Confirmandi
On Monday 4th March, five of our students, along with students from SS.Mary’s and John’s Catholic Primary took their Sacrament of Confirmation. The Mass was celebrated by the Rt Rev Bishop David McGough. Bishop David had spent the afternoon with the students talking to them about the strength of Holy Spirit.
The students renewed the promises, which were made on their behalf, by their godparents during baptism; and then Bishop David prayed for the candidates, while stretching his hands over them
Each candidate knelt before the Bishop with his or her sponsor. The sponsor placed their right hand on their shoulder while the Bishop anointed them with the oil of Chrism. During the anoint, the Bishop addressed each by his or her confirmation name saying, ‘Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit’
After the Mass they continued their celebrations in the church hall.
On Thursday 14th March 4 more of our students will be receiving their Confirmation at St Michaels Catholic Church in Penn, along with the students from St Michael’s Catholic Primary at 7 o’clock. The RT Rev Bishop MC Gough will be the celebrant once again.
The students have been working hard with Mrs Ferris after school and during their lunch to complete their spiritual preparation confirmation.
We ask that you keep these students in your prayers that they may be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Two of our students attended a girls weekend retreat at Soli House. Here is Molly Kerins testimony of her time there.
Soli house weekend
During the 15th and the 17th of February Siwi and I went on a girls retreat to Soli House. The weekend was focused on our treasure, what is it, how we find it and how we use it. During the weekend we took part in multiple outdoor activities such as a scavenger hunt around Alton Castle, escape room and crate stacking. Additionally, we also had discussions about what we treasure in life and went to a mass on the Saturday evening where we all took part either through reading, singing or dancing. Over the whole weekend girls from all over the country were able to come together and discuss our faith and how we can use our talents to better our lives and the lives of others. I think that the weekend was an amazing experience and I look forward to going on another retreat soon.
For 3 days, 35 students from year 7 and 8 experienced the delights of Alton Castle Catholic Retreat Centre in Alton Staffordshire. The theme for the retreat was ’Who am I?’ The students were to consider how they view themselves, how friends view them, family and God.
‘He counts the Stars and Calls them all by name’ Psalm 147:7
They then faced a range of challenges, such as survival skills, archery, trekking and a climbing wall. They also looked at the three things we need to survive, water, food and shelter. This helped them look at what they are capable of and how to work as a team.
They had opportunities to pray and attend Mass Celebrated with Fr Thé Quang Nguyen in St John the Baptist Church, on the grounds of the Castle.
The weather was frosty, many layers were needed but fun was had by all.
In case no-one told you today, you are God’s work of Art,
Wonderfully made, knit together by the almighty,
Anticipated since the beginning of time,
You are called to a unique and specific purpose.
You are not rubbish, and you never were,
Because God does not make rubbish
It is time to be fearfully and wonderfully you!
You are….FANTASTIC!
On January 26th – 27th, young adults across the Diocese will be answering the call of Pope Francis and serving in mission projects over this weekend serving their local community. Following a weekend of mission, local groups will join together on Sunday evening at Ss. Peter and Paul in Wolverhampton to celebrate the closing Mass of World Youth Day, enjoy Panamanian food and tuning in to the Pope’s homily and the sights and sounds of Panama. All young people are welcome to join us. Please arrive at St. Peter and Pauls RC Church WV11RJ. at 6pm. Event finishes at 9pm.
The young people will be asking for people to sponsors them. All the money raised will go to Tabor House to support their project with homeless people. If you would like to sponsor the young people you can via parent pay at school.
Please keep in your prayers the 20 young adults, largely from parishes in disadvantaged areas of the Diocese, representing Birmingham in Panama with Pope Francis and the youth of the world!
pic 
Saturday 1st December was the Feast Day of our founder St Edmund. We marked the day with a celebration Mass for the whole community on Friday 3th November.
Monsignor Mark Crisp, our Chaplain was the celebrant at the Mass. He gave a great homily, helping us to recognise how lucky and privileged we are to be able to celebrate Mass together as a community without being persecuted for our faith, like people did in Queen Elizabeth 1 reign.
In 1580 Campion joined the first mission that was sent by the Jesuits, to minister to the Catholics of England, who were strictly forbidden to practice their religion. He preached at secret Catholic meetings in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Lancashire.
He was arrested by a spy at Lyford, Berkshire, on July 17, 1581, and taken to the Tower of London. When he refused, under severe torture, to recant his religious convictions, his captors invented charges that he had conspired to overthrow the queen. He was convicted of treason and executed. Throughout his ordeal, Campion exhibited religious zeal and great courage. Campion Hall at Oxford was named for him. He was canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.
Many of our pupils took part in the Mass, Alter Servers, and the choir, people taking the Offertory and readers from our 6th form. We especially give thanks to John Smith who stood in at the last minute, and expressed the Reading of from St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, so eloquently. Which ended in:
‘ So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.’
On Saturday 1st December, three of our 6 formers gave up their Saturday to hold a stall at St Mary’s and St John’s Christmas Fayre.
Over the week, they made different Christmas decorations such as sleighs, stars, candleholders and wreaths. On the day, they met the Mayor of Wolverhampton and his wife, who thanked them for supporting the community and said they were a credit to the school. Their stall made £40 for the church. Well Done to all who supported this event.
Samaritans- Operation Christmas Child
At the start of November each tutor group was asked to fill a shoebox for the Samaritans Charity-Operation Christmas Child, and again students and staff came up trumps.
Over 40 shoeboxes have been delivered. The boxes were filled with items such as hats, scarves, tooth brushes, toiletries, writing pads, pens, toys and a Christmas card. Each box also had to be sent with £5. A huge thank you goes to everyone who donated in any way, with special thanks to the 6 form Chaplaincy and Charity teams for all their hard work in collecting and putting the boxes together.
You have all made a difference to a child’s life this Christmas, thank you for your kindness and generosity, God Bless.
Sadly, due to poverty and injustice, this harvest will not be bright for millions of children and young people around the world who will miss out on food, clean water and even on going to school.
But your support is helping to change this! Last year, schools around England and Wales joined us to
Brighten Up and help make the world a brighter place for communities living in extreme poverty. Your fundraising has been enabling CAFOD partners to work alongside the poorest communities as they find ways to overcome their many challenges. Thank you!
St Edmund’s will ‘ Brighten Up’ on the Annual Fast Day this Friday 5 October. We will be continuing to collect loose change in our ‘Cafod Pyramid Boxes’, and on Friday we are asking students and staff to either donate the amount of something they normally treat themselves to like a chocolate bar, doughnut etc or to give up their normal lunch instead choose Leek and Potato soup with a roll for £1 cash in the canteen, which will be served by the Lay Chaplain and staff. All the money will be donated to Cafod. A special thanks go’s to our catering staff for making the soup provided.
During this week, some of our students have had assemblies, highlighting the work Cafod does and our prayer theme for the school for this week is Cafod.
The good news is that the number of hungry people in our world is falling, but with 793 million of our sisters and brothers still undernourished, we cannot give up.*
We can all be part of helping to eradicate global poverty and building a brighter world. Whatever you do to Brighten Up, thank you.
Make a difference!
£1 buys seeds for a family to grow beans
£7 buys a treated mosquito net that keeps children safe from malaria
£33 supplies one family with safe, clean water in their home
£300 buys a mobile health team for remote communities that don’t have hospitals
Starting tomorrow lunchtime, Thursday 4th October 2018.
The whole community of St Edmund’s Catholic Academy is invited to come to the Chapel in their lunchtime to take 5 minutes out of their busy day, light a candle and sit in the Chapel. Taking time to either pray for someone or themselves or just take some time to be quiet and reflect on the day, while music is playing softly in the background. This is a great thing to do not only at school but for yourselves at home, it is great for your wellbeing, helping you to keep calm and relieve the stresses of the day- why not try it.
Everyone leaves with a very small gift and a positive quote like
‘Do Small things with great Love’
‘Happiness is not something ready made, it comes from your own actions’
Or one of my personal favourites ‘A smile Costs Nothing’.
October is Rosary Month
The students and staff at St Edmunds Catholic Academy are invited to the Chapel on a Tuesday evening, after school, to look at how to say the Rosary and learn more about this great ‘tool’ for prayers and meditation. The Rosary beads are provided. Why not come along…
October 7th is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary and the month of October is traditionally the month of the rosary. Why did the Blessed Mother ask us to pray the rosary at many of her approved apparitions such as at Fatima? Why should we pray at all?
We know that God is perfect and perfectly happy, so he doesn’t need our prayers or affections… but he loves us and wants us to be happy. He wants to have a loving relationship with us both now and for eternity. God is potentially the greatest source of happiness we can possibly have, as God is the greatest, the most beautiful, most loving, all-powerful and all-knowledgeable being in existence
Prayer is a way to help us get in touch with God and to develop a relationship with him. In prayer we not only talk with God, but God communicates with us. As we continue to pray, our relationship with God grows, and we are transformed more into the people we are meant to be.
So why pray the rosary?
One reason the Blessed Mother asked us to pray the rosary might be because it can benefit anyone at any stage of the spiritual life from beginners to advanced. The rosary is a vocal prayer, a meditation and can lead to contemplation as Pope John Paul II mentioned in his encyclical Rosary of the Virgin Mary.
“A path of contemplation … But the most important reason for strongly encouraging the practice of the Rosary is that it represents a most effective means of fostering among the faithful that commitment to the contemplation of the Christian mystery which I have proposed in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millenio Ineuente as a genuine ‘training in holiness’: ‘What is needed is a Christian life distinguished above all in the art of prayer’. Inasmuch as contemporary culture, even amid so many indications to the contrary, has witnessed the flowering of a new call for spirituality, due also to the influence of other religions, it is more urgent than ever that our Christian communities should become ‘genuine schools of prayer’. The Rosary belongs among the finest and most praiseworthy traditions of Christian contemplation.”
