More than a million children to pray the Rosary for peace
Amy Balog ICN Article from Daily ICN Newsletter
Sep 18th, 2024
A Catholic charity is hoping to exceed last year’s milestone of more than a million children joining a campaign to pray the Rosary for peace in the world’s conflict zones.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is holding its ‘One Million Children Praying the Rosary’ initiative for the 19th year in a row today (Wednesday, 18th September).
ACN (UK) National Director Caroline Hull said that the charity is “hoping to surpass last year’s record of 1,039,628 children praying the Rosary for peace around the world”.
She added: “We would like to invite all our friends and benefactors here in the UK and beyond to encourage all the children they know to join this powerful initiative inspired by Our Lady of Fatima.”
This year’s motto – “Pray the Rosary and there will be peace” – places at the centre of the campaign the request made by Our Lady of Fatima in 1917.
Through this initiative, ACN is also participating in the ‘Symphony of Prayers’ campaign, which Pope Francis called for on the occasion of the 2024 Year of Prayer – and which also paves the way for the 2025 Jubilee Year.
In a statement, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, ACN (International) President, and Father Anton Lässer, ACN (International) Ecclesiastical Assistant, wrote that everyone should “apply strength and imagination, so that in as many places as possible prayer meetings can take place…
“Go to children’s groups, schools, prayer groups, radio and television, digital platforms, social media… and win over your own children and grandchildren for the prayer of the Rosary.”
The target of a million children praying the Rosary for peace was reached for the first time on 18th September last year.
The ‘One Million Children Praying the Rosary’ campaign has taken place every year on 18th September since first being organised in Caracas, Venezuela in 2005.
There is free material – including colouring pictures for children and more information about the campaign – available online for those looking to help encourage their parishes, schools, children’s groups and families to join the initiative.
The Relics of St Bernadette are coming to Ireland for the first time These are being taken from Diocese to Diocese and schools may wish to organise a class visit.
ICN today had this report this morning
The Relics of St Bernadette of Lourdes are being brought on their first-ever visit to Ireland this week. Bishop Kevin Doran, Bishop of Elphin and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Achonry and President of the United Irish Pilgrimages to Lourdes, said: “We hope that many people will be able to share in the blessings of the Pilgrimage, by gathering to pray with Saint Bernadette in cities and towns across the country.” The International Marian Shrine at Lourdes has always had a special place in the hearts of Irish people. Countless Irish pilgrims have made the journey to the shrine for the last 166 years since the apparitions of Our Lady to Saint Bernadette in 1858. This year the people of Ireland will have the opportunity to welcome the spirit of Lourdes and Saint Bernadette to a local church in their own home diocese.
Tomorrow, 3 September, a special ceremony will be held at the grotto in Lourdes, where the holy relics of Saint Bernadette will be entrusted to Bishop Kevin Doran who, along with parishioners of the Diocese of Elphin, is currently on pilgrimage in Lourdes. The Elphin Pilgrimage will bring the relics home with them to begin the pilgrimage around Ireland, beginning in Galway Cathedral on 5 September.
Bishop Doran said: “There is a well established tradition of people bringing religious objects home from Lourdes, to share with family members and friends. This year, we have the unique privilege of bringing home the relics of Saint Bernadette, as we fly back into Knock Airport after the Elphin Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes. Many people are unable to travel on pilgrimage to Lourdes, but this year Lourdes will come to them, as the Relics of Saint Bernadette make their way around Ireland. We hope that many people will be able to share in the blessings of the Pilgrimage, by gathering to pray with Saint Bernadette in cities and towns across the country.”
During September and October the relics of Saint Bernadette will journey on pilgrimage – for the very first time – to each of the 26 dioceses on the island of Ireland. This very special, once-in-life-time, opportunity will enable people of all ages experience the special gifts and charisms of Lourdes in their local diocese, and to share the grace of an encounter with Mary as Bernadette experienced it. By venerating the relics, people of faith can encounter peace and joy of heart and become credible and courageous witnesses of love.
The relics will visit cathedrals and churches in every diocese, north and south. The full programme can be found on the dedicated website here.
