Lighting the Fire

Posted: 14th October 2016

The Fire of Faith

The privilege of being able to celebrate Mass in the Chapel at St Augustine’s Priory is never taken for granted. We are fortunate to be able to have a school Mass every week on the premises and are very grateful to the priests who say Mass for us.  Fr Thomas is always a welcome visitor and this week celebrated a joyful Mass for the Juniors on the feast day of the Northumbrian St Wilfrid.

Lower II Alpha prepared Mass this week with bidding prayers which were not only thoughtful but were an inspiration for those of us present:

‘We pray for the Church, for priests and teachers and all those who spread the Gospel. May they continue to nourish the faith of others.

We give thanks for the fruits of human work and the reverent use of creation.

We pray for justice and peace in the world and especially for those who suffer or who are imprisoned unjustly. We also pray for their families, that they may find hope and strength along the way.

We pray for journalists, that in carrying out their work, they may always be motivated by respect for truth and a strong sense of what is right and wrong

We pray for ‘outsiders’ everywhere. May they find a place of belonging and peace in their lives.

We pray for the sick, that they be treated with loving, tender care and recover soon. We also pray for those who have died recently.’

Their prayers were completed by asking Our Lady to intercede for us as we prayed the Memorare:

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy,

hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope.

To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve:

to thee do we send up our sighs,

mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us,

and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus,

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Amen.

At Holy Communion the Junior Choir sang with great sensitivity ‘The Lord’s my Shepherd’ in a beautiful setting by Stuart Townend.

This Mass spoke of lighting fires within all of us; especially redolent in the Offertory hymn, ‘God of the Poor’ by Graham Kendrick, a hymn calling on God to light the fire in us for justice, mercy and compassion.

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Strengthening Our Community: The Return of Boys to our Preps and Pre-Preps

We are excited to share that, from September 2026, boys will begin moving up from our Nursery into Reception, marking the gradual reintroduction of boys into our Prep and Pre-Prep School.

This step reflects growing interest from families who value our strong holistic ethos and unique grounds and setting and would like their sons and daughters to share their educational journey together.

At St Augustine’s, our strong sense of community, academic excellence, and deep care for each individual child remain at the heart of everything we do. This is a natural evolution of our school rather than a change to who we are, building on our strengths and allowing us to offer the same joyful, inspiring education to even more children.