Prayer and Liturgy

Prayer and Liturgy at Christ the King

The practise of the Roman Catholic faith is fundamental to the life of the school. This guides and directs all our activities in relation to worship and assembly, the content of RE lessons, as well as spiritual and moral development. It is at the heart of everything we do and our anchor.

We believe that Liturgical Prayer in our school aims to provide opportunity for all pupils and staff:

to contemplate something of the mystery of God
to reflect on spiritual and moral issues
to explore their own beliefs
to respond to and celebrate life
to experience a sense of belonging and develop community spirit
to develop a common ethos and shared values
to enrich religious experience
to grow in liturgical understanding and development
to reinforce prayers which are part of the Catholic tradition
to reinforce positive attitudes
to participate fully in worship
to take time out ‘to wonder at’, ‘to come to terms with’ and ‘to give worth to’
to have opportunities to empathise with others.

"Prayer is clearly at the heart of all they do (at Christ the King) and the thread that runs through the life of the school. It is also outstanding." (Denominational Inspection Report April 2022)

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At Christ the King, Liturgical Prayer will be celebrated in the following way:

Monday:

Whole school liturgical prayer based on the Gospel reading from the previous day’s Mass or the weekly ethos statement, lead by the Head or member of the SLT.

Tuesday:

All classes will have class based liturgical prayer using the Mark 10 Mission resources.

Wednesday:

KS2 will have class based liturgical prayer.

EYFS /KS1 praise and music liturgical prayer.

Thursday:

All classes will have class based liturgical prayer.

Friday:

EYFS/KS1 will have class based liturgical prayer.

KS2 praise and music liturgical prayer.

Please find our Liturgical Prayer Policy here.

Prayer at Christ the King

Prayer is an act of worship that glorifies God and reinforces our need for Him. Through living a life of prayer, we respond to Christ's work of salvation and communicate with the very source of and purpose for our existence.

At Christ the King, we endeavour to pray at all opportunities for different needs and purposes. We ensure children pray as they start their day, before and after lunch and at the end of the school day.

Children are also encouraged to learn, and join in with, some traditional prayers of the Church such as the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be and an Act of Contrition.

During the months of October and May, children are encouraged to participate in the mysteries of the Rosary through saying decades of this special prayer and using Rosary Beads to help them. Travelling Rosary bags are sent home to enable the children to pray with their families too.

In October, we remember the Holy Souls, those who have died in war and members of our families who we have lost. We say the words of the Eternal Rest together.

As part of our Lenten preparation, we reflect on the Stations of the Cross and the journey Jesus took to the cross. During this penitential season we also think of all the things that we do wrong and often recite an Act of Contrition together.

More recently, Bishop Mark has asked us to renew our commitment to the Angelus prayer which we say together every other week. This special prayer reminds us how Mary was asked to take part in God’s great plan and she quickly said ‘yes’ to Him.