Prayer and Liturgy
All that we do in school is centred on the person of Jesus Christ who is our Way, Truth and Life. We believe worship in our school, names and celebrates His presence in our lives and is an integral part of school life and central to the Catholic tradition.
Worship takes on many forms in our school but is always concerned with giving glory, honour, praise and thanks to God. It is our loving response, in word and action, to God’s invitation to enter into relationship, made possible through the work of Jesus Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer and liturgy are central to the Catholic life of the school
Prayer and Liturgy considers the religious and educational needs of all who share in it:
- Those who form part of the worshipping community in church;
- Those for whom school may be their first and only experience of church;
- Those from other Christian traditions – or none;
- Those from other faith backgrounds.
The Aims of Prayer and Liturgy
The prayerful experiences we provide our children aim to:
- to learn and cherish traditional Catholic prayers, for example, the sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, morning and evening prayers
- to know and be familiar and confident with responses in liturgy, including Mass
- to contemplate something of the mystery of God
- to reflect on spiritual and moral issues
- to develop a personal spirituality
- to explore and develop their own beliefs
- to respond to and celebrate life
- to experience a sense of belonging and develop community spirit
- to develop a common ethos and a sense of shared values
- to enrich religious experiences
- to reinforce positive attitudes
- to participate fully, to take time out, ‘to wonder at’ and ‘to come to terms with’ what prayer is.
At St. Paulinus, we foster and deepen the children’s personal relationship with God our Father daily in prayer. We do this by helping them become aware of God’s Presence in their lives and of His love for them by leading them to respond to Him in a manner suited to their age. This may be in one of the following ways:
- Listening – being attentive to the voice of God in every moment of life.
- Speaking – expressing our heart’s deepest longings and desires to the One who knows and understands us better than we know and understand ourselves.
- Reflecting – thinking about our relationship with God and others.
- Resting – simply being consciously in the presence of God, knowing that we are loved.
Pupil Leadership
Our Year Six House Chaplains are integral in the prayer life of our school. These role models work together to plan and deliver prayer opportunities, such as House Celebration of the Word. Fr Ferdinand has helped us with their formation.
Parish Prayer Links
Throughout the year, our pupils take part in prayer experiences that are led and guided by our Parish Priest and Parishioners. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place on a regular basis. When preparing for their First Holy Communion, pupils learn how to pray the Rosary. Whereas, candles blessed by Bishop Terry were decorated by a parishioner and a cloth and altar were made by parishioners for our new chapel area. We enjoy and greatly benefit from the expertise and passion of our Parish community.
