Our School Prayer
St Joseph, Patron of our School,
you were always kind, polite and respectful to others.
Your faith and trust in God were a great example to us.
Each day you worked hard and well in your carpenter’s shop.
Help each one of us follow you by living up to our school motto of:
'Courtesy, Faith and Diligence.'
We ask this prayer through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Christian Meditation
You may have noticed that our school music plays every Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9:05 and then again at 9:15 am. This is to allow every class the opportunity to meditate. Christian Meditation is an ancient Christian prayer of stillness, silence and simplicity.
Meditation, in the Christian tradition, is often called the ‘Prayer of the Heart’, the pure prayer. The aim of Christian Meditation is to: allow God’s mysterious and silent presence within us to become more and more a reality in our lives….
Elements of Christian Meditation:
- A still and silent prayer of the heart, a pure prayer that uses a mantra to focus attention.
- A contemplative prayer – one that involves prolonged thought and attention.
- A place to meet God rather than to understand Him. The encounter is a knowledge of the heart, not one to be evaluated or assessed by individuals.
During the meditation period, we repeat in our minds, 'MA RA NA THA.' This comes from the Aramaic language and is translated as Come Lord.
The repetition of the mantra creates a little narrow path of silence that leads you through all the noise, distraction, agitation and turbulence of the mind.
How long can children meditate in silence?
As a general rule, we meditate for approximately the child’s age. 6 years = 6 minutes, 10 years = 10 minutes, adults : 20-30 minutes daily
Good posture is essential for meditation. We encourage straight back, hands in lap comfortable position, feet flat on the floor (if sitting) or legs crossed.
Fr Laurence is the current Director of The World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM), which is now present in more than a hundred and twenty countries. The WCCM has become known as a ‘monastery without walls,' in which he travels and teaches widely.
The WCCM App is available on Apple and Android.
Traditional Prayers
Traditional Prayers are taught from Kindergarten through to Year 6.
Traditional Prayers:
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with you.
Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death,
Amen.
The Lords Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.