By Mr Patrick Donnely, Assistant Principal Mission and Identity 

Religious Art, Icons and Statues

Here at Assumption College, we are very privileged to have so many different religious iconography around the College. At the beginning of the year, we welcomed our new statue of Mary, at the front of the College. This space will evolve over the years but for now, it is a simple space for us to reflect, be still, listen and most importantly pray. The image here does not do it justice. I encourage people to take the opportunity, when they next visit the college, to ask to visit this new statue and sacred space. I encourage students that during times when they are facing challenges to ask to use this space as an opportunity for prayer.

Cornerstones – Session 3

This week's reflection was on the topic of intercession in prayer. The group meet once a fortnight and this fortnight was a fun-filled session. Below are snippets of a different staff member from their fortnight’s reflection.

This week, we were reminded again of the presence of God in the ‘now’, and how He is in every circumstance of our lives. This may be easy to be complacent about at times, yet we regularly turn to God in times of need. We hear in Matthew 7:7-8 to ‘ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find … knock and the door will be opened …’. This passage reminds us that we are not in this alone, and to turn to the Lord for guidance and support. Through a prayer of Intercession, we can find a sense of who we are, who God is, a sense of the world, and each other. We seek the ‘Lord, to hear us’, therefore seek the Lord to consider our call for guidance. We know that, at times, we do not receive what we ask, and we need to view that in itself as guidance from the Lord.

Using intercession in the classroom invites students to develop deeper relationship with God. Creating opportunities for personal intercession and sharing them with each other also enables the class to learn more about each other. When hearing what classmates are seeking, students can view others in a different light. Through then having the opportunity to pray for them, as well as with them allows for relationship building and deeper connection to their class and community.

With prayers of intercession providing opportunities for connection to the class, opportunities for meaningful reading of the Bible are important. Lectio Devina is an ancient form of prayer associated with the Benedictine monks that invites the pray-er to ‘listen with the ear of your heart’. Lectio Devina is designed as a four-step process to encounter the sacred readings with thought and intent. It is a deep listening that is open and attentive to the Word. Through a slow reading of the chosen passage, the individual responds to the word in a transformative way, with the purpose being intrinsic nourishment. A word or phrase that speaks to the individual is to be meditated upon, to deepen the encounter with the story. This prayerful phase of the Lectio Devina reveals an authentic version of the person praying, revealing a meaningful moment of purpose and connection. The final contemplatio, or contemplation of what has just been read invites a silent moment with God to consider the meaning of the text that has touched the heart. Lectio Devina invites a presence and relationship with God through his inspired Word.

This session has reminded me of the mediative effect of prayer, and the opportunity to spiritual growth through creating time to encounter God’s word through the Bible reading. The contemplation of how Lectio Devino is an opportunity to speak with God – just Him and me, creates a reassuring thought, one that is easily pushed out of one’s mind when times are busy. But this really is the time that it is needed the most. The phrases or words that are whispered through the Word is the intercession that I could be seeking, even though it is not what I may have asked for. It is what God wants me to hear.