Week 3 Identity 16/9/24

Identity is the sense of who we are as individuals. It is shaped by our experiences, our beliefs, and our relationships. In our Catholic faith, our identity is rooted in our relationship with God. We are created in the image and likeness of God, and we are called to be his children and to respect the dignity of all people.

As we continue through the Season of Creation we are going to reflect on our identity as stewards of God’s creation. Exercising stewardship is caring for the gifts God has given us, including the environment, our own personal talents and other resources.

We invite everyone in our school community to lead parts of our prayer throughout the week and staff are encouraged to award achievements points for this!

Day 1 – Head

On the first day of our prayer we will be reflecting on The Word of God to help us to understand our theme.

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.

This reading comes from Mark’s Gospel – how does it help us to think about our theme of identity?

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark

Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus and his disciples left for the villages round Caesarea Philippi. On the way he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say I am?’ And they told him. ‘John the Baptist,’ they said ‘others Elijah; others again, one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he asked ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter spoke up and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him.

The Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Identity – the way that we perceive ourselves and the way that we are perceived by others – is such a precious thing. Jesus is asking His disciples what they understand about His identity and those who are closest to Him are the ones who truly understand who He is.

Our words have so much power – we are created in God’s own image, perfectly created for the purpose God has chosen us for – and the words we choose to use to describe others are so important.

Take a few moments in silence to think about what words you would want to be used if someone was describing you.

Let us pray to be the very best versions of ourselves today:

Creator God, in your Divine love and graciousness, you blessed us each with our own identities and yet we are all created in your image and are part of one human family. You love each one of us unconditionally and have given us the potential to be unique reflections of your great love. Help us to be the very best versions of ourself today and to walk in the footsteps of your Son, Jesus Christ.

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.

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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.

As disciples one of the key ways we should describe our identity is as stewards. Our Catholic Social Teaching – a moral compass that guides Catholics on how to live their faith and address social, economic, and ecological issues – compels us to take care of the creation as a gift from God.

In 2015 Pope Francis published an encyclical (a letter) called Laudato Si which teaches us about the wonders of God’s creation and called upon all people to care for our common home, the world that God has created for us.

In October last year Pope Francis published an Apostolic Exhortation (a teaching document from the pope which usually encourages a particular behaviour or activity) called Laudate Deum. Pope Francis writes passionately about the lack of change since Laudato Si – he calls out some of the myths around climate change and reminds us that the poorest and most vulnerable people are most affected by climate change.

Spend some time discussing this quote from Laudate Deum:

“Let us finally admit that it is a human and social problem on any number of levels. For this reason, it calls for involvement on the part of all. In Conferences on the climate, the actions of groups negatively portrayed as “radicalized” tend to attract attention. But in reality they are filling a space left empty by society as a whole, which ought to exercise a healthy “pressure”, since every family ought to realize that the future of their children is at stake.”

• What do you think are the barriers to climate change being taken more seriously by leaders?
• What are your reflections as young people on the way that leaders are responding to climate change?

We pray for world leaders that they will be brave and bold enough to make the decisions that will protect the gift of creation for future generations to come.

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

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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.

If you asked the people that know you best ‘who do you say I am?‘ would they be likely to answer that you are a good steward who cares about creation?

Today we are going to respond to the invitation of Pope Francis in Laudate Deum when he said:

I ask everyone to accompany this pilgrimage of reconciliation with the world that is our home and to help make it more beautiful, because that commitment has to do with our personal dignity and highest values. (69)

Take some time to decide upon two actions that will be your mission during this season of creation:

1. pilgrimage of reconciliation – what will you stop/ do less of to take care of the gift of creation? e.g. turning off the tap when brushing your teeth/ stop wasting food
2. help make it more beautiful – how will you care for and promote the responsible use of the world and its resources? e.g. choosing to buy items made of sustainable and fairly traded materials/ campaign for leaders to take the climate crisis seriously and to take action quickly.

Let us pray,

Creator God,

You help us to recognise Your Son Jesus through His words and actions.

Help us to be people of action who make a difference to the world that we live in so that your gift of creation can be enjoyed by future generations.

We make this prayer through Christ, Your Son, our Lord,

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.