Come, Holy Spirit,

imbue us with your strength,

that we may bring

the light of faith,

the hope of the Gospel,

and the promise of your kingdom

into our schools and colleges.

Grant that the work of the

Catholic Association of Teachers,

Schools and Colleges

wilol bear fruit for the good

of the children in our care,

and for the benefit of its members.

Through Christ Our Lord,

Amen

I want to teach my students how

To live this life on earth

To face its struggles and its strife

And to improve their worth

Not just the lesson in a book

Or how the rivers flow

But how to choose the proper path

Wherever they may go

To understand eternal truth

And know the right from wrong

And gather all the beauty of a flower

And a song for if

I help the world to grow

In wisdom and in grace

Then I shall feel that I have won

And I have filled my place

And so I ask Your guidance, God,

That I may do my part

For character and confidence

And happiness of heart.

God, I have come to the frightening conclusion

I am the decisive element in the classroom

It is my personal approach that creates the climate

It is my daily mood that makes the weather

As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child's

Life miserable or joyous

I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration

I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal

In all situations it is my response that determines whether a crisis

Will be escalated or de-escalated and a child

Humanised or de-humanised

Grant me the insight and patience to make the right decisions

To model Jesus in my classroom.

May He support us all the day long

Till the shades lengthen and the evening comes

And the busy world is hushed

And the fever of life is over and the work is done!

Then in His mercy may He give us a safe lodging

And a holy rest, and peace at the last.

I bind unto myself today

The power of God to hold and lead

His eye to watch, His might to stay

His ear to hearken to my need.

The wisdom of my God to teach

His hand to guide, His shield to ward

The word of God to give me speech

His heavenly host to be my guard.

Christ be with me, Christ within me

Christ behind me, Christ before me

Christ beside me, Christ to win me

Christ to comfort and restore me

Christ beneath me, Christ above me

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger

Christ in mouth of friend or stranger.

I bind unto myself the name,

The strong name of the Trinity

By invocation of the same

The Three in One, the One in Three

Of whom all nature hath creation

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word

Praise to the Lord of my salvation

Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Thanks be to thee

Lord Jesus Christ

for all the benefits

which thou hast won for us

for all the pains and insults

which thou hast borne for us.

O most merciful Redeemer,

Friend and Brother

may we know thee more clearly,

love thee more dearly,

and follow thee more nearly

day by day.

God be in my head

and in my understanding;

God be in my eyes

and in my looking;

God be in my mouth

and in my speaking;

God be in my heart

and in my thinking;

God be at my end

and at my departing.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

Where there is injury, pardon,

Where there is doubt, faith,

Where there is despair, hope,

Where there is darkness, light,

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console,

Not so much to be understood and to understand,

Not so much to be loved, as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

It is in dying, that we awake to eternal life.

Eternal God

Bless all schools, colleges and universities,

especially ________________,

that they may be lively centres for sound learning,

new discovery and the pursuit of wisdom;

and grant that those who teach and those who learn

may find you to be the source of all truth;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

When the inventor of the pencil had finished the first one, he spoke to it ...

This is what he said ...

I never want you to forget these four things:

Firstly, your true worth is within you.

Secondly, during your life you will need to be sharpened very often.

Thirdly, you will always be at the mercy of other people.

Fourthly, you are expected to make a mark to leave behind.

This could well apply to us, today and always.

Our real value is in our souls and our faith: what is within ...

We need to sharpen up so very often to stop our relationship with God

from becoming faint ...

If we follow Christ, we put ourselves totally at the service of others

and we are expected to leave our mark

to have something to show for our lives here on earth.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours;

yours are the only hands with which he can do his work,

yours are the only feet with which he can go about the world,

yours are the only eyes through which his compassion

can shine forth upon a troubled world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Leader: Our Father

Response: A real person, who cares for and loves me

Leader: Who is in heaven

Response: Living higher than I am, understanding more than I do

Leader: Holy is your name

Response: We honour and praise your holy name

Leader: Your kingdom come

Response: Come quickly, Lord Jesus, live in our life

Leader: Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven

Response: You always know what is best for us

Leader: Give us this day our daily bread

Response: You have always filled our needs

Leader: And forgive us our sins

Response: In the name of Christ

Leader: As we forgive others

Response: 'Seventy times seven' times, Lord

Leader: And lead us not into temptation

Response: Give us the strength to resist

Leader: But deliver us from evil

Response: When we fall, you come through

Leader: For yours is the kingdom

Response: In which we share

Leader: And the power

Response: Greater than anything we have ever known

Leader: And the glory

Response: Brighter than the sun

Leader: Forever

Response: For all time to come

Leader: Amen!

Response: Amen!

God, our Father and our Mother, remind us never to take our food for granted.

Help us to remember those who suffer the weakness and pain of hunger every day -

give them hope and give us the courage to do something to help them.

Creator God, we thank you for our health, our food, our homes,

our friends and families.

Help us to get our priorities right and to be satisfied when we have enough.

Help us not to be greedy and envious.

Lord, show us that true happiness comes from people and not from things.

The world around us is full of good things and we thank you

for giving us so much.

Help us to remember people who are in need - in lands where drought

can cut off the supply of food and water and where war makes it impossible for people to share in the good things of the world.

Bless all those who work for people in need. Help us, here at ________________

to show that we are all brothers and sisters of one family,

even if we live a long way from each other.

We ask this in the name of Jesus, Lord of all people.

Amen.