“Support” – Whole School Prayer Resources

Let us begin this time of prayer with the sign of our faith:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The word of the week is Support! Support is the act of providing encouragement and assistance. It is about being there for someone when they need you Just as Jesus is there for each of us. We will all have times when we need support from those around us and this can help us to cope with challenges and to achieve our goals. Let’s hear from some of year 8 now to help us explore the theme of Support this week!

Let us pray together…

Loving God,
Thank You for the people who support us every day –
our families, our teachers, our friends.
They help us grow, learn, and become who You call us to be.

Lord, give us the strength to support others,
to be a friend to someone who is struggling,
to offer kindness, patience, and care,
even when it’s not easy.

Most of all, help us to lean on You.
You are our rock, our comfort, our constant support.
Guide us to trust You in all things,
and to carry Your love to those around us.

Amen.
We finish this time of prayer together, by making the Sign of the Cross.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Let us begin this time of prayer with the sign of our faith, the sign of the cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

On Saturday, some of our sixth form students will be heading on pilgrimage to Lourdes. Lourdes is a Catholic pilgrimage site in France where the Virgin Mary appeared to a young poor girl called Bernadette in 1858, who was collecting firewood at the time.

Mary asked Bernadette to dig, bathe in the spring, and build a chapel. Since then, Lourdes has become a place of healing, with 70 official miracles and many more stories of physical and spiritual healing. Millions visit Lourdes each year, bringing prayer intentions and asking for Mary’s intercession.

In the Netflix series Down to Earth, actor Zac Efron visits Lourdes to learn about its miraculous water. Let’s watch this short clip to see why Lourdes is so special:

Catholics believe that Mary is close to Jesus in heaven and prays for us. While we can pray anywhere, places like Lourdes feel extra special because it’s where heaven touched earth.

Today, you are invited to write a prayer intention that will be taken to Lourdes by our Sixth Form students. They will place these in the petition box next to the miraculous spring.

Your prayer is between you and God. You can write it in full sentences or simply list names or intentions. As our Word of the Week is support, you might pray for someone in need, someone who supports you, for healing, or for someone who has died.

If you need a prompt, you could start with:

• “Lord, I pray for…”
• “Heavenly God, please bring healing and support to…”

Play the song below as your write your intentions.

Collect the prayer intentions from your form and then send one student from your form on pilgrimage to the chapel to visit our Mary Lourdes display to drop off your prayer intentions so that we can take them with us to Lourdes.

The Salve Regina is a traditional Catholic prayer and hymn asking for the protection, mercy, and help of Mary, our Mother and Queen.

Let us pray the Trust prayer together…

God Our Father,

Give us strength so that, guided by Our Lady’s example,

we can have the courage to say yes to you.

Help us to love like she loves, have faith like she has

and follow Jesus’ example in all that we do.

Inspire in all of us a sense of togetherness, so that we can use

the gifts you have given us for the good of all in our community

and bring support and healing to those less fortunate than ourselves.

We ask Our Lady to guide us, just as she guided St Bernadette,

as we seek to bring Jesus’ message of love

and forgiveness to others.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, Our Lord.

Amen

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us

St Thérèse of Lisieux, pray for us

Let us end our time of prayer together by making the Sign of the Cross…

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

We begin by remembering we are in the presence of God as we make the Sign of the Cross…
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

On Tuesday, we are being visited by Tom Baptist and members of the Trust who are bringing the official CAFOD Jubilee Icon to our school! The icon is going on a tour around schools in Nottingham and we are the first school it’s visiting!

This icon was specially created to celebrate the Jubilee Year 2025 – Pilgrims of Hope. CAFOD commissioned the icon from artist Mulugeta Araya in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia was chosen because of its strong tradition of religious iconography and to remind us that the Jubilee Year is a global celebration, not just something happening in England and Wales.

The icon shows Jesus in the Northern Ethiopian style, with traditional features, clothing, and expressions, reminding us that the Church is beautifully diverse and worldwide.

Let’s hear more about the meaning of the icon by watching this video from CAFOD:

In silence, let’s now spend some time in our prayer journals, thinking about what we have heard and seen through the icon.

The video reminds us that the icon is a window into the heart of God’s message for the Jubilee Year. It shows that this is a time for us to pause, reflect, and ask how we can bring hope, healing, and restoration to the world around us.

Pause for a moment of quiet reflection in front of the icon. We invite you to draw and remake the Jubilee icon in your prayer journals and think about the following questions as you do:

➢ What do you notice? What draws you in? Objects? Facial expressions? Body language? The background? The colours?
➢ Does the icon help you to see the story of the Gospel in a different way?
➢ What thoughts or feelings does the icon bring up for you about Jubilee?

Let us finish by praying the Jubilee Year prayer together…

We finish our prayer by making the Sign of the Cross…

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

🚶‍♀️ Route and Timings:

• 8:40 – Registration
• 8:45 – Expectations shared
• 8:50 – Leave bags, head to the astro or field (walk clockwise starting left by the long jump) – TBC by Progress leaders depending on weather and time
• 9:00 – Return to form room, collect bags, and settle for period 1

Let us begin this time of prayer with the sign of our faith, the sign of the cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

This week, our Word of the Week is Support — and we’re thinking about how we support one another and take care of our mental health.

There’s an idea called “8 minutes”, shared by author Simon Sinek, he reminds us that a short, honest conversation, just 8 minutes long, can make a real difference to someone’s wellbeing. It’s like sending someone a message saying, “Do you have 8 minutes?” — a way of offering time to listen, support, and show that you care.

This isn’t just a nice idea — psychologists like Carl Rogers have shown that simply listening and making someone feel heard and valued has a powerful impact on mental health. Even short, supportive chats can boost mood and help people feel less alone.

That’s what today’s Support Walk is about — stepping away from distractions, enjoying the outdoors, and taking time to check in with each other.

To help this to be an enjoyable and supportive experience for all staff and students, you must make sure that you listen to and abide by the following expectations for the walk….

✅ Walk Expectations:

• You must walk in pairs (or threes if necessary) only. No larger groups (do a staggered start to the walk if necessary)
• You must walk sensibly, calmly and respect the environment we are walking in
• You are allowed to talk quietly in your pair or three but there must be no shouting, screaming or singing across different pairs/threes – this is really important because other tutor groups will be doing a different prayer activity in their classrooms during this time
• There may also be members of the public using the grassy areas next to our school therefore we must be following the Becket Way at all times as you represent your school.
  

💬 8-Minute Conversation Starters:

• If you had 8 minutes to do something for your mental health, what would it be and why? E.g. reading, spot, talking to a friend, colouring etc.
• What does good support look like — listening, advice, kindness, something else?
• When has someone made a small difference to your day with an act of “support”?
• What’s one small thing you could do to support someone this week?

🙏 Before We Walk, Let’s Pray:

Heavenly Father,
As we walk today, help us remember that You are always there to support us.
Open our eyes to see the beauty around us and the importance of looking after one another.
Guide our words and actions, so that we can be a source of strength, kindness, and care for our friends and our school community.
Help us notice when someone needs support and give us the courage to reach out.
Amen.

Let’s end with the sign of the cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.