Sunday
29TH OCTOBER
3Oth Sunday in Ordinary Time
​Matthew 22: 34-40 
Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”  He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind...a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ 
Teacher Background​
Gospel Reflection

Monday
3OTH OCTOBER
use gReen in your prayer space for some days this week
In yesterday’s reading, Jesus sums up the whole of God’s dream for humanity, including the teachings of both Judaism and Christianity, in two sentences.
Take two minutes of silent and still reflection to think: “Who is the neighbour who needs my love and support right here and right now?”  Is it a family member? The person you will sit beside in class today? The person who will sit alone in the playground today? The person whom no one will sit beside on the bus or train?
End the reflection with a prayer similar to the following:
Abba God, you love each one of us unconditionally. Help us, through the power of your Spirit, to show some of that love to someone who really needs to know it today. May the goodness and kindness we show today, be a sign to them of your love. We make this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Tuesday
31ST OCTOBER
​Today is Halloween. In ages past, it was the last day of the year. Many cultures believed that on this day, the world of the living and the world of the dead touched and the spirits of the dead were able to return to the world of the living. Lighted candles put in windows kept those spirits at bay. Today, our commercial world  misrepresents the meaning of today. Whether today is the end of the month or the end of the year, the best thing we can do is look back on the month, think about those we love and pray The Examen, asking ourselves “For what things in the past month am I grateful?”; “What do I regret doing in the past month?” ‘Whose forgiveness do I need to seek for things I have done in the past month?”.
After this time of reflection, join in a prayer similar to the following:
Abba God, thank you for our lives. For all we have been given, for the love and support we give each other; for the forgiveness we give and receive: Thank you. Help us, through the power of your Spirit, to make new beginnings in the month to come. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Wednesday
1ST NOVEMBER
(White in your Sacred Space today)
All Saints (All Hallows) Day
On this day the Church acknowledges those millions who have died believing in the way of God and who now live in the presence of God forever. The Church has canonised some of these people over time.  That is why Catholic Christians in particular continue to seek the prayers and intercession of saints to help them live the Way of Jesus. They do not pray to saints, but ask saints to pray for us.
Today, lead the students in part or whole of a Litany such as the Litany of Mary of Nazareth or A Litany of Saints and Founders (See RLOS Prayer and Ritual) which includes the names of the patron saints of our schools. 

Thursday
2ND NOVEMBER
​(Violet in your sacred space Today)
Thursday: All Souls Day (Commemoration of the Faithful Departed)
​Similar to All Saints Day, today Christians celebrate and remember all who have “gone before us, marked with the sign of faith”. Families remember their relatives who have died and pray for them. This day is part of the belief in the Church that our journey to God does not end with our earthly death: that even after death, some are still journeying to an eternal life in God. In some cultures, people visit graveyards and even eat picnics at the graves of loved ones, celebrating their belief in life after death and their ongoing connection with loved ones who have died.
For prayer today, invite students to think of the names of family members, friends, fellow students, school community members, people in the news who have died and whose names they wish to place in prayer and remembrance before God. 
Students may like to light a candle for the people they have named and in the silence and stillness pass the candle. The class could end the prayer with the traditional prayer for the dead:
Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen. 

Friday
3RD NOVEMBER
Martin de Porres is the patron saint of Social Justice.
On May 6, 1962, 323 years after Martin's death, Pope John XXIII canonised St. Martin de Porres in Rome. We may wonder why there is such a delay.  Perhaps it was because the Civil Rights movement was making strides in the United States to bring about an awareness of the equality and contribution of Black Americans. Perhaps this why St. Martin de Porres was canonised, to serve as a Christian model to show that an illegitimate mulatto from a lowly position in the 16th and 17th century Peruvian society, transcended the prejudice and laboured to change the world around him.
Today, let us remember people everywhere who suffer from prejudice and discrimination because of their racial background. We remember and seek forgiveness for when we have treated people differently because of their race or background. We think of the institutionalised racism and prejudice that still exist in our social structures: laws, regulations, in entertainment; sport, religion, employment, housing. 
A prayer for challenging racism
God, You are the source of human dignity, and it is in your image that we are created. Pour out on us the spirit of love and compassion. Enable us to reverence each person, to reach out to anyone in need, to value and appreciate that we are not different but the same.
Let us receive the gifts offered to us by people from other cultures. Grant that we may always promote
the justice and acceptance that ensures lasting peace and racial harmony. Help us to remember that we are one world and one family. Amen.