Our school’s Christmas Liturgy this year embraced the theme Angels Amongst Us, focusing on how we guard ourselves and others during Advent while living out the Sacred Heart Goal of Social Awareness. Throughout Advent, each form class created their own angel as a reminder of their Guardian Angel and as a symbol of the angels around us. On these angels, we wrote our prayers and hopes, reflecting on how we could guard the feelings of others; guard the earth; and guard our own emotions and well-being.
As we gathered for the liturgy, we recalled the story of the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary, asking her to be the Mother of God. Gabriel’s beauty, power, light, and love reminded us of the protection we receive from our Guardian Angels, while Mary’s courageous ‘yes’ inspired us to trust in God’s plan, even when challenges seem overwhelming. The liturgy featured moving scripture readings from our Goals Ambassadors and a heartfelt performance by the signing choir. A highlight was the enactment of Mary, Gift to the World, written by David Wells for Flame 2023, where Year 9 students powerfully portrayed Mary’s quiet strength and the positive voices that helped her rise up. Together, we reflected on how angels can inspire us to be kind, generous, loving, and gentle, encouraging us to live out these qualities in our lives.