St John Rigby Catholic Primary School

St John Rigby Catholic Primary School

YEAR OF PRAYER AND VOCATION

The Wise Men remind us of our Year of Prayer and Vocation.

This morning we heard the story of the Wise Men in assembly having sung "We Three Kings" at the start. Of course, we assume that there were three Wise Men but scripture does not actually tell us that. In assembly, the children were very knowledgeable about the gifts of gold frankincense and myrrh. So many children of all ages knew the messages behind these gifts of gold (kingship). frankincense (priestly vocation of Christ) and myrrh (a symbol of Christ's death). We also looked at classical paintings of the Magi. What came across was the ethnic diversity of the men. Many of the paintings depict one of the men looking very European. Of course, the message here is that Jesus came for all of us, whatever our ethnicity, culture or background.

And it is with this message we heard the words of Bishop Peter on a snippet of his DVD, as we embark upon the Year of Prayer and Vocation. Bishop Peter asked us to look for the simple things reminding us, in that doing so, others will be inspired by the way that we live our faith. In classes and in assemblies, we will use the monthly prayer sheets which can be found on the Diocesan Website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBLedx7lo80

 

We finished our assembly by singing the words of St. Francis of Assisi (the patron saint of Bedford Catholic Schools); make me a channel of your peace. We are asked throughout January to remember his message and to hold or look at items of nature (leaves, rocks, animals, clouds) as we consider just how amazing God's creation is and give thanks to God through prayer.