Article on Tuesday Mass

Recently, the Sacred Heart of Mary Girl's school has introduced a Tuesday Mass into the school week. The Mass starts at 1pm on Tuesday lunchtimes in the new G block and is finished by 1.30pm. This gives the girls an opportunity to get some lunch and have a break. Priests are invited by the Chaplaincy team, to celebrate Mass each week and they come from all over the Diocese to be with us. This is a great opportunity for them to get to know us, but also for the girls to see priests from their parish and get to know more members of the clergy.

The purpose of the Mass is for students to relax in a peaceful and spiritual environment, enabling them to develop their faith and get involved with the school community. It also offers the chance for the girls to be creative, as the Chaplaincy team always need extra readers, ideas for Masses or simply with writing prayers.

Being a member of the school's chaplaincy team, I believe that mass on a Tuesday lunchtime is an important part of school life. I think that it is a good idea that pupils have the opportunity to attend mass at school, and that they can be independent in making the decision whether to be present or not. As a Catholic school, it is essential for the girls to openly praise and worship God in an environment where Mass can be fun and youthful. Listening to the word of God and taking the Eucharist is substantial in keeping our relationship with God as strong as possible. Sometimes our lives are so busy with work, extra-curricular activities, or even helping out in the house, that we do not always appreciate our faith. The Mass allows students to de-stress from their sometimes 'hectic' lifestyles, and I think that we are privileged to have been given the chance. I strongly recommend attending Tuesday lunchtime Mass...after all, we are a 'community of faith' that has been given a great opportunity.

Written by Rachel O’Flaherty, Year 10 Pupil Chaplain

Advent and Lent Reconciliation services

During Advent and Lent services were led to help everyone to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas and Easter. These were led from the front and included power points, prayers, readings from the Bible, demonstrations and the opportunity for individual confessions.

Priests from the surrounding areas and some friends from our neighbouring Diocese joined the day and gave of their time to make these services such a success. Staff and students took the opportunity to prepare themselves spiritually for the feasts we would be celebrating.

The general theme of these services was about God’s love and forgiveness. We took the opportunity to remind everyone that no matter how great the sin was, God will always be there for us, waiting for us to turn back to him and say sorry. The famous footprints reflection was used, as well as Timberland’s “apologise” which helped us to reflect on the fact that with God, it is NEVER too late to apologise.

Overall these services were a great success. Staff and students commented on the choice of materials used and how grateful they were for this opportunity. The general feel was that this was something we would like to do every year.

Sacred Heart would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people involved in making these times so special, but to also thank the girls for their openness and prayerfulness during the services.