Staff Spirituality Morning 2023

On Friday the 27th of January, all members of staff at our junior and secondary school met at ‘Dar Ħanin Samaritan’ Santa Venera for their yearly spirituality morning. Despite this activity being a staple one in our school calendar, the format had to change in the past years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so we were all very happy to be together again. The theme chosen for this year was ‘What about us? Our own journey of faith’.

The morning started off with a wonderful and practical talk by Fr. Frankie Cini mssp who spoke about the importance of finding time to nourish ourselves on all levels of our being. He reminded us of Jesus’ words when he said to love our neighbour as ourselves which points to the importance of loving ourselves well in order to love others better. Following his talk, all members of staff had some time to share their reactions to his talk in small groups.

During the break, staff were encouraged to walk around the beautiful large garden and we were very thankful that despite the cold weather, the rain held up. The break was also an opportunity for members of staff of both junior and senior schools to get to know each other better.

The second part of the morning consisted of those present attending workshops, for which they registered in advance. While Fr Frankie spoke about the importance of prayer, the workshops were an opportunity for members of staff to experience prayer. The first workshop offered an opportunity to pray with icons and was led by Mr Edward Wright while in the second workshop, Fr Carlo Calleja led those present through ‘lectio divina’ which is prayer using the Word of God. The third workshop, led by Mr Anthony Mifsud consisted of Ignatian prayer, particularly the use of our imagination. The fourth workshop offered an opportunity for those present to experience sensory prayer, by means of guided meditation through the use of soil. This was led by Ms Maria Theresa Portelli. The fifth and final workshop was praying by means of prayer spaces which were led by Fr Reuben Gauci and his team (spiritual development in schools – SDS). Finally, the chapel was also available to those members of staff who wanted to spend some time in prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Throughout the whole morning, our Senior School chaplain, Fr. Matthew Pulis, was available for Confession. The morning ended with the celebration of mass which brought us all together in the main hall to thank the Lord for a meaningful and fruitful day.

We are very thankful to all those who made this morning possible and for all the speakers who joined us in helping our members of staff enjoy a fruitful day. We look forward to more spiritual activities that can help us deepen our faith.

 

Ms Mariella Catania

Lay Chaplain