A Feast Day is a special day in the Catholic church's calendar where people across the world will celebrate the occasion by going to mass or making dedicated time for prayer.
A Feast day falls on a different day each year, depending on the church's cycle and calendar (a bit like Easter)
As a school we will say the Sacred Heart prayer during form class time.
As we reflect on Your Sacred Heart, that knows both pain and joy,
We bring to mind the things we carry in our own heart.
We think about those things that cause us pain, the things that feel heavy, the situations we find ourselves in and the sadness we can encounter.
We ask for Your tenderness to melt any bitterness. We ask for your healing presence to be with us in times of struggle, to surround and hold us. Help us to be resilient in hardship, knowing we are never alone.
We think about those things that bring us joy, the things that fill us up, excite us, motivate us, enthuse us and bring light to our lives.
Pierce our hearts with a Spirit of passion, zeal and courage, unafraid of the fullness of life.
Help us to always notice and be grateful for beauty, love and joy. Open our hearts to experience the fire of Your goodness.
May we always know how loved and held we are, amidst the messiness and chaos we can find ourselves in.
Thank you God for loving us fiercely, right where we are.
Amen
Other traditions that will be taking place to help us celebrate this is our Big Mass (whole school mass in the last week of term), where we will share the readings at mass from the feast day.
We will also have our Feast Day trips which also take place in the last week.
A personal reflection for us all to consider on this day: The Sacred Heart is the heart of God and so it knows joy, immeasurable love and beauty. But it is heart that was pierced and is often seen surrounded by a thorny crown. It is also a heart that knows pain and deep suffering. Our lives are a balance between joy AND pain. We need both. It's brutal and beautiful at the same time ('brutiful'). We are never alone on our journey. The Divine knows us, sees us and understands us. He knows our heart.
