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One way in which we can start making positive changes to the world is by being open to learning and educating ourselves.
Below are some helpful videos to get us started! These resources will continue to be updated in the following days and weeks so keep checking the resources for more useful videos!
#learnandlove
As featured on Friday’s @NDCYS ‘Friday Night Live’ show, Fr Jonathan Cotton shares a message with us all on the topic of racism and how we can tackle racial injustice as Catholics…
We try to make sense of the issues affecting our world by turning to our faith. On this week’s episode of Making Sense Of It All, we stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and explore how we can combat inequality and racism. Learn and Love.
If your school or family at home have a TV license you can watch this episode of ‘Celebrity Supply Teacher’ on BBC iplayer- if you’re not sure how to do this- just ask!
World famous journalist Martin Bashir takes a break from reporting on the big stories and interviewing top names to teach a history lesson about something very personal to him. He reveals why Martin Luther King Jnr is his hero from history, why he is inspired by him every day and how we can all learn from his fight against racial inequality in the 1960s.
Click on the link below:
You can read the Bishop’s Conference statement on racial injustice by clicking the link below:
Systemic Racism – Here is a closer look at what systemic racism is, and how we can solve it.
The Black Curriculum is a project that go into schools to:
Teach black history all year round,
Empower youth,
Increase a sense of belonging and raise attainment.
Find out more about who they are and what they do below!
The Black Curriculum have lots of video resources to help us gain a greater understanding of Black History and iconic figures within Black History!
Welcome to our Liturgy!
Click on the different tabs below to join us through the different parts of the Liturgy.
GATHER
Let us start our prayer with the sign of the cross…
When we gather before God it is important to remember that we gather as equal. Every human is made in the image of God, no matter who we are or where we come from, and therefore every life is precious and a gift.
God made us all different and unique but we were designed to work together. We hear about this in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians ‘Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts.’ 1 Corinthians 12.
There is only one race in the world – the human race and that’s the way God made us.
Many of you will have seen a lot in the news and on social media about George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement and the racial injustice that continues to happen across the world.
We mourn the fact that so many lives are not treated with dignity and justice.
As Christians it is important to remember that Jesus’ teachings of love and compassion to our neighbours are at the heart of everything we do.
Jesus was no stranger to bringing justice to the oppressed.
Even in Jesus’ time people were treated differently because of the way they looked, the colour of their skin, where they came from or their religion.
The way that Jesus loved everyone inspires us as a Christian community to be the face of Christ each day.
THE WORD
In times of trouble, sadness or confusion we can turn to the Bible, the Word of God, for advice.
Today we have a couple of pieces of scripture to listen to and reflect on…
Old Testament
A reading from the prophet Isaiah,
Learn to do right. See that justice is done- help those who are oppressed, give orphans their rights, and defend widows.
The Word of the Lord
Response: Thanks be to God
Prophet- A Prophet is a person God chooses to announce His message.
The prophet Isaiah had to bring a hard message to the Israelites who had stopped believing in the one, true God. They were praying to false gods and they had stopped following God’s laws, they were’t being kind to one another.
Isaiah helped to teach God’s message to the Israelites and encouraged them to be better people.
Isaiah 1:17 calls us to “Learn to do right. See that justice is done- help those who are oppressed.”
Isaiah had a happy message for the Israelites. He told them that God promised to never stop loving them. This love was unconditional and equal among all people.
Isaiah told the Israelites that when the time was right, God would send them a gentle, loving servant to lead them. Now we know that servant is Jesus and we follow his teachings on love every single day!
New Testament
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians,
Be alert, stand firm in your faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
The Word of the Lord
Response: Thanks be to God
In the New Testament, in the first letter to the Corinthians we hear about how the Apostle Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth to give them advice on how to live because they were not united. Instead, they were arguing and forming different groups. So Paul reminded them to act as one body. He said that every person has an important gift the Church needs.
Some Christians were using their bodies to sin. Paul taught them that God lived in each one of them. So if they did bad things with their bodies, they were hurting God.
St Paul talks a lot of love in his letters and that’s because the most important thing Paul told them was to love one another and “Let all that you do be done in love”. 1 Corinthians 16:14
As Christians, at the heart of everything we do, is love.
Spend some time thinking about the people who are suffering at the moment and need to feel some healing and love.
What can we do to share God’s love with the wider community?
How can we seek justice to ensure that all lives are treated equally and fairly?
How can we stand with our brothers and sisters in the human race who aren’t treated equally?
How can we be the voice for the voiceless?
RESPONSE
Below we have a brilliant and uplifting hymn called ‘We are Called’ that has been recorded by a choir during lockdown.
The lyrics of We are Called speak of uniting the world through the various ways we are called to bring light into the world.
Listen to the hymn and reflect on the questions below as we strive to bring about change!
What can we do to share God’s love with the wider community?
How can we seek justice to ensure that all lives are treated equally and fairly?
How can we stand with our brothers and sisters in the human race who aren’t treated equally?
How can we be the voice for the voiceless?
You may recognise the hymn or you may notice that the lyrics appear in the top right corner of the video, so join in if you can!
Nelson Mandela spent his whole life striving for justice and freedom for those who were disadvantaged by the system of racial segregation. He once said…
“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
No matter how young we are, we can strive to the change the world, we can make small steps in our everyday lives to help make the world a peaceful loving place.
Prayers of Intercession
If you are celebrating this Liturgy with your family at home or with your peers at school you could have different volunteers to read each of the prayers out loud. Make sure you join in with the responses below each prayer!
1. We pray for all those who have died from racism and injustice. May we open our eyes to the injustice that exists in our communities and our world and may we work for justice and promote dignity.
Lord hear us
Response: Lord graciously hear us
2. We pray for peace in our world, that this world may be a safe and dignifying home for every life and for future generations.
Lord hear us
Response: Lord graciously hear us
3. We pray for our world leaders, may those who are guiding countries be leaders of love, integrity and empowerment, recognising the dignity of each human in their care.
Lord hear us
Response: Lord graciously hear us
4. We pray for all those that suffer because of the injustice that exists, may God comfort them and bring them strength.
Lord hear us
Response: Lord graciously hear us
5. We pray for the power to be gentle and loving; have the strength to be forgiving; the patience to be understanding and the courage to do what is right and not what is easy.
Lord hear us
Response: Lord graciously hear us
We remember Mary who is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of us all. We ask her to pray for us, and all of our intentions, as we say…
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee;
blessed are thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
MISSION
Our liturgy and our prayer doesn’t finish after we make the sign of the cross. Through our prayer we can listen to God and understand what we are being called to do.
Your mission is to be the change you wish to see in the world!
There are lots of ways our community can seek to start bringing about change to make the world a better place:
Prayer is very powerful – Prayer inspires a change of our heart. The more we talk to God, the more we are inspired to do God’s work and make a difference in our world.
Spread love and kindness near and far – live by the Gospel values Jesus taught us
In our conversations and our actions – Do what is right and not just what is easy. If we see someone being treated unequally we should stand with them.
Learn – There are lots of books and resources out there to help us all learn more about racial injustice with advice on how we can create change and ‘seek justice and correct oppression’ Isaiah 1:17.
By learning and loving we will change the world during a time when it needs healing the most.
Write in the comments box below any ideas you have for how we can spread love, learn and create positive change!
We end our prayer with the sign of the cross…
As featured on Friday’s @NDCYS ‘Friday Night Live’ show, Fr Jonathan Cotton shares a message with us all on the topic of racism and how we can tackle racial injustice as Catholics…
Fr J’s 3 important truths and 3 important actions to stamp out racism…
3 Truths
1 Creator – There is one God, one Father, our creator who has created one race, the human race. We are all brothers and sisters, sharing the same human rights.
1 Saviour – There is only one Saviour and that is Jesus Christ, the saviour of the human race. Jesus’ death and resurrection opened up a way out of sin and death for humanity showing us how much he loves us. He let the holy spirit of new life fall upon the nations of the world with gifts to help us spread the Good News.
1 Shared Destiny – Everyone in the human race has a shared destiny. This destiny is the happiness of heaven. There is a place in heaven for every human being.
3 Actions
Solidarity – We can and should stand alongside the victims of racism.
Respect – We can show respect for difference and diversity. We can live side by side. We can be inclusive with others without losing our differences, diversity and unique identity. Celebrate diversity it’s beaultiful!
Campaign – We can campaign to oppose racism and call for accountability for people whose wrong attitudes and wrong actions cause racism. Call for investigations when racism happens and make sure concrete changes take place so as to create equality and the unity of the human race.
If we take on board these 3 truths and these 3 actions, we will help to gradually wipe out racism.
“As far as God is concerned, each of us is an awe inspiring miracle” – Youcat.
By learning and loving we will change the world during a time when it needs healing the most.
Lets do our bit to stamp out racism!
