Welcome to our brand new website! Instead of using Be Inspirational in the morning like we used to, we will now be using faithloveandrespect.com for all our form time prayers. It will be very similar to what we used before, but with some slight changes in the day to day. Let’s get stuck in to our first week!
Day 1 – Head
On the first day we will be looking at a piece of scripture, trying to gain some knowledge and a deeper understanding of Christ’s message. As before, the parts in bold should be read by a student each day, with achievement points available for doing so.
We begin our prayer this morning with the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Today we are going to hear some of the Gospel from Sunday’s Mass. It comes from Matthew’s Gospel, which we will learn a bit more about after hearing the passage.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
Glory to you, O Lord.
‘I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.
‘I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
It is widely believed that Matthew’s Gospel was written by someone in the second generation of Christians, around the time of 70AD. The author of Matthew is believed to have been a Jewish leader, due to their deep knowledge of the Hebrew scriptures and the way that they wrote about various elements of the Jewish Church.
In today’s scripture, it uses the words ‘bound’ and ‘loose’. In this passage Jesus is speaking to the Apostles and is explaining to them how they should run God’s kingdom on Earth. As such, the words bound and loose essentially mean forbidding and allowing things to happen. Jesus is saying that when they forbid or allow things to happen they should be doing this with God’s will and plans in mind, so that we can be aligning Heaven and Earth.
Take a moment to reflect on the second half of the passage. Why is this important? How is the message relevant to us today?
We offer our prayers up to God with all that we have learnt today by saying the Glory Be:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.
We end our prayer with the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Day 2 – Heart
On the second day of the week we focus on our hearts. How can the scripture that we looked at yesterday impact our lives, and the lives of others? What themes can we draw from the scripture?
We begin our prayer with the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
To begin with we are going to have some quick questions about the scripture yesterday to see what you can remember! Let us know how many you got right in the comments below.
- What book in the Bible was the passage from?
- Around what time is the book believed to have been written?
- What words did we look at more closely and what did they mean in the context of the passage?
- What was the believed occupation of the author of the book?
(Answers can be found at the end of Day 2!)
The scripture we looked at yesterday talked about how God will always be with us when we gather in His name. For some of us that may mean going to Church, or meals at home with family or even just time in school. However it can be so much more than that. In the video below, singers from all over the world come together to sing a prayer and blessing for everyone around the world. Spend some time in quiet listening to the first few minutes of the song (there probably isn’t time to listen to it all) and reflecting on the times when you have felt God’s presence.
There is something powerful in the music, you can see the love and emotion that each singer is putting in, and this combines to make something greater. In the same way, when we gather and work together in God’s name, we too can do great things.
Let us end our prayer by offering everything up to God:
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, Amen.
We end our prayer with the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Answers: Matthew’s Gospel, 70AD, bound-forbidden and loose-allowed, Jewish leader
Day 3 – Hands
On the final day of the week we try to put into action the things we have learnt and reflected on previously in the week, hence the hands link!
We begin our prayer with the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
‘I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven. ‘I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’
Matthew 18:18-19
We have looked at the piece of scripture above from Matthew’s Gospel this week. The first part talks about how our actions on Earth should reflect those we would expect in Heaven, how we should think about God’s will when making decisions. The second part reflects on our coming together as a community in God’s name, and how He will be with us.
We would like each form to create a prayer based on these themes, perhaps asking for assistance or seeking forgiveness. Type the prayer into the comments below, but also write it onto a piece of paper and stick it to your form board. This can become a prayer that you use in the mornings, or perhaps one you use personally to ask for God’s guidance.
We will now pray our prayer together.
We end our prayer this morning with the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
We had a look at the new website for form time, and we think it looks similar to last year. There is quite a lot of reading to do, but we are looking forward to trying it out next week.
This passage is important because: it shows us that no matter what God is always with us, as well as that whatever we do on Earth follows us to Heaven.
This passage is relevant today because: it allows us to know that God will be there if we are feeling sad or worried, especially at the start of a new school year.
We should respect people because it is nice. You should treat others the way you want to be treated. You should love your neighbour. We should make Matthew’s gospel something to follow through the week. We should be nice to people e.g. opening doors because it could make their day. We should share the word of Jesus and love our enemies. We shouldn’t respect anyone because we have to but because we want to.
Head – If you do something good on earth you will be rewarded in Heaven.
The passage is important as it reminds us that when we are together at school, in mass and in our form times that God is with us. It reminded us of the three cords in Ecclesiastes.
We got 2 out of 4! We’ll be doing better next time 🙂
3/4 questions correct!
9K1 Form Prayer
Dear God,
As we gather together in your name we seek assistance from you.
We ask for forgiveness for our sins, for past mistakes and actions – please help us to be better people.
Thanks you for helping us in school and at home and for loving us unconditionally.
Amen
Dear God, please help us to make the right choices on Earth. Guide us to the right path, as what we bind on earth will be bound in Heaven. AMEN
Dear Lord
We ask you for assistance and guidance through our lives.
Please help us in times of trouble and provide us with resilience to overcome problems.
Amen