“At the heart of the life of the Catholic Church has always been the celebration of the Eucharist, or the Mass, as Catholics often call it. Taking part in the Mass is the hallmark of the Catholic, central and crucial to our Catholic identity.” [1](Celebrating the Mass 1)
As a Catholic School we believe attending mass and celebrating our faith together to be an integral part of our school community. Celebrating mass allows our community to reflect on the teachings of our Lord Jesus and to celebrate the Eucharist in memory of Him. The purpose of every school Mass is to unite all of those attending more closely to Christ, to deepen their love for him and for others.
Each celebration of Mass with pupils should be “carefully prepared beforehand, especially with regard to the prayers, songs, readings, and intentions of the general intercessions.” [2](DMC 29). As a school we work closely with our parish priest, Father Joseph, to plan and prepare for our class and school Masses. Father celebrates Mass with us in St. Dominic’s Church and also attends school to support and lead services.
Throughout the liturgical year we celebrate mass as a whole school and as individual classes, we actively encourage every year group to participate and contribute to mass, whether that be through singing, leading the offertory, joining in with the responses or reading to others at mass. Many of our children are members of our local parish, and where possible children from our school community serve on the altar during class and school masses.
[1] Celebrating the Mass: A Pastoral Introduction, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (London: Catholic Truth Society, 2005)
[2] Directory for Masses with Children, Congregation for Divine Worship (1973)