Welcoming the visit of the relics, Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin said: “The pilgrimage around Ireland of Saint Bernadette’s relics will be a source of hope, great joy and inspiration, especially for the many people of Ireland who have traveled to Lourdes over the years and for the dedicated groups across the island who work all year round to plan pilgrimages at parish and diocesan level. Of course Lourdes is synonymous with care and love for sick and disabled persons and it is a special sanctuary for those who struggle with worries or decisions of one kind or another.” Father Gerard Fox, Pilgrimage Director for the Diocese of Down & Connor, and member of the steering group who collaborated with the Sanctuary of Lourdes to arrange the visit said, “This is a unique opportunity for those of us engaged in bringing pilgrimages to Lourdes, to bring the message and a little ‘taste’ of Lourdes to local communities. Saint Bernadette understood her role as a messenger of Mary’s message, now she brings that message to the Church community in Ireland.”
During their visit, there will be opportunities to venerate the relics privately as well as by participating in liturgies reminiscent of the Lourdes’ pilgrimage experience. The intention is to bring Lourdes to the faithful, especially those who may not have the ability to go to Lourdes in person. It is in the music, prayer, processions and gestures that this unique spirit will be shared.
Speaking today Archbishop Eamon said “Saint Bernadette once wrote: ‘One who loves does not notice her trials; or perhaps more accurately, she is able to love them. I shall do everything for Heaven, my true home. There I shall find my Mother in all the splendour of her glory. I shall delight with her in the joy of Jesus himself in perfect safety.’
“Together with my brother Bishops in Ireland, I look forward to welcoming the relics of Saint Bernadette to all parts of the island. I encourage you to take the opportunity to encounter the beautiful and inspiring person that Saint Bernadette was and to hear the powerful message she was able to convey to the world from Our Lady.
“Please pray also that many gifts and graces will be granted during this pilgrimage,” Archbishop Martin said.
Vatican publishes theme for 2025 World Day of Peace
Aug 10th, 2024 source ICN Teachers please note for January 2025
Source: Vatican Media
The theme chosen by the Holy Father for the World Day of Peace for 2025 is “Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace”, corresponding to “the biblical and ecclesial understanding of the Jubilee Year”.
“Only from a genuine conversion on all levels – personal, local and international – will true peace be able to flourish,” says the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in its statement on the theme for the Day.
The Dicastery adds that peace comes not only from an end to conflicts, “but also in a new reality in which wounds are healed and each person’s dignity is recognized”.
The World Day of Peace is observed each year on January 1, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Since its establishment in 1967 by Pope St Paul VI, the Popes have taken the occasion to offer magisterial reflections in Messages for the day, dealing with topics such as the United Nations, human rights, diplomacy, and economic development.
In its statement, the Dicastery says the theme is inspired by Pope Francis’s encyclical letters Laudato sí and Fratelli tutti, “and above all by the concepts of Hope and Forgiveness, which are at the heart of the Jubilee, a time for conversion that calls us not to condemn, but instead to bring about reconciliation and peace.”
The Dicastery goes on to note by “considering the reality of conflicts and social sins afflicting humanity today in light of the hope inherent in the Jubilee tradition of the forgiveness of sins and the cancellation of debts, together with the reflections of the Fathers of the Church in this regard, concrete principles emerge that can lead to a much needed spiritual, social, economic, ecological and cultural change.”
Season of Creation 2024: ‘To hope and act with Creation’
Ellen Teague In ICN Daily News
From 1 September (World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation) to 4 October (Feast of St Francis of Assisi), Christians around the world will celebrate the Season of Creation. The theme this year is: ‘To hope and act with Creation.’
Catholics are encouraged to organise prayer and practical initiatives to combat the environmental crisis facing our common home. This “time for creation” offers, in the words of Pope Francis, “individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation.”
The Season of Creation website has a wide variety of resources for individuals, groups and parishes which can be accessed for free. The materials available include a Celebration Guide that contains numerous ideas for activities such as prayer services, ecumenical pilgrimages and walks, or organising educational and sustainability activities. Other materials include liturgical resources for various denominations, including prayers and hymns.
