The book is intended for busy teachers, chaplains or anyone who often reaches for a prayer or service, but finds themselves grabbing material from many different sources. The author has worked a Jesuit school for over 20 years, where school gatherings are common and are always prefaced with prayer. She has regularly searched for and written different prayers to suit moments in the school year, to suit a moment in time. Sometimes she had time to prepare and other times, she found herself running along corridors to pull something from her files or turning to the internet while the bell was ringing! She often wished she had a book under her arm that she could trust would always have something to suit. So she put her prayers together as a "go to" for people who lead prayer, who provide calm and stillness for others but may have felt frantic in ‘finding the right piece.’
She has also included a couple of poems from young people as an example of how they continue to inspire her.
Introduction .......................................................................................9
SEPTEMBER
Opening of the School Year....................................................11
Working Together...................................................................12
Blessings on All......................................................................13
Adaptation of Psalm 1............................................................14
Wellness Check as You Return to School................................15
OCTOBER
Mission Month: Head, Heart and Hand.................................16
Mission Month: Make Friends with the Unlikely...................17
Mission Month: The Marginalised..........................................18
Mid-term Break......................................................................19
Giving Thanks........................................................................20
Be with Us Today, Lord..........................................................21
NOVEMBER
A Farmer’s Reflection..............................................................22
In Thanks for the Harvest.......................................................23
Finding Comfort When There Is Loss.....................................24
For the Holy Souls..................................................................25
God Didn’t Make Death.........................................................26
DECEMBER
Advent: A Time of Waiting.....................................................27
Advent Wreath.......................................................................28
Is Christmas for Holy People? Are You Holy?.........................29
Christmas Carols....................................................................30
Advent, the Pink Candle: for Joy............................................32
JANUARY
A New Year: Begin Again........................................................33
Beatitudes for the Adolescent..................................................35
Catholic Schools Week: Hope................................................36
FEBRUARY
St Brigid’s Day........................................................................37
A Month of Healing...............................................................38
Springtime Contemplation.....................................................39
Valentine’s Day.......................................................................40
Christian Unity......................................................................41
MARCH
Seachtain na Gaeilge...............................................................42
Lent: Lenten Promises............................................................44
In Thanks for Food and Water................................................45
St Patrick’s Day.......................................................................46
APRIL
Lenten Reflection...................................................................48
Holy Week with Prayers of the Faithful..................................49
On the Day of a Match..........................................................53
Slow to the Beat.....................................................................54
MAY
Exam Preparations..................................................................55
Our Lady................................................................................57
Prayer in the Muslim Tradition...............................................58
In Thanks for the Experience of Transition Year......................59
The Examen...........................................................................60
JUNE
God Has a Plan for You..........................................................62
JULY
Past Pupils..............................................................................63
AUGUST
An Adaptation of Pope Francis’s Message in Laudato Si’..........64
Prayers and Reflections For Any Time in the School Year
Finding God in Nature...........................................................65
Board of Management............................................................66
When a Loved One is Sick.....................................................67
On Lighting a Candle.............................................................68
I Don't Want a Labrador........................................................69
Prayer of St Ignatius...................................................................70
A Special Introduction to the Examen........................................71
