This week 313 Catholic schools across Queensland are celebrating their community spirit as they mark Catholic Education Week from Sunday 23 July – Saturday 29 July 2023. The theme for this year’s celebrations is:  Communities of Faith, Hope and Love. 

At OLSCC we celebrate with a Mass, classroom activities, sporting events and a day for teacher renewal in Toowoomba for the Bishop’s Inservice on Friday. 

Catholic Education Week gives us all the opportunity to celebrate and promote our distinctive mission and ethos. Through Catholic education, we strive to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.  

Catholic Education Week 2023 

Heavenly Father, 

As we gather in gratitude during this blessed Catholic Education Week in the Toowoomba Diocese, we lift our hearts in prayer, filled with love, hope, and faith. We come before You, acknowledging the precious gift of education, where we nurture the minds and souls of our young people. 

Lord, we thank You for entrusting us with the responsibility of guiding these bright minds, shaping them in the image of Your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray that our educational institutions may be places of love, where every child is seen, valued, and embraced for who they are, just as You love each of us unconditionally. 

In this week of celebration, we ask for Your grace to instil hope in the hearts of our young ones, empowering them to dream big and envision a world filled with compassion, justice, and unity. May they hold onto the hope that springs eternal from Your promises, finding strength in adversity, and courage in times of uncertainty. 

Father, we also seek Your divine guidance, that our educational endeavours may always be rooted in faith. Let the message of Jesus Christ be a guiding light, illuminating the path of our students so they may walk in His footsteps, living out His teachings and emulating His love for all. 

As we strive to nurture faith in our young people, we pray for the wisdom to show them the way of compassion, forgiveness, and mercy. May they be beacons of Your love, carrying the flame of faith wherever they go, touching the lives of those they encounter. 

Heavenly Father, we entrust our students, teachers, and school communities into Your loving care during this Catholic Education Week. May Your Holy Spirit inspire and guide us all to be true witnesses of Jesus' message, spreading love, hope, and faith in a world hungry for Your divine presence. 

We offer this prayer with hearts full of gratitude and hope, trusting in Your boundless grace. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. 

Amen