This 2024 season, Christian voices are urged to support a joint advocacy initiative on 21 September promoting the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty which calls for a halt to new fossil fuel projects.
A live prayer service will be available on the website on 1 September.
‘Peace, Love and Climate Justice’
Green Christian
A new pack for churches from Green Christian. It is offered to help explore Christian responses to the global climate and environmental crisis. Focusing on the Great Commandments in Mark 12:30-31, it asks questions that connect peace, love and justice.
DVD – Stations of the Forests Columban JPIC An audio-visual lamenting the devastation of rainforests and tribal people. A Resource Booklet provides agendas and reflections for meetings.£7 inclusive of p&p from vocforjus@aol.com or download from: www.columbans.co.uk/resources/dvd-video/stations-of-therainforests/
‘On Care for our Common Home’ – 6th Form Syllabus from the Ecological Conversion Group. This can also be used as a study guide for Laudato Si’ for parishes. https://theecg.org/resources/6-form-syllabus/
Justice and Peace Scotland will host its inaugural Season of Creation Conference in September. The Conference will allow parishioners from across the country to come together and explore how we may hope and act for creation in our own dioceses and parishes. Workshops on the day will be held by Justice & Peace Scotland and SCIAF and there will be opportunities for networking and ideas-sharing among attendees. A key-note address will be delivered by Ben Wilson, Director of Public Engagement at SCIAF and a member of the Holy See delegation at COP 28.
9 September 7.30pm, Woking: Film screening of ‘X Trillion’ – About Plastic Pollution – organised by the Live Simply at St Dunstan’s Church, Shaftesbury Road, Woking, GU22 7DT. The film tells the story of an international crew of scientists, sailors, designers, engineers, and teachers who set sail on a transformative month-long voyage, 3,000 miles across the North Pacific Ocean, through the densest accumulation of ocean plastic on the planet. The producer will talk about the film and answer questions afterwards. Book free tickets at: www.tickettailor.com/events/livesimplywoking/1310232
The Season of Creation has a special significance for the Catholic Church, particularly since Pope Francis established 1 September as an annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. The Season of Creation is marked throughout the Christian world from 1 September to 4 October (Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi) and celebrates the joy of creation as well as encouraging awareness-raising initiatives to protect the natural environment.
This year’s theme is “To Hope and Act with Creation”. We hope that the following resources will help you and your parish community to celebrate the Season of Creation 2024. These resources are compiled by the Laudato Si’ Working Group of the Irish Bishop’s Conference & Trócaire. You can find further resources on the international Season of Creation website: www.seasonofcreation.org
“Christ is alive! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world, and everything he touches becomes young, new, full of life. The very first words, then, that I would like to say to every young Christian are these: Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive!” – Pope Francis, Christus Vivit, Section 1.
Reflecting on the theme, Catholic schools will explore what it means to be fully alive as a human being – living life to the full in Christ. Sensitive to the age appropriateness of the various classes and years, the theme will explore how we exist for one another in Christ, building from the wellbeing of the individual, extending the notion of true wellbeing to others, to our families and communities, and to The Other, in God. The theme will mediate on hope, the true purpose and meaning of human life, and, in the more senior years, on true freedom.
As is usual, the theme will be connected at primary level with Grandparents’ Day on the Wednesday of Catholic Schools Week, and with the Family in post-primary. There will be a November ‘turning to’ remembrance moment.
Catholic Schools Week 2025 will run from ~Sunday 19th January to Saturday 25th January, 2025.
Note: Sunday 26th January is not being included in Catholic Schools Week as it is the Sunday of the Word of God.
Declan sent the following today from Mrs Susan Morgan
“Please see attached a copy of a letter sent to all Heads of Religion with a copy of the new Fully Alive textbook for Year 9 students. The best way for teachers to order in Northern Ireland is through either the Derry or Newry branches of the Veritas store – details in attached letter. This will ensure that they get the best discount. The book is priced very competitively at £11.99 and with a further discount of 12 ½ % discount, this brings the price down to £10.49 per text.”
