Happy Christmas

The Community and Retreat Team at De La Salle Pastoral Centre would like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a Peaceful and Joyful 2011.  Thank you for your continued support! God bless.

Christmas Cards from St. Bride's

What a lovely surprise it was when the postman delivered a large envelope containing some beautiful Christmas cards created by the pupils of St. Bride's Primary school.  We were delighted by this thoughtful gesture, so thank you and a very happy Chistmas to all the Primary 7 pupils.

St Bride's Primary School

We had the Primary 7 classes from St. Bride's primary school in with us last week. They are preparing for their Confirmation in February and so their Retreat Day helped them to reflect on what Confirmation is and why we make it.  We explored this through discussion, games, art, meditation and prayer.  Below you can see some of the work that was done on the day and read about the things the young people chose to include in their Prayer Services and why???

Focus:

We did this to show that God created all of us and He created the whole world.

Music:
Shine by Take That:  because we all need to shine.
You've Got The Love by Florence and the Machine:  because God has the love and he wants us to love others.

Dear God,

Thank You for being there always

and for helping us when we need help.

Amen

Dear God,

Please help all the sick people to be cured

and help all the people in desperate need.

Amen

Dear God,

Thank You for all the things we have

like, food, water, homes and education.

Amen

Focus

Our focus represents our world and the colours represent religions.

The candle represents God's light and our own

The kites are our work today and our hands represent our light.

Shine by Take That: We chose this because we need to shine our light to people

You've Got a Friend in Me by Randy Newman: because we need to stay together, be friends and not leave anyone out.

Focus:

We used the sun because God is our light. We used the dove because it is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. We used a green cloth and a blue cloth to represent our world, which we are fortunate enough to live in. We used the candles to represent each one of us, because our light can make a difference in the world. we used the hands and kites to show how we can show love and friendship.

Music

You Raise Up by Westlife:  because this song is about strength and confirmation has the word "firm" in it which means strength.

Hero by Mariah Carey:  because you are a hero if you help someone or give them something.

Dear God,

Please help people in poor countries

who can't afford anything nice this Christmas.

Bless people whose families have been separated

because of wars and natural disasters.

Amen

Dear God,

Please help the homeless and the poor this Christmas.

May they get the support and the help they need.

Amen

Dear God,

Please help the sick people to get better,

to enjoy Christmas.

Bless their friends and families

and help them get through the sadness.

A special mention to my Grandad who is very ill in hospital.

Amen

Focus:

This is our candle of light.  The colours you see coming out of the flame are to unifiy the uniqueness of the world and the people who live in it.

Music:

Shine by Take That:  we picked this because the light shines through you always and the light will never fade.
You've Got the Love by Florence and the Machine:  we picked this because God is always with you. Even when you are on your own, you've always got the love inside

Dear God

Help us shine our light

and keep elderly people safe in these cold months.

Lord hear us

Dear God

Remember those who have died.

Help them in heaven, stop them being sad.

Lord hear us.

Dear God

Help all the people in poverty who can't afford vaccines, food, drink and proper homes.

Lord hear us.

Dear God

Help world leaders to make good decisions

especially for people who aren't as lucky as us.

Lord hear us

 

We wish all the Primary 7 pupils a very Happy Christmas and wish them well as they make their Confirmation in February.

St. Columbanus, Years 13 and 14

This focus represents the River of Life. The young people in year 14 had time to reflect on their lives thinking of significant people and the moments in their lives that have influenced who they are now. This was followed by a scripture meditation focusung on their future (Jeremiah 29:11)

The songs that were chosen by the Year 14 groups were:

Lean on Me - Glee Cast: to show that each one of us has God to lean on.
Don't Panic - Coldplay: to show that even in the midst of all of the doom and gloom in the world it is still a beautiful world and we can make it better for one another.
Beautiful Day - U2: Because we can make each day beautiful for each other.

The Scripture Readings that were chosen by the Year 14s were:
I know the plans I have for you: Jeremiah 29:11
The Good Samaritan: Luke 10:25-37

The Year 13 groups were reflecting on the things they value in life.  For their prayer service they chose the following...

Music
One Love - this is the love of God, coming together as a group and giving thanks and praise to the Lord.
I Will Follow Him - It's about the following of God

Scripture - The Lost Sheep

We have chosen this as it shows a asign of forgiveness and shows us that God is still looking for you even if you have wondered far from his faith. So it shows us that God will never give up on you.

We gathered all our prayers of intercession and thanksgiving offering these and all our needs to the care of God.

Music

Lean on Me - We chose this song because we are one year group, a unit. We are here for each other. We can "lean on" each other. We are all friends. We are a close year group and we love each other. These lyrics are meaningful to us. Also, it's a good song.

Castles in the Sky - we choose this because it is up-beat and cheery. The lyrics are meaningful to us. Why don't we make life realistic? We day dream and we get caught so much in our dreams that we are not in the present moment.

We wish all the students from St. Columbanus' College every blessing as they continue on life's journey. It was a pleasure to work with them.