St. James' Whiteabbey

We had a great day with the P7 class from St. James' in Whiteabbey today... it was cold, grey and wet outside, but it was warm, colourful and lively inside - they are a great class.

Reflection Poem:

Choose for yourself

Offer your heart

New beginning

Follow God's will

Include Everyone

Respect Yourself

Make each other feel good

Always trust God

Think before you act

It's not easy

Only keep trying

Never give up.

We also had six prayers, written by six different pupils...

Dear God,

Thank you for creating me, thank you for creating us.

We pray for our friends that they will always be there for us, no matter what.

Lord hear us.


Dear God,

We thank you for our families that feed us, water us and love us in each and eery way.

Lord help us to be grateful for our families.

Lord help us.

Dear God,

We pray for the sick that they may get better and that the doctors and nurses can help them.

Lord hear us.

Dear Lord,

Please help the people who are starving and I hope that they gain strength and that all souls go to heaven and all the people help each other and me too.

Lord hear us.

Dear God,

Please help the people in Haiti who were harmed by the earthquake and we also ask that the aid may reach them.

Please protect the people that bring aid to them and also help us totry and help in one way.

Lord hear us.

Dear God,

I thank you for all my friends.

I would be very lonely without them.

I also pray for us the P7 pupils that we may be happy in our new schools.
Lord hear us.

And we at the Centre would like to thank this class for making their retreat day such a great success. God Bless all of you as you prepare for the big committment that is Confirmation.

St. Kieran's, Poleglass

We had our 1st groups of 2010 last week from St. Kieran's Primary School. It was a lovely beginning to the new decade. The P7s are preparing for Confirmation and so we talked about how the Holy Spirit can work in us if we allow Him.

We made kites to represent the wind, which is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit.

We also thought of the ways that we show love in the world...

We thought they were a...

Here are some of the lovely prayers that were written for the prayer services:

Dear God,
In this prayer we think about the poor.
If you think about it, they have no home, no clothes and no food.
And I would like you to help me to be helpful to the poor.
And try raise money for clothes.
And food,
thank you.
Amen.

Dear God,
I am asking you to help homeless people.
They are very poor. They live on streets where it is very cold and wet.
I want you to help me to help them.
I want you to help the people that help the homeless people.
Amen.

Dear God,
Help the people who need friends.
The people whoneed friends are lonely and sometimes homeless.
St. Vincent de Paul could help the people who have no friends.
Amen.

Dear God,
Please bless all the people who got hit by the earthquake.
Lord help them to rebuild their lives.
Amen.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for this wonderful day which helped us with our confirmation.
Please guide us through our confirmation day
Lord hear us.

And we heard a prayer-poem too, written by one of the pupils for Christmas... (well done!)

I'd fill a box with all my love
and send it to Jesus up above
you died for us
to set us free
so this is a gift from me
I came today
just to say
happy birthday.
Amen.

Normally we end the day with a blessing, but P7s love singing, so they sang the blessing "May the Road Rise to Meet You." No better way to end the day...so may the Road Rise to Meet Us All!

St. Columbanus College, Bangor

In the week leading up to our Christmas holidays the weather was beginning to get cold and drab, but the atmosphere here in the Centre was warm and joyful thanks to the great spirit of the year 12s from St. Columbanus College, Bangor.

We talked a lot about Jesus being...

and how we can trust in Him in all the ups and downs of our lives...

We explored some of the big questions, like "Who are we?"

and who is God??

We took some time for...

So thank you to everyone who came and made it such a lovely week for us.

St.Bride's Continued...

We had a great week with all the P7s from St. Bride's. They were a great bunch of young people and we enjoyed hearing their opinions and their questions about their faith, as many of them prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation in February. They prepared such lovely Prayer Services for us on each of the four days and you'll see from the photos some of the lovely prayers and art work they produced.

One of the symbols of the Holy Spirit is the wind, so we made paper kites to symbolise how we can allow Holy Spirit to work in us!

Some Prayers...

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me the chance to be a Christian and please help me to do my best always. Amen.

Dear God,
Help me to be a good friend to others and to include everyone in games and to make others laugh and smile. Help us all to be kind to others, to always be welcoming and to try our best in school.
Lord hear us.

Dear Lord,
I speak to you, truly grateful for what you've done to me and my family and friends. You are truly a part of me and so is the Lord Jesus. You have been so helpful in life and i appreciate it.
Lord hear us!

Dear God,
Thank you for helping us in everything we do. Please help us in the future to be kind and sharing. Help us to love and respect you.
Lord hear us.