Prayer and Liturgy
'Be kind and compassionate to one another.' Ephesians 4:32
Prayer and Liturgy is at the heart of daily life at Our Lady of Compassion Catholic Primary School. It provides opportunities for pupils, staff and the wider school community to pause, reflect and grow in their relationship with God. Rooted in our mission statement, "Be kind and compassionate to one another" (Ephesians 4:32), prayer shapes our school community and inspires us to live out the Gospel values each day.Prayer and Liturgy is our loving response, in word and action, to God's invitation to enter into a relationship with Him, made possible through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is central to our Catholic identity and underpins all that we do.In line with the Religious Education Directory and our legal requirements, pupils participate in daily prayer and liturgy. These opportunities take many forms, including whole-school celebrations, key stage gatherings, class prayer, child-led liturgy and quiet moments of reflection. We use a variety of prayer styles, including Scripture, music, sacred silence, meditation and spontaneous prayer, enabling every child to encounter God in meaningful ways.Throughout the liturgical year, we celebrate significant seasons and feasts including Advent, Christmas, Lent, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, Easter, the Rosary, May Devotions and the Crowning of Mary. These celebrations help pupils to deepen their understanding of the Church's liturgical life and strengthen their faith as active members of our Catholic community.
At Our Lady of Compassion, we have created an annual plan for prayer and litergy that follows the Churches litergical Year.
We use a hybrid model which is based on the Ten Ten resources plans, while adding our own school identity and creativity. Following the Gather, Listen, Respond, and Go Forth structure, we adapted and developed the Ten Ten resources for use within our school. Weekly PowerPoints are created to support teachers in confidently leading Celebration of the Word, incorporating the Music Lead’s expertise and appropriate hymns to complement the weekly theme.
Gather – We come together and prepare ourselves for prayer.
Listen – We listen to Scripture, music, reflection or the words of others.
Respond – We reflect, pray and consider how we can put God’s message into action.
Go Forth – We leave inspired to live like Jesus, putting our faith into action through kindness, compassion and service to others.
We also use Pope Francis’ Five-Finger Prayer to help children pray for others:
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Thumb – those closest to us
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Index finger – those who teach and guide us
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Middle finger – leaders and people in authority
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Ring finger – those who are ill, vulnerable or in need
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Little finger – ourselves and our own needs
Through these resources, pupils are encouraged to develop confidence in prayer, experience stillness and reflection, and deepen their relationship with God.
