Welcome back to St James
Unfortunately the Chapel is currently out of action due to our building works. We hope to start extra curricular clubs again next week.
Do look in your planners for the additional prayer reflections each week.
God bless,
The Chaplaincy team
Matthew Offord MP visited our school on World Environment Day to answer questions about litter, climate change and the melting ice caps. Student from all year groups lobbies him on both local and national issues. Having studied Environmental issues as part of his degree his answers were excellent. He is going to take two of our questions to parliament. We look forward to his response.
Welcome back to school. 2018 is well upon us and we begin another year with good intentions and resolutions. Pope Francis has another excellent list of ideas fir small changes in your life. Like a yacht heading off to Australia, these small changes in direction can have huge consequences in the future. One change in degree now can be the difference in reaching or missing your destination.
At St James, we will be running our Year 8 retreats this term and carrying on with the Faith in Action Awards.
Let’s begin this year with prayers based on the Epiphany:
Lord,
We pray that we may be like the star of the Epiphany, drawing others closer to you;
We pray that this year we imitate the goodness of God in our relationships with each other;
We pray that we may carry the joy of the Gospel in everything we do.
We ask these in Jesus name,
Amen
Happy New Year. Advent is the start of the Liturgical year for us as Catholics. Having celebrated the feast of Christ the King, we now start our preparations for the coming of Jesus. The word Advent, derives from the Latin word meaning “coming” so Advent is a great time to get our house in order. Whilst Lent is traditionally a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we are encouraged to do similar acts during Advent.
According to the Catechism:
When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Saviours first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. By celebrating John the Baptists birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire: He must increase, but I must decrease (Catechism, no. 524).
At St James’ we will be participating in various time-honoured traditions, such as making Jesse trees and participating in Advent Services during the last week of term. Some of our staff will be going to Bethlehem this Christmas and will place your prayers and petitions at the place of Jesus birth. The whole school will also be collecting for the Colindale Foodbank as part of our Advent almsgiving.
Have a look at the Chaplaincy News and get involved, so that this you are ready for December 25th.
God bless,
Miss Whelan
This month we are joining forces with Blessed Dominic’s primary school and St Margaret Clitherow Parish to collect clothes for Mary’s Meals. LAst year, between the three communities we collected enough clothes to feed 88 children for a year.
Mary’s Meals is a excellent charity based in Scotland. The video below tells you all about the work of the charity and follows the story of several people whose lives have been transformed by their work.
To contribute to our clothes drive, bring in unwanted clothes and leave them in a bag at the collection point in the chapel. The deadline for the collection is Friday 17th November 2017.
October is a month in the Catholic Church dedicated to praying the Rosary. The Rosary itself is an opportunity to meditate on the life of Jesus. The Rosary is broken down into 4 Mysteries and then 5 decades for each Mystery:
On the large bead, meditate on the first mystery and pray the Our Father.
You pray mysteries for each of the five sections (decades) of the rosary according to the day of the week:
Mondays and Saturdays:
The Joyful Mysteries remind the faithful of Christ’s birth: The Annunciation (Luke 1:26–38); The Visitation (Luke 1:39–56); The Nativity (Luke 2:1–21); The Presentation (Luke 2:22–38); The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41–52)
Tuesdays and Fridays:
The Sorrowful Mysteries recall Jesus’ passion and death: The Agony of Jesus in the Garden (Matthew 26:36–56); The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26); The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27–31); The Carrying of the Cross (Matthew 27:32); The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33–56).
Wednesdays and Sundays:
The Glorious Mysteries focus on the resurrection of Jesus and the glories of heaven: The Resurrection (John 20:1–29); The Ascension (Luke 24:36–53); The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1–41); The Assumption of Mary, the Mother of God, into heaven; The Coronation of Mary in heaven.
Thursdays:
Pope John Paul II added The Mysteries of Light, also known as the Luminous Mysteries, in 2002: The Baptism in the River Jordan (Matthew 3:13–16); The Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2:1–11); The Preaching of the coming of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14–15); The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1–8); The Institution of the Holy Eucharist (Matthew 26).
At St James’, we will be saying a mystery of the Rosary every lunch at 1:20. Please do pop in and join us.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor lost his battle with cancer on September 1st. Two Year 9 students represented the school at the funeral. The procession took 20 minutes as over 350 deacons, priests, bishops and cardinals joined together to celebrate the life of a remarkable man. The cardinal’s nephew talked with fondness about the whit and dry sense of humour portrayed by uncle Cormac throughout his life.
The singing was incredible and the liturgy beautiful in both action and word. Bishop George Stack expressed the loving pastoral care that the cardinal exhibited throughout his life in 
an inspiring homily. Members of the Murphy-O’Connor family took part in the offertory as they remembered their uncle.
The service ended with the coffin being processed to the 10th Station of the Cross where his body will be laid to rest in the Cathedral.
Eternal rest grant to him, O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