Archdiocese of Armagh Annual Religious Education Community Day 2024
This a reminder that this year our Annual Religious Education Teacher Community Gathering will Meet on Thursday 13th June in St John the Baptist College, Drumcree, Portadown. These Annual Gatherings have proved to be very successful in helping to meet the personal, spiritual and professional needs of teachers of Religious Education in our Archdiocese. They also provide an opportunity for RE teachers and HODs to build networks for support and to exchange ideas and resources. Being part of this community helps build a strong sense of support, belonging and identity. I ask Principals to release RE Staff to be present for this important day. I thank school management for their commitment and leadership in service and faith.
After months of writing, film and editing, CJM has rolled out the first part of the first module of Teach us to Pray – a series of video courses on different aspects of prayer and liturgy in the context of a Catholic school.
This accessible and practical resource draws on more than 25 years of experience working with young people to bring the liturgy to life, while staying deeply rooted in the tradition of the Church.
Jo Boyce writes: “We hope it will help give confidence and inspiration to RE Leads and Lay Chaplains especially, but have designed it to be accessible for all staff who want to contribute meaningfully to the prayer and liturgical life of their schools.
“It’s very much a work in progress, of course. But most of module one is available right now and you get instant access to that when you sign-up at: www.cjmmusic.com/teachustopray
If you’re not directly involved in the life of a Catholic school yourself, it is very likely that you know someone who is. So please pass this information on if you can. And please keep this project in your prayers. It’s a BIG vision, which is calling on A LOT of time and resources.
Hard to believe we are coming close to Ash Wednesday and Lent 24 !! I will attach resources for teacher and student use in the days ahead. Do share anything you find or write yourself and I will share it with the RE community out there! If you check back to earlier years there are many very good reusable resources on the blog already. I posted and delivered copies of the “Catechist February Edition” and a copy of “Celebrate Lent” and also “Lent Extra” both from Redemptorist Publications to our schools last week. Will drop to Dundalk Schools this week.
Here’s a link to St Vincent’s Dundalk liturgy for Lent… we recorded it and students watched in classroom Hope you enjoy! Conor
ICN Newsletter today has this analysis of the Message of Pope Francis for this Lent 2024.
Lent is a time of conversion and freedom
Feb 5th, 2024
Source: Vatican News
In his message for Lent 2024, Pope Francis invites the faithful to “pause” for prayer and to assist our brothers and sisters in need, in order to change our own lives and the lives of our communities.
“When our God reveals Himself, His message is always one of freedom,” Pope Francis says in the opening of his Message to the faithful for Lent 2024.
Recalling the Exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt, the Holy Father explains that our journey through the desert can be a season of grace – not an abstract journey, but a concrete path that involves seeing the world as it is and hearing the cries of our oppressed brothers and sisters.
The Pope insisted on the need to counter a “globalization of indifference.” “Our Lenten journey will be concrete if… we realize that even today we remain under the rule of Pharoah. A rule that makes us weary and indifferent. A model of growth that divides us and robs us of our future.”
At the same time, Pope Francis reminded us that it is God who takes the initiative. Too often, he said, there remains within us “an inexplicable longing for slavery,” a desire to cling to idols that paralyze us, as Israel was paralyzed in the desert.
Lent, however, is a “season of grace, a time of conversion,” where the desert can become “a place where our freedom can mature in a personal decision not to fall back into slavery,” where “we find new criteria of justice and a community with which we can press forward on a road not yet taken.”
He added that the Lenten journey involves a struggle. It is a time for action, the Pope said, but also a time “to pause” – to pause in prayer and to pause “in the presence of a wounded brother or sister.”
“Love of God and love of neighbour are one love,” Pope Francis continued, explaining that “the contemplative dimension” of Lent can help us “release new energies,” to be “more sensitive to one another: in the place of threats and enemies, we discover companions and fellow travelers.”
Pope Francis concluded his Lenten message on a hopeful note: “To the extent that this Lent becomes a time of conversion, an anxious humanity will notice a burst of creativity, a flash of new hope.”
Calling on the faithful to “be ready to take risks,” he invited them “to find the courage to see our world, not as in its death throes, but in a process of giving birth; not at the end, but at the beginning of a great new chapter of history.”
“Faith and charity,” he said, “take hope, this small child, by the hand. They teach her to walk, and at the same time, she leads them forward.”
The Holy Father’s full text (on two printable pages) is attached. Senior Classes might read and discuss his message applying it to their own lives.
Ash Wednesday is fast approaching and CAFOD would like to invite you to join them as we all seek to make space and time to draw closer to God and our global family through reflection and prayer this Lent.
This year, as part of their reflections on one of the readings of the day, CAFOD will be sharing the stories of people from a fishing community in Liberia, as well as a daily prayer and suggested action you might like to take.
Join this journey by signing up for CAFOD’s daily Lent emails.
United Methodist Ed Foundation offers a Lent resource to download and use.
Lent is an important time in the Christian calendar to prepare our hearts and minds for Jesus. The 40 days of Lent 2024 (not counting Sundays) begin on February 14, Ash Wednesday, and end on March 30, the Saturday before Easter. This time represents the forty days Jesus suffered in the wilderness, enduring temptations and remaining close to God through fasting and prayer. This unimaginable time of trials and suffering is what prepared Jesus to carry out His ministry.
Am sharing Lectio & Taize Prayer Resources for the Sundays of Lent. Senior Students might enjoy a 40-minute Lunch Taize Prayer with a Chant and opening prayer followed by reading the Sunday Gospel and concluding with the Lord’s Prayer and another chant. See below.
Seasonal Articles From the Jesuit Spirituality Website
Preparation for Lent By Becky Eldredge Before Lent begins, turn to Jesus and ask, “What is the grace you desire to deepen within me over these next 40 days?”
How to Prepare for Lent By Vinita Hampton Wright How do you prepare for Lent? How have you prepared in the past? What are your ideas about what should happen during Lent?
Letting This Lent Be God’s By Marina McCoy What if this Lent we didn’t approach the practices of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting with an eye to what we can do to transform ourselves, but rather with an eye to what God wants to do in order to transform us?
Discernment in Making Lenten Plans By Vinita Hampton Wright How can we choose our activities or practices for this Lenten season? We can apply some Ignatian wisdom by asking several questions.
A Blessing and a Curse By Andy Otto Otto posits that Lent is a chance to grapple with the paradox of the cross as blessing and curse.
Walking Through Lent with the Risen Christ By Rebecca Ruiz If we invite the risen Christ into our journey through Lent, we might have an even deeper experience of the season.
A Time to Experience Emotion with Jesus By Gretchen Crowder Crowder wonders what it would look like if we considered Lent to be a time to experience emotion with Jesus.
Humility in Lent By Marina Berzins McCoy How can we try to make humility a practice this Lent?
Tilling the Soil of My Heart By Rebecca Ruiz Ruiz is gardening in the garden of her heart this Lent and invites readers to till the soil of their hearts too.
The Consequences of Seeing By Loretta Pehanich This story is inspired by John 9:1–41, the healing of the man born blind, and Mark 10:46–52, the healing of Bartimaeus.
Connecting with the Stations of the Cross By Kerry Weber Weber shares how she connected with the Stations of the Cross in this excerpt from her book, Mercy in the City.
Unlock the Stations of the Cross, Examen-Style By Gary Jansen Jansen shares steps derived from the Examen to help unlock the Stations of the Cross in a practical, contemplative, and reflective way.
The Language of the Cross By Joseph A. Tetlow, SJ Tetlow explores the idea that Jesus’ Passion brings us to embrace the world as it really is.
Come as You Are to Jesus By Rebecca Ruiz Jesus doesn’t demand perfection and is waiting for you this Lent.
A Patient Lent By Marina McCoy Lent invites exercising patience. We can bring to God the troubled parts of life and our tendencies that are less than holy, and ask God to tend to them.
The Anima Christi During Holy Week By Marina McCoy Many of the lines of the “Soul of Christ” prayer resonate with Passion Week, as the poem reflects on Christ’s body and spirit.
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