The Feast of Ascension

9th May 2018Mrs D Ferris

Tomorrow, Thursday 10th May we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of Lord ; as we celebrate this beautiful Feast, we remember the promise and invitation of the Lord, the promise is the Gift of the Holy Spirit, the invitation was to return to Jerusalem and await this promised gift. The Church invites us to wait and pray, may we do so with Pope John XXlll’s ‘lnvocation’ Prayer:

‘Renew Your wonders in this our day,

as by a new Pentecost.

Grant to Your Church that,

Being of one mind and steadfast in prayer with Mary,

the Mother of Jesus, and following the

lead of blessed Peter,

it may advance the reign of our Divine Saviour,

the reign of truth

and justice, the reign of love and peace.

Think Tank-Synod

20th March 2018Mrs D Ferris

Think Tank for Pope Francis
By John Smith 12BH

Last week, a handful of pupils from each year were gathered to take part in a global questionnaire for the youth of the world, in preparation for the Synod of Pope Francis. Asked a set of questions about their identity, beliefs and ideas about prejudice and assisted by familiar faces from last year’s Mission Week, the views and ideas of St Edmund’s students will be gathered along with the answers of schools from across the world, ready to be presented to the Pope in time for his conference with the world’s bishops and priests, all in an effort to help the youth of the world.

Think Tank by Alishya Jose 10RH

The Synod Think Tank took place on the 15th March. Both the BCYS AND Soli Team (Vicki, John, David, Cameron and Janaya) came into school. They met with 30 pupils from KS3, KS4 and Sixth Form and I was one of the pupils involved.
At the beginning they encouraged us to play a game to get us active. Vicki gave us a subject to discuss. She has 3 key focuses: Beauty, Truth and Goodness. Based on that, David shared an experience of his pilgrimage walk to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. After he shared his experience, we were asked to close our eyes and think of the moments we saw or heard of something that was beautiful. He said even the simplest moments, like having a cake on a rainy day, is special.
Janaya sang the song that she and her band composed and the verses were profound, it touched me somewhere inside. After she sang, she shared her experience of seeing the Northern Lights in her town where she lives in Canada and she said she would never get enough of seeing them.
After this we split into groups to discuss the questions we had been given. Me and my friends were in Cameron’s group and we were all confident in answering the questions since the leader was friendly. A portion of the inquiry that we were given was very thought provoking that it makes you doubt your convictions, life and future. There were 20 questions and two of them was what is important to you in life? What do you want to be as a person? The experiences of the two group leaders encouraged me to ponder that the littlest thing can be admirable in your life. In the group discussion, the talk was profound and I got the chance to encounter a new point of view.
My companions, my friends and I were astonished at the fact that Pope Francis actually wants to hear real, honest answers to the questions he asked. We never lied. Regardless of whether or not it was impolite, we were advised to state the truth. That gives us the motivation that even one individual can have an effect on the world. I hope that there are further Synod meeting in school since many people, including me, loved hearing and giving opinions and it felt like Pope Francis was there when we were making our points.

Reconciliation

20th March 2018Mrs D Ferris


Reconciliation Liturgy and Confessions
The common definition of reconciliation as it relates to relationships is ‘The restoration of friendly relations’. The Lord our God is your friend so it makes sense to have the opportunity to confess our sins and have our relationship made anew.
Last Thursday, Year 8 had the opportunity to do this and attend confession if they wished. We were blessed with the presence of our Chaplin Fr. Mark, Fr Janek, Fr Pawel and also Fr. Paul Whielden, who took confession and listened to any thoughts and prayers. The students were given the opportunity to say sorry, make cards, write a letter of forgiveness, offer prayers to our Lady and wash away their sins.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the most unique and beautiful aspects of Catholicism. Jesus Christ, in His abundant love and mercy, established the Sacrament of Confession, so that we as sinners can obtain forgiveness for our sins and reconcile with God and the Church. The sacrament “washes us clean” and renews us in Christ. We are in the last two weeks of Lent; maybe God is calling us to go to Confession before Holy Week so that we can be forgiven and given a fresh start at Easter.
“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’” (John 20:21-23)

SYNOD

5th March 2018Mrs D Ferris

On Thursday 1st March a number of pupils from St Edmunds Catholic Academy, along with 17 other schools in the diocese, travelled in snowy conditions to St Mary’s, College, Oscott in Sutton Coldfield to share a day ‘listening and learning’.  Also for the young people to voice their views on a variety of social contexts.

