Prayer & Reflections
Together, Be the Open Arms of Jesus
Dear Children, Guardians and Parents,
Thank you for being a part of our Online Learning From Home Digital Space. Here, you will find a space for prayers and reflections to share and engage with your children and families during school closure. These prayers and reflections are aligned with the Renewed Religious Education Curriculum and Horizons of Hope documents from Catholic Education Melbourne, whilst keeping the children's diverse learning needs at the forefront during this time.
This is a great opportunity for you to engage in your child/children's learning and spend quality time with each other during these unprecedented circumstances where you can share some prayer time together.
Thank you for working in partnership with us to support your child/children's learning needs.
You and your families are in our thoughts and we pray that you remain strong and safe during this time.
Warmest regards,
The Staff from St Paul the Apostle, Doreen
Creating a Space for Prayer and Reflection
Why is it important to create a space for reflection and Prayer??
Taking some time for yourself or for your family is often not a priority but is needed, especially in our busy lives. Creating a space that you or your family can go to and take some time, can help.
Here is an opportunity for you to create a space somewhere either inside the home or outside the home. This can be space for quiet time, prayer and reflection. It does not need too much - maybe just some symbols and quiet music or a quiet space.
Symbols and their meaning.
Candle - The candle symbolises light of life especially individual life. It is the symbol of the spirit. The candle can represent Christ as the light.
Symbols and their meaning
The Cross - The Cross signifies Catholicism. It is the salvation of Jesus through the sacrifices he made for us as Catholics. This symbolises our commitment to our faith. Jesus died on the cross for us to give us hope. Hope for the life we have and the life we leave.
September 8 - The Feast of the Nativity of Mary
On September 8, we celebrate the feast day of the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus. It is our custom as Catholics that we usually have feast days to celebrate the death of a saint. However, we celebrate the birth of Mary as she symbolises everlasting happiness.
Hail Mary.movHail Mary
Here is one of marvellous senior student, Esther Wena reciting the Hail Mary Prayer.
Please join her as we celebrate Mary, our Mother.
Father's Day Special Person in our Life ReflectionFather's Day Reflection
For all the Father Figures in our lives, here is a special Father's Day Reflection to share with loved ones.
Fr Martin's Ordination
We are so proud and excited of the joyous celebration, Fr Martin Ashe, along with Monsignor Tony Ireland, was ordained a bishop on July 31. It is a wonderful occasion for our school and Parish that our Parish Priest Fr Martin was ordained as a Bishop. Despite severe restrictions on numbers, a few parishioners were able to attend. Please enjoy this clip of the Ordination.
Ordained Bishops
Congratulations Bishop Martin and Bishop Ireland. A wonderful photo of three of our Bishops, Bishop Terry Curtin, Bishop Martin Ashe, Bishop Tony Ireland and Archbishop Peter Comensoli.
MAB Class Prayer
All levels created their own class prayers or level prayers earlier in the year. We share our prayers together every morning before we begin our day. We would like to share this with our school community
RAINBOWS
What connections can you make with our school theme of 'Together be the Open Arms of Jesus'.
Make a list of some of the connections on a sheet of paper. You may like to create some actions to go with the song. You may to choose to film yourself showing these actions (with parent permission).
You may like to draw a rainbow and place it in a window where your neighbours and friends can see as they walk past your house. Write a message to go with the picture,
Andre Tutto Bene
At this time when we may need a little prayer to help us in a time of need. Sometimes we need a reminder of the power of prayer and a time for remembering that you are never alone - Andra Tutto Bene (It will be ok). Together we can achieve anything.
Scroll through the Prayers and Reflections (below) every day to choose a prayer for
A quiet Personal Prayer
For you to lead a Shared Family Prayer
Rewrite your own prayer based on reflection
Draw a picture that symbolises the prayer or reflection
Dedicate the prayer that you are reading as a Special Intention' prayer fro someone you love or someone in need
Rewrite your prayer in your diary
ANZAC Day
Listen to the song on the video 'My Hands Belong to You Lord'
What connections can you make with our school theme of 'Be the Hands Heart and Voice of Jesus'
Make a list of five connections on a sheet of paper and create some hand actions to go with the song. You may to choose to film yourself showing these actions (with parent permission
Sorry Day - Tuesday 26 May
National Sorry Day is held on 26 May each year to acknowledge and recognise members of the Stolen Generations.
National Sorry Day is important to Australia’s First Peoples because it is used it to remember and recognise our Stolen Generations. Most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been affected either directly or indirectly by this terrible part of our history. It is a movement towards turning the hurt from the past into something positive for the Indigenous community and for future generations. Our government along with the Indigenous Community said 'sorry' to our Indigenous community on February 13, 2008 for the wrongs that they did. A National Sorry Day is celebrated each year. It is a positive contribution to the healing journey, just as the the Prime Minister said sorry, a national Apology on February 13, 2008.
Please watch 'The Apology' by the then Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd.
National Reconciliation Week May 27 - 3 June
This year Reconciliation Australia marks twenty years of shaping Australia’s journey towards a more just, equitable and reconciled nation. A lot has happened since the early days of the people’s movement for reconciliation, including greater acknowledgement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights to land and sea; understanding of the impact of government policies; and an embracing of stories of Indigenous success and contribution.
2020 also marks the twentieth anniversary of the reconciliation walks of 2000, when people came together to walk on bridges and roads across the nation and show their support for a more reconciled Australia. As always, we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and Australians now benefit from the efforts and contributions of people committed to reconciliation in the past. Today we work together to further that national journey towards a fully reconciled country.
Family Week 2020
Building Connections in the Spirit of Hope
Family Week is an opportunity for families and school communities to engage in special prayer, reflection, discussion and activities relating to the most important institution – the family. Catholic Care promotes Family Week, which is celebrated each year with the aim of strengthening families and communities. This year it runs from 15 to 21 May and coincides with the United Nations International Day of Families, which has been held on 15 May each year since 1995.
Family Week this year comes during one of the most challenging global health and social crises. The COVID-19 pandemic brings into sharp focus the importance of families, as it is families who bear the brunt of the crisis – sheltering their members from harm, caring for school children who are learning from home, and at the same time continuing their work responsibilities.
This year’s Family Week theme is ‘Building Connections in the Spirit of Hope’, and hope is a powerful idea. It has a focus of providing hope for families, while building the rich, broad and meaningful connections that promote resilience in families and the community.
The Catholic Church seeks to support and encourage every family to become a community of life and love.
Family Week is supported by CatholicCare, the social welfare agency of both the Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Diocese of Sale. Activities and resources are available from the CatholicCare website for use at home and at school to help children, young people and their families come together, build on their connections and celebrate the role of family.