Come visit the quiet calm of our dedicated sacred space at St. David Catholic Secondary School.
What makes it sacred? The short answer is God. God’s presence makes a space sacred. We can think of different ways in which God is present here. We believe that Christ is present to us in a particular way when we gather to listen to and ask questions of the Word of God. The light from the red lamp signifies that the bread that has become the Body of Christ for us is present in the tabernacle, that gold cabinet in the corner. The One Who Calls Us Each By Name is present in the chapel.
Not everyone believes this. And that is okay. You are still welcome to enter the stillness of the chapel to get away from the busy noise of the rest of the school.
We use the chapel for class retreats, Bread and Bible, the sacrament of Reconciliation, and Holy Mass.
Hi! My name is Ms. Paula and I am your chaplain.
What is a chaplain?
Excellent question. I am still figuring that out myself.
Chaplains define what they do as a “ministry of presence.” At times, each of us feels like we cling to a lonely little rock in the middle of an ocean, battered by wind and waves. Does anyone know where we are? Does anyone hear us when we howl into the storm? I think that, as your chaplain, I splash my way through the ocean—it is not as deep out here as we might think—and wait for you to invite me to sit beside you on your little rock. I keep you company as the wind whistles around us and the waves splash our toes.
Howl into the storm. I will listen.
Stop by my office at the top of the staircase opposite the cafeteria, or email me: paula.rush@wcdsb.ca
Each Thursday, we invite a priest to come in to the chapel to hear confessions.
The priest chooses a 45 minute block of time.
Listen to the morning announcements to know when he will be here.
Non-Catholics may come to receive a blessing.
Learn more about this sacrament here.
On Fridays at lunch in the chapel, we take a deep dive into the Gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday while munching on freshly baked dinner rolls. (This is the one day we may eat in the chapel!) We first read the whole Gospel passage, then we go through it line by line asking what we think it means. Why does the Gospel writer use this word instead of another? What does the author want us to know? We bring our collective wisdom together—we argue in a friendly way—and in this way, we hope to draw closer to the mystery of who God is and who we are.
Daily Prayer
(https://www.sacredspace.ie/)
Daily MP3 (https://pray-as-you-go.org/)
Vocations – Diocese of Hamilton (https://hamiltondiocese.com/vocations/#)
Busted Halo Videos:
– Advent in 2 minutes (the difference between Advent and Christmas)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S02KOlw7dlA)
– Ash Wednesday and Lent in 2 minutes
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3L3c23MfC0)
– Sacraments 101 – how we receive the Eucharist:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdGkTdv4Dt4)
– Sacraments 101 – Penance (why we confess)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz5-vu6A58E)
– Mary in 2 minutes
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz5-vu6A58E)
