Prayers and Worship
Masses and Services
The Welcome Mass (September): Celebrates the beginning of the new academic year and asks for God‘s blessing upon the community and the year ahead.
Yr 7 Welcome Mass : Welcomes the new Year 7 students and their parents to Loreto College early in the autumn term. The Mass is celebrated in SS Alban and Stephen, our local parish and there is a social to follow so that the new parents can get to know the staff and each other.
Holy Days of Obligation: Mass is offered on all holy days that fall within the school week.
Mary Ward’s birthday. A Mass is celebrated in SS Alban and Stephen, our local parish church to celebrate the birthday of our founder Mary Ward.
Ash Wednesday: A service is held which includes the distribution of Ashes. This service is planned and led by the Sixth Form chaplaincy team.
Lent service: Is led by the Sixth Form Chaplaincy Team and celebrated as preparation Easter.
Year 11 Mass of Inspiration: Students preparing for exams share in the Eucharist asking for God to bless their efforts in their upcoming GCSE exams
Year 13 Service of Thanksgiving: This service celebrate and gives thanks for the contribution made by students who have come to the end of their time at Loreto College and is an opportunity to pray for God‘s blessing upon all leavers.
Reconciliation Service: These services take place during Advent and Lent, providing students and staff with the opportunity to experience the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
End of Term Mass: Offered on the last day of the academic year, this is an opportunity for us to thank God for all the blessings we have received throughout the year and to say farewell to colleagues who are leaving us.
INSET Prayer Service: Staff come together to pray and receive spiritual encouragement.
Friday Mass. All KS3 students have the opportunity to plan and deliver a Mass at least once in an academic year. We are grateful to the priests from SS Albans and Stephen for saying Mass for us in our school chapel.
Prayer
Prayer is an important aspect of our daily life in school.
Students have the opportunity to pray and reflect every day in their form groups. Prayers are prepared to follow the Liturgical Year. On Fridays the school community prays the Examen. The Examen is a prayer developed by St. Ignatius and involves a prayerful reflection on the events of the day/week in order to see God’s presence in our lives. This is led by students who volunteer for the roll.
Weekly year group assemblies are chance to reflect on the Gospel message and SMT lead a regular Act of Worship assembly reflecting on the Gospel from the previous Sunday. Students are encouraged to lead and participate in assemblies.
During May and October reflections on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary are prayed in the Chapel, they also form part of our morning registration prayers during this time. In Lent, the Stations of the Cross allow students to reflect and pray. Members of the Chaplaincy Team lead the reflections and prayers. The staff prayer groups meet every Wednesday and all staff are welcome to attend.
Students are engaged in many forms of prayer e.g. they write their own prayers and have extempore prayer. During retreats students are given the opportunity to pray and reflect upon their lives, they experience imaginative contemplation and meditation.
The Daily Examen
The Examen is a prayerful reflection from the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola, which can have a powerful impact on the lives of those who use it. The Examen consists of setting time aside each day to reflect prayerfully on the events of the day and where God has been in those events.
The Examen is an exercise in the practice of attentiveness to my lived experience and also in the art of discernment - becoming aware of the ways in which God is active in my life and resolving to co-operate better with his gifts and calling.
The Examen is prayed together as a community on Friday morning in registration as a way of encouraging students and staff to reflect on their experience and to explore the ways in which God is present in that experience. Students volunteer to record the Examen and this recording is used in form time and during liturgies.