House Masses

House Masses are a regular feature in our school calendar.  Each House celebrates Mass either on or as close as possible to the Feast Day of their House Saint.  

Students from the House play an active part in our celebrations including proclaiming The Word, and serving as Ministers of Communion.

The House Captains assist this by choosing who reads and putting together reflections that give some insight into the life of the Saint.

 

                                                        

22nd September           28th January           8th February                 24th March                           12th July                         8th August

 

Year 7 Preparation for Mass

The Eucharist is a deeply significant sacrament for Catholics, representing a gift from God that enables us to strengthen our relationship with Him. At St Bede’s, the celebration of Mass unites the entire school community in reverence and contemplation. However, for our new Year 7 students, participating in these school Masses may be an entirely novel experience.

To help our new Year 7 students with this, we give them the opportunity to understand a bit more. We have our Lay Chaplain who leads and guides them through the Mass, providing a comprehensive explanation of each part and its significance, and the correct responses offering our new students a profound understanding of this sacrament.

Students are then encouraged to attend our weekly Voluntary Mass to see in practice what has been talked about

Furthermore, students are encouraged to actively engage in the celebration by participating in activities such as reading the liturgy of the word, honing their musical talents for the ministry, or learning the duties of altar serving.

Later in the Year, RF classes are asked to assist in planning for the voluntary Mass, providing readers and also writing and delivering the Bidding Prayers that are used.

Voluntary Mass

The Eucharist is at the heart of our worship and weekly Mass is celebrated. The liturgy is prepared each week by a different class from Year 7, 8 and 9, and pupils play an active role through readings, bidding prayers and the offertory procession.

Mass is celebrated in school on a Wednesday, during morning registration and is one of the most visible events in Chaplaincy and one of the most important events that happens in school each week. We are very fortunate to have Fr Francis, from Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, who comes in to celebrate the Mass for us.

The Mass is usually celebrated in the main hall, as the number of pupils that choose to attend often exceeds the capacity of the Chapel. This is a voluntary Mass where everyone is welcome to attend should they wish and are allowed to do so and released from their tutor time in order to attend.

Holy Days of Obligation

It is important for us to mark and celebrate all Holy Days of Obligation.  It is not always possible to have a priest present during these Holy Days, and where that is the case we hold Services with all pupils, using the readings of the day and including reflections to break open the meaning and importance of the day.

College Feast Day Celebration

At the end of Term 5, and as close as possible to the Feast Day of St Bede, we celebrate our Patronal Feast Day. Where possible, we celebrate with Mass, and if this isn’t possible, we celebrate with a service of readings and reflections. All members of the school community get the opportunity to take part.

During this Mass we also commission our new Eucharistic Ministers, confirmed pupils from Year 10 who have been prepared to carry out this important ministry.

Other Liturgies

Reconciliation

The sacrament of reconciliation is a significant part of the experience for pupils at St Bede’s.

The sacrament of Reconciliation, also known as Penance and Confession, is a fundamental aspect of the Catholic faith. Catholics confess their sins to a priest, as this is the method of forgiveness that Jesus Himself established during His earthly ministry. In Matthew 9:2, Jesus says to a paralysed man, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”

During Lent, we offer all pupils the opportunity to experience the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We hold Reconciliation Services with all pupils who will then have the opportunity to sign up and meet, individually with a priest, to receive the formal sacrament.

Through our Lenten Prayer Stations, we also offer the opportunity to think about forgiveness and reflection on areas of our lives that can be improved.

 

For our 6^th Form Students, we offer a different service, instigated by one of our Deanery priests, Mgr Bernard Massey, where, following a short, simple service, Students are invited to come forward and suggest one area in their lives that they would like forgiveness for and they then receive general absolution.

Daily Prayer

A key feature of any Catholic school is that each student is offered the chance to take part in a time of prayer and reflection each day.

We achieve this through the weekly prayers and reflections that are   prepared and delivered each Monday for use throughout that week.

Each week we have a different theme, that may be based on the Gospel readings of the time or will factor in important national events or dates in the churches calendar.

Examples of themes include: honesty, friendship and hope.

There will also be themes connected with Advent, Lent and Easter, at the appropriate times of the year.

 

This enables us to focus each week on a different aspect of what it means to believe in God and live a Christian life.

The prayers that are provided invite the pupils to reflect on the theme in the light of the reflection provided, to draw strength and to spend some quiet time communicating with God and considering their reaction or response.

For some pupils this will be easy, for others, not so. It is, therefore, important for us to be sensitive to each individual and their particular circumstances.

The aim in facilitating times of prayer is to present something which enables those with little or no faith experience to grasp key concepts and ideas, and also to allow those who already have a faith commitment to engage in a deeper way.

All of the schools of the Diocese need our prayers and so each week we pray for different, specific schools and all that work and learn in them.

Advent and Lent

Eucharistic Ministers

Congratulations to our Eucharistic Ministers who were commissioned at the Feast of St. Bede Mass in May 2024.

 

Adoration 

Adoration, involves the worship of the Eucharist outside of the Mass. The Eucharistic Host, the presence of Christ, is displayed in a monstrance on the altar, allowing all to see it and offering a space for prayer.

 Staff and pupils have the opportunity for Adoration each Friday during Tutor time when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in our Chapel.

We also use Adoration with GCSE pupils when they explore different forms of worship, giving them a practical experience to enhance the theory that they have learned about.

Prayer Stations

We make good use of our Chapel to regularly hold prayer stations. These take place 3 times in the year, firstly during Advent, then in Lent and finally in the summer term. All of our Key Stage 3 pupils have the opportunity to take part and experience the stations which vary from year to year.

During Advent we prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus by reflecting on the key messages of Advent of Hope, Peace Joy and Love.

During Lent, as we prepare for the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter, we take time to consider our own journeys, considering how we ask for and need forgiveness.

Our Summer prayer stations vary in theme, the most recent taking the themes of Catholic Social Teaching and exploring what they mean to us.

          

Retreats

We offer retreat experiences throughout the year which vary from 1 day to weekend residential visits to Kintbury, Viney Hill and other retreat centres. We look to offer retreats to as many year groups as possible.

 We also offer a bi-annual retreat to Rome and this has been well received by pupils.

Year 7 Retreat Day

Early in the school year we take all of Year 7 on a day’s retreat, beginning with a reflection and then spending the day, in tutor groups, on a variety of workshops looking at the theme of Belonging and Catholic Social Teaching. This is a great way for tutor groups to get to know each other a little better and to come together as a faith community.

We end the day with Mass, celebrated by one of our Deanery priests, that involves contributions from pupils and joyous singing!

Year 10 Young Volunteer Group

The Diocesan young volunteer programme is designed for students to learn more about one of the Catholic charities, HCPT, Missio and SVP.  The students work with other schools, following the programme.  

 

Events – Ordination of Bishop Bosco