,
Help our families’ and friends’ through thick and thin.
Help them through better and worse.
Bless all our friends and family members who are ill in hospital or are dying.
Thank You God,
Amen

Dear God,
Thank You for all the miracles You have done, transforming peoples’ lives for the better and giving them a better start in life. There is no-one else like You. When we need You, You are always there and for that I am so grateful.
Amen

This retreat has been fun.
In future I would return.

Maybe next year.
Even though I’ve already done it, it would be good to come back again.

And we'd love it if you could come back boys. It was great to work with you!

St. Rose's Year 9

Apologies for the delay in posting about the great week we had before the Mid-Term with the Year 9 girls from St. Rose's. We had some great discussions with them and they wrote some lovely prayers and reflections for the Prayer Service at the end of the days we spent with them (which you can read below.) Thank you girls for being such great groups to work with.

Dear Lord,
Thank You for creating me.
I’m grateful for all You have done for me.
I am grateful for all the things in my life,
especially my friends and family.
I’ve learned a lot, like;
not to take days and items for granted.
I’ve realised that Your love is everlasting.
Help me to feel Your presence,
and all of my deceased loved ones around me.
Come in glory and fix the world.
Amen


Dear God,
Thank You for this day as we have had a lot of fun and have learnt and learnt a lot about You.

Bless everyone and help them in their lives’.

Thank You for everyone who helped us today and have made this a day to remember.
Amen


Dear God,
We are thankful for all the fun we had today.
We have learnt a lot of new things about You and Jesus.
Thank you that we had this day out of school to do something fun.
Help all the people who need guidance and love.
Please take care of people who are in any sort of trouble and who need You in their lives.
Amen


Dear God,
We would like to thank You for the lives You have given us,

for the strength that will grow in us and for the love we all share.
We ask you to bless all our loved ones who are sick.
Give them the strength to fight it and grow stronger in themselves.
Amen

Dear God,
Help me and my friends and family through this year.
Help the poor people and those who need Your guidance and Your love.
Guide my Grandad through his hard life.
Amen

God is in us all when we rise and fall.
We discovered today that He loves us all in every way.
He made His Son by hand and sent Him to the Holy Land.
Jesus was very fine, He turned water into wine
He had 12 followers, well 11 in the end,
But to this day He calls Judas his friend.
He died for all our sins and that’s why we honour Him.

St. Mary's Year 11

We've been working once again with our neighbours, the lads from St. Mary's. As always the discussion has been great and our daily Prayer Service has been organised by the boys and has been a lovely way to end each day. During this retreat the boys have had the opportunity to do some glass painting (well, painting on acetate to be precise!) Enjoy the photos of their creations.
(More to follow in the coming week.)

A beautiful way to end our day!