St Augustine's Catholic Primary School

Prayer and Liturgy at St Augustine's

Prayer and Liturgy is our response, in word and action, to God’s invitation to enter into a loving relationship with Him, made possible through the work of Jesus Christ and witness of the Holy Spirit.

At St Augustine’s School, Prayer and Liturgy is an integral part of the life of the school.  It celebrates God’s presence in our lives and is concerned with giving glory, honour, praise and thanks to God.  It gives children the opportunity to ‘Live the Faith’, as well as to learn from it. We gather as a community to listen to the teachings of the Faith, pray and reflect on our own lives.

In the Liturgical Year, every season or feast day has its own unique symbols and colour. These help us to explore and be involved in the mystery of the incarnation, birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We begin the Liturgical Year on the First Sunday of Advent, then move to Christmas, Ordinary Time, Lent, Triduum or Three Days, Easter, Pentecost and Ordinary Time again, finishing with the feast of Christ the King.

Together, guided by Christian values of humility, forgiveness, compassion, kindness, justice, integrity, peace and courage, we reflect on our place and purpose in the world. We share the calling to work for the Common Good, in the service of others. Every week, children from each class lead a Celebration of the word centred around one of our Gospel Values. This helps them to fully understand what it means to live this value and follow in Jesus’ footsteps.

Visio Divina – sacred seeing - is an ancient spiritual practice that involves reflecting on visual artwork and extending a prayerful invitation to the Holy Spirit to speak through the gift of art and visual expression. This reflective and prayerful practice motivates us to slow down and to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in a unique way.

Lectio Divina means "Divine Reading" in Latin. It involves scriptural reading, meditation, and prayer to promote communion with God and deepen knowledge of God's word.

Daily Devotion prayers are based on a reading from a book called Jesus is calling. There is a reading for each day of the year and it will share a small extract of scripture and then offer thoughts as if God were talking directly to you. For these prayers, the children are invited to complete a written response/drawing to the reading.

 Every week, children from each class lead a Celebration of the word centred around one of our Gospel Values. This helps them to fully understand what it means to live this value and follow in Jesus’ footsteps.

Celebration of the word is a time where we gather to centre minds and hearts, share a short reading, participate in a time of silent reflection, and go forth with an invitation to live out our collective mission.