Forming a Generation 🔥 November 12th, we will host an inspiring event for everyone interested in bringing children and young people to Christ. We are inviting teachers, parents, priests and catechists to join us in the Cathedral! themark10mission.co.uk/formi… @DunkeldDiocese

We love presenting the “tricky Gospels” to children. Here’s one for all of the headteachers wondering how they are going to present the Parable of the Wedding Feast tomorrow morning! youtu.be/k8R313xIufE

youtu.be/TJ8d_8vxMSE This Sunday we hear the Parable of the Wedding Feast. Join us and help children know that they too are invited to the banquet of the king 🙏🏻

"Can children really learn to love the Rosary?" After praying the Rosary with thousands of children over the last few years, I can honestly say that the answer is yes. When I visit schools, I love inviting children to lead a decade of the Rosary. Hands shoot up all over the classroom. Many of these children have never prayed the Rosary before. Some rarely go to Mass and may never have prayed with their families at home. Yet they're open, curious and eager to have a go. The lovely thing is that they don't always know every word. They pause, smile and sometimes need a little help from the children around them. But they still want to pray. I wonder if, as adults, we can sometimes hold back because we're worried about getting it wrong. Children remind us that prayer isn't about getting every word right. It's about responding with love. Children like learning the prayers of the Rosary by heart. They love holding the beads in their hands and the gentle rhythm of this beautiful prayer. St John Paul II wrote, "To recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ." The Rosary helps us to stay close to Jesus. This October, let’s give children the opportunity to pray and experience the Rosary. That way, it can become something they hold onto and pray for the rest of their lives. Greg writes the Word of the Week as an encouragement and focus for you this week.

The Rosary Challenge begins TOMORROW! Get ready to join the challenge by watching our celebration of the Word with Fr Paschal! youtu.be/CnaRlQHHjaA

Our Lady of Walsingham. Pray for us. O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and our most gentle Queen and Mother, look down in mercy upon England,thy Dowry, and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in thee. By thee it was that Jesus, our Saviour and our hope, was given unto the world; and he has given thee to us that we might hope still more. Plead for us thy children, whom thou didst receive and accept at the foot of the cross, O sorrowful Mother, intercede for our separated brethren, that with us in the one true fold they may be united to the Chief Shepherd, the Vicar of thy Son. Pray for us all, dear Mother, that by faith, fruitful in good works, we may all deserve to see and praise God, together with thee in our heavenly home. Amen.

"How do we help children hear the voice of Jesus?" St Jerome famously wrote, "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." If we want to help children hear the voice of Jesus, there is no better place to begin than the Gospels. This is why, at The Mark 10 Mission, we encourage children to listen carefully to the Gospel and to know that, through God's living Word, Jesus still speaks to them today. Our Lady gives us the perfect example of how to listen. St Luke tells us that she "treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." She didn't feel the need to understand everything immediately. Instead, she listened, treasured God's Word and held it in her heart. Dr Sofia Cavalletti believed children have a remarkable capacity for wonder. They often notice details that adults overlook. If we immediately explain every verse through our own understanding, we can interrupt what the Holy Spirit is already doing in a child's heart. As parents, teachers and catechists, let's ask ourselves one simple question: When sharing Scripture, do I give children the time and space to hear what God is saying to them... or am I more focused on telling them what I think they should have heard? Greg writes the Word of the Week as an encouragement and focus for you this week.

What is the Holy Rosary and how can you pray it well this October? Join Fr Paschal at the Rosary Shrine, discover more about this great prayer and get ready for The Mark 10 Mission Rosary Challenge! youtu.be/CnaRlQHHjaA

Join the Little Liturgies this week and help children to enter into the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. This beautiful parable from Jesus helps us to know that we are all called and welcomed into his kingdom… no matter how late in the day! youtu.be/Pnhj1A8BAB0

"What do we say when a child tells us, 'I can't hear God'?" Perhaps our first instinct is to reassure them that, if they listen carefully enough, they'll hear God speaking. But prayer isn't like an ordinary conversation. That's why, in every Mark 10 Mission prayer, we begin with the same gentle invitation: "Be still. Jesus is here." Before we say anything, we remind children that Jesus is already close. There is no pressure if, on some days, He simply invites us to sit with Him in the quiet. St Teresa of Avila described prayer as "an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him whom we know loves us." Like every friendship, prayer involves speaking, listening and simply enjoying being together. I recently read Fr Boniface Hicks' book, The Hidden Power of Silence in the Mass, and in it he encourages us not to be afraid of silence. God sometimes deepens our faith in the very moments when He seems quiet. Prayer isn't waiting for Jesus to say something; it's learning to recognise that He is already here. This can be wonderfully freeing for children. They don't need long prayers or complicated religious language. A simple "Thank You, Jesus," "Help me, Jesus," or "Jesus, I love You," is enough. The Catechism describes contemplative prayer as "silent love." (CCC 2717) One of the greatest gifts we can give children is confidence in the silence. Not to fill every moment with words, but to help them discover that silence isn't empty. It is a place where they can be with Jesus. As parents, teachers and catechists, perhaps we should ask ourselves: Am I teaching children that prayer is about saying the right words, or helping them discover the joy of simply being with Jesus?
 Greg writes the Word of the Week as an encouragement and focus for you this week.

In the Little Liturgies this Sunday, we share The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant and help children contemplate the love and forgiveness of God 🙏 👑 youtu.be/JQWBCmsx80A

Hi, I’m Katie, I’m from a small town called East Kilbride in Scotland and my parish is called Our Lady of Lourdes. Jesus is so special to me because he has been with me through the good times in my life, and the most difficult. I love knowing that I can turn to Him in everything! Jesus gives me so much joy, peace and a sense of purpose in my life, and I want to share that joy and love with so many others! I am really looking forward to being part of The Mark 10 Mission because I’m excited to continue growing my own faith whilst helping others, especially young people, to believe that Jesus loves every single one of them for who they are!

Children don't learn to love others because they're told they should. They learn to love others because they've first encountered the love of Jesus. It's tempting to begin children's faith formation with, "Go and be kind." Jesus begins somewhere else. "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
(John 15:4–5, ESV-CE) The order is unmistakable. Abide → Bear fruit. Not: Work harder → Bear fruit. Dr Sofia Cavalletti recognised that the youngest child is naturally captivated by their relationship with God. They delight in discovering that the Good Shepherd knows them, calls them by name and never leaves them. As children grow, especially around the age of reason, their world begins to widen. They become more aware of friendships, forgiveness and the needs of others. Having first encountered the love of Jesus for themselves, they are now ready to discover that His love is meant to overflow into the lives of others. Pope Benedict XVI reminds us in Deus Caritas Est that Christian love is never simply human kindness or philanthropy. It is our response to the love we have first received from God. Only then can we truly love our neighbour. As parents, teachers and catechists, perhaps we should ask ourselves a question: Am I asking children to bear fruit before I've helped them abide in the Vine?

Our videos for next Sunday’s Gospel are available. We will hear Jesus share with us the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant and an encouragement to forgive because we have been forgiven! Also a big welcome to our newest presenter, Katie from @rcmotherwell youtu.be/a-K_Nex-42Q

Thank you so much!

Helping God plant the seed of faith in a child's heart is one of the greatest privileges we have. But that seed only flourishes when children begin to recognise that prayer isn't simply saying words or completing a religious activity. Prayer is an encounter with the living Jesus. Pope Benedict XVI beautifully wrote: "Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person." Our task is not simply to teach children about Jesus, but to lead them to Jesus. This is why, in every Mark 10 Mission video, we begin prayer in the same simple way: "I invite you to close your eyes. Be still. Jesus is here." Those words contain a profound truth. Prayer begins because Jesus has already come to meet us. Dr Sofia Cavalletti observed that young children possess an extraordinary capacity for prayer: "Children are capable of enjoying the presence of God; they are able to give themselves totally to God's love." The youngest child does not first need complicated explanations. They need to discover that the Good Shepherd knows them, delights in them and calls them by name. Their prayer is often less about speaking and more about simply being with Jesus. Silence, then, is not an empty pause before "real prayer" begins. Silence is the space in which the child learns to recognise the gentle presence of Christ. As parents, teachers and catechists, we should always ask ourselves one simple question: Does the way I lead prayer help children encounter Jesus, or merely learn about Him? When children discover that prayer is time spent with their greatest Friend, their Good Shepherd and their Saviour, prayer slowly ceases to become a duty and begins to become a desire. And that changes everything. Greg writes the Word of the Week as an encouragement and focus for you this week.