Franciscan at Home

What makes a school Catholic? Is a school Catholic because it exists with the permission of the bishop of the diocese, or it is a member of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), or it is an extension or an outreach of a parish community, or it has a crucifix in every classroom and religious artwork throughout the building, or because its curriculum includes religious studies, or because the pattern of its practices align with the National Standards and Benchmarks of Effective Catholic Schools, or because Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation are celebrated for the student body during the school year?

For sure, each of these elements is a marker of a Catholic School. But I dare to say that the most decisive element of a Catholic school is the religious character of its personnel.

When the administrator(s) and a critical mass of faculty members embrace Jesus as their center (rather than mention him as an afterthought or an add-on), his spirit infuses the campus. It becomes evident to all that it is the primary purpose, consistent attitude, and intentional goal of the school to guide students to know, love, and serve God. When a Jesus-centered mindset drives every endeavor, action, decision, and response, self-disciplined students, who seek to develop their personal best, emerge. These hallmarks of a Catholic school (a Christ-centered environment, self-disciplined students, and academic achievement) are rooted in the religious character of its teachers.

“Back in the day” Catholic schools were predominately staffed by men or women religious whose distinctive garb was, itself, an outward reminder of God. It seemed as though these walking icons were everywhere, had eyes in the back of their veil-covered heads, and appeared where you least expected them! While students labored over final examinations, they observed their teachers fingering rosary beads suspended from their waists. At precisely the opportune moment, Scripture quotes seemed to slip from their lips effortlessly. Oftentimes, students could observe their teacher clutching the large crucifix that hung from the neck. Teacher body-posture, classroom decorations, routines, consistency in procedures, and high expectations set a tone. The school day was hemmed in with prayer or sacred ritual. At morning prayer students consecrated the day to God, and at dismissