Having Faith can be hard. It requires us to believe in those things we can’t prove and see. St. Thomas is famous for not believing that Jesus had risen, but this reminds us all that even for Jesus’ disciples, faith wasn’t always easy. Faith is a gift from God and if we can find it, and hold on to it, faith gives us strength, comfort, and hope.

Day 1 – Start with scripture

We start with the Sign of the Cross.

Have a read of this scripture passage.

A Reading from the Gospel according to John

 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way.  Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.  Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.”  He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.  The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”  So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

The Gospel of the Lord
R. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

John 21: 1-14

Spend some time in pairs or threes and talk about the questions below. When you’re finished share them with the whole form and see where the dialogue takes you.

Day 2 – Catholic Social Teaching

We begin by making the Sign of the Cross

Preferential Option for the Poor

There are many aspects to Catholic social teaching but the one we are going to focus on today is Preferential Option for the Poor.

This means that even though we should help everyone, we have a special concern for people who are struggling. Imagine a big race where some runners are way ahead and others are lagging behind. The Preferential Option for the Poor is like cheering on the runners who need that extra encouragement to reach the finish line. It’s about showing God’s love by making sure everyone has a chance to succeed, not just those who already have a head start. By living out our faith, and following Jesus example we can bring hope to those in need.

Here’s a video to explain more…

Spend some time thinking and talking about what you could do as a form, or things you have already done as a school to show preferential option for the poor…

We finish with the Sign of the Cross

Day 3 -Hit the Headlines

We begin with the Sign of the Cross.

Today we will look at the amazing world record set by Russell Cook; a man who on Sunday 7th April completed his mission to run the full length of Africa and in doing so, he raised £800,000 for charity.

Extract from BBC Newsround

The runner, is thought to have run more than 10,000 miles (16,094km) in just 352 days!

To give you an idea of just how far that is, it’s equivalent to running the length of the UK from John O’Groats to Lands End 16 and a half times!

Russell completed the challenge in the north African country Tunisia, having run through 16 countries in total.

Russell set off on his challenge from his home in February 2023 and said he wanted to “make a difference”.

He said he hoped that in the future he could look back at his life and have no regrets.

At he had decided to run from the north to the south of Africa, but he ended up reversing his journey to go from south to north.

This was because he had problems getting official permission to enter certain countries.

Russell’s journey took him through cities, rainforests, mountains and even the Sahara Desert!

He ran a marathon – 26.2 miles (42.2km) – or more each day which he says pushed his body to the limit.

As a result of covering very long distances in all kinds of environments, he did face several challenges including injuries.

But finally, on Sunday 7 April, Russell laced up his trainers one last time.

He was joined by supporters from around the world as he finished his final marathon and completed the challenge.

In the comments box below can you share how Russell’s amazing achievement connects with the themes of this week of having Faith and Preferential Option for the Poor.

We finish with the Sign of the Cross.