OAKVILLE, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — Students at an Ontario Catholic school board have been praying the Lord’s Prayer each morning for the past two years, thanks to the courageous initiative of a faithful trustee.
Oakville-based Trustee Helena Karabela of the Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) says that students across the school board have prayed the “Our Father” for about 500 days.
“The Lord’s Prayer is taught to us by Jesus,” Karabela told LifeSiteNews. “In confusing and difficult times, it shows all of us, at any age, that God the Father loves us and is looking out for all our needs.”
“Prayer has a ripple effect. It can transform the individual but also impacts the school community and beyond,” she added.
In a January 25 email to her supporters, Karabela revealed that two years ago she put forward a motion to reintroduce the Lord’s Prayer into the opening exercises of all HCDSB schools.
“This motion was successfully passed, and as a result, thousands of students have been praying the Lord’s Prayer every day at school,” she declared.
There are approximately 36,000 students in the HCDSB.
“Praying, especially the Lord’s Prayer, brings Jesus into our friendships and culture,” Karabela told LifeSiteNews.
“The power of praying together is found in Jesus’ own words: ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt 18:20 RSV),'” she added.
“It is an important duty of all people responsible for Catholic education to make sure the students are getting the instruction they need, not just in the maths, sciences and arts, but especially in formation [through] prayer and Catholic teaching,” Karabela declared.
“I encourage all trustees and staff to look at their policies and goals to see how this can be done even better,” she continued. “Praying the ‘Our Father’ every day at the HCDSB is certainly a step in the right direction.”
READ: Pro-life trustees elected to Catholic school board in Ontario despite fierce opposition
Karabela’s initiative comes as orthodox Catholicism is increasingly devalued in Ontario’s Catholic school systems. Toronto Catholic Trustee Michael Del Grande was tried before a tribunal of the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) for objecting to the addition of transgender ideology into the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s policies and for defending the Catholic Church’s teaching that abortion is morally wrong.
The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) has been much in the news of late for its deviation from Catholic doctrine and morals.
In January, the TCDSB invited pro-abortion and pro-LGBT politician Mitzie Hunter as the keynote speaker for a women’s event.
Also in January, the TCDSB recommended its staff watch a pro-LGBT play about a little girl who thinks she is a boy and eventually ‘transitions’ into one.
In November 2023, the TCDSB invited Pro-LGBT Fr. James Martin, SJ, to lecture staff and faculty on how to be “welcoming” to students who identify as “2SLGBTQ+.”
READ: Faithful Toronto Catholic trustee earns major victory in lawsuit against school board