Pope Francis has dedicated the 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to the theme of young people, the Faith and Vocational Discernment. It will be held in Rome in October 2018.

“The theme represents an expression of the pastoral care for the young. The Church has decided to examine herself on how she can lead young people to recognise and accept the call to the fullness of life and love and to ask young people to help her identifying the most effect ways to announce the Good News today”

The event gave our young people the opportunity to speak and share their voice, by answering a variety of questions with the headings:

Who am I?

My views on the World

My Response to Struggles and Suffering.

Unfortunately, Archbishop Bernard was unable to join us but we were blessed by presence of the Vicar General Fr Tim Menzies and Jimmy Mitchell. Jimmy had travelled from America via Spain to be with us and share his thoughts and experiences of when he had seen and experienced the joy of the Lord in his life.

Our students loved the Chapel.

Jimmy and a team of young Leaders will be visiting our school to take the views of another 30 students on the 15th March.

Anyone from the age of 16-29 are invited to ENGAGE AND SHARE THEIR VIEWS ON Saturday 24th March 10am-4pm at Saint Mary’s College, Oscott, B73 5AA

       

Lent

13th February 2018Mrs D Ferris

As we get ready to enter the journey of Lent, some of you may be thinking about what to give up or what can I do to help other people. There are many modern ideas, such as put 1 item of clothing you don’t use in a black bag everyday, for 40 days then take them to a Charity shop or but an item of food in box for 40 days and deliver it to a food bank or homeless shelter or try and do one act of random kindness everyday. What ever you choose to do, I hope your Lenten Journey brings you closer to the Lord and I leave you with these words from Pope Francis.Mrs Ferris Lay Chaplain

Do You Want to FAST this Lent? ~ Pope Francis
Fast from hurting words and say kind words.

Fast from sadness and be lled with gratitude.

Fast from anger and be lled with patience.

Fast from pessimism and be lled with hope.

Fast from worries and trust in God. Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.

Fast from pressures and be prayerful.

Fast from bitterness and fill you heart with joy.

Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others

Fast from grudges and be reconciled.

Fast from words and be silent so you can listen.

Holocaust Memorial Day

1st February 2018Mrs D Ferris

The PE department led a thought provoking and compelling Holocaust Assembly on Monday morning (29th, January) to the whole school with help from Amelia Beet and Gjovani Cinari (Year 8), Ruby Cochrane (Year 10) and Will Tudor (Year 13).

    Topics addressed included;
  • What is the Holocaust?
  • Why the Jews?
  • The killing fields of Germany
  • The horrors and hopes of Auschwitz
  • Sporting stars who lost their lives

The presentation was reinforced with a clip from the movie, “Band of Brothers”. Students attention was excellent, a fitting school memorial for those who lost their lives.

Alton Castle Retreat

31st January 2018Mrs D Ferris

On Wednesday 24th January 58 students and 5 staff travelled to Alton Castle in Staffordshire for a 3 day retreat.
The theme the students concentrated on was ‘Who am I?’ They found out a lot more themselves while having fun through many activities such as trekking, biking, survival skills, rock climbing and archery. This activities helped the students develop their team work skills, concentration skills and then shown how to help one another through kindness, humility, compassion and understanding. They had great fun in the mud and the puddles, one student said “she had the best time of her life”.
Students and staff also took time out to pray, experience a time of quiet reflection, adoration, and took part in Mass and a thanksgiving liturgy. St Edmunds’ shared this experience with Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School from Birmingham and many made new friends.
Many of the staff who helped us in our ‘Mission Week’ came over from Soli House to see the students and share a meal with us.
The students left knowing a bit more about themselves and encountered the Lord in their daily lives.