Together in Spirit: St. Theresa Catholic School's Jubilee Prayer Project
During the 2024-2025 school year, St. Theresa Catholic School embarked on a special project based on a simple prompt: “How will you bring the spirit of the Jubilee Year into your school?” Pope Francis said: “Prayer unites us; it makes us brothers and sisters. It is in prayer that our hearts find the strength not to be cold and insensitive in the face of injustice. In prayer, God keeps calling us, opening our hearts to charity.” Using the guidance of Pope Francis, the school embarked on a special project with the aim of using the Jubilee 2025 Prayer to strengthen bonds as a community of hope. The school committed to saying the Jubilee Prayer, from Kindergarten to Grade 8, every day before lunch recess.
Students and staff used the Jubilee prayer to centre themselves and prepared their hearts to be in joyful communion with each other. Father Laszlo, Pastor at Holy Family Parish in Whitby, taught St. Theresa Catholic School about The Breath of Life. They used his lesson and begin their daily Jubilee prayer with breath work. They focused on breathing in feelings of charity, hope, joy, peace, and a yearning for the treasure of heaven. Their goal was to invite God into their thoughts, words, and hearts so that they could set up for success at recess. The school community fell in love with Pope Francis throughout their daily communal focus on the lessons of Jubilee 2025.
St. Theresa Catholic School held an essay contest for intermediate students on the topic of the St. Theresa Jubilee 2025 Prayer Project. There were many great submissions and school administrators had the difficult task of choosing a winning essay. The St. Theresa Catholic School community is proud to share the winning essay by Grade 8 student, Xylee, which can be found below:
Jubilee 2025 Prayer Project: Written by Xylee
Why do we say the Jubilee Prayer at St. Theresa? At school, every day, we say the Jubilee Prayer before lunch recess to grow together as a community and connect by respecting each other’s feelings. The goal of the St. Theresa Jubilee 2025 Prayer Project is to teach students how to live peacefully in unity like God taught us, to love one another, and to work together to help everyone become the best version of themselves. From this project, I have learned to fully accept people as they are, and to be aware of how my actions affect those around me.
The Jubilee Prayer Project helps us realize everyone is different and unique in their own way, and that is something we cannot change. We are all created by God in His image, so we shouldn’t be judging others on how they appear or are. We must come together and care for each other, appreciating the features of diversity God has blessed everyone with. Accepting someone can be hard, but the Jubilee Prayer Project reminds us that we are all equals as children of God.
The Jubilee Prayer Project teaches us to be more conscious of our actions, because what we say or do to a person can have a big impact on them, positive or not. God wants us to be kind to each other, as it is what creates bonds and strengthens communities. Saying the Jubilee Prayer before lunch helps us remember to consider the feelings of those around us and our own, and to not let our emotions take control of our actions.
Because of the Jubilee Prayer Project, I’ve become more accepting of others and thoughtful in my behaviour. We shouldn’t judge based on appearance or personality; we should offer support, and value the qualities and differences God has given each of us. We need to think about our actions and words, as they can easily do someone harm. Just taking a moment to talk to God, no matter the prayer, gives us time to reflect on the weight of our actions, and to adjust our priorities to do what is right.
Thank you to all the students that submitted essays! You can read the winning essay submissions for the Jubilee Prayer essay contest throughout these links:
The Grade 7 class also produced art based on the Jubilee Prayer which can be viewed in this PowerPoint presentation: Jubilee 2025 Prayer Project
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