CATHOLIC SCHOOLS’ WEEK – 24TH – 31ST JANUARY
Our Catholic Schools are communities of Faith and Resilience. The annual Mass for the schools of the diocese is unable to take place this year because of the lockdown. The theme for prayer each day of this week is as follows:
Monday: Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith and Resilience – Faith
Tuesday: Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith and Resilience – Community
Wednesday: Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith and Resilience – Love
Thursday: Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith and Resilience – Challenges
Friday: Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith and Resilience – Hope
Speaking to an audience gathered in Rome in 2017, Pope Francis offered advice on how to remain hopeful, “Where God has planted you, hope. Always hope. Believe in the existence of the loftiest and beautiful truths”. We pray for all our youth at this time. May God bless them.
Message from Archbishop Eamon
Archbishop Eamon Martin has recorded a video message for Catholic Schools Week 2021, which will be celebrated, amid Covid-19 restrictions, from Sunday 24th January to Sunday 31st January 2021 on the theme ‘Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith and Resilience’.
Archbishop Eamon has recorded the message directly speaking to students. He situates this into their lives coping with learning at home, family life in the pandemic and new school realities and learning situations. He thanks students and gives them his blessing for this year. This is available to view above.
During COVID 19 Schools are now used to working in class bubbles for safety. Any large gatherings are not safe and most schools are currently offering on-line learning. Our normal Diocesan Gatherings at the end of January are not feasible and for this reason we offer some resources and a prayer service that could be offered online so that this important point in the Catholic Schools Year can still be marked.
Resources
We have prepared a service using symbols for the KEY DAILY THEMES. Students might decorate these in colours and laminate them to suspend from a small tree at home or as a mobile using coat hangers. If you are a special school with children attending school in class bubbles you might suspend these from the trees we planted last year. Bishop Michael blessed these trees in Portadown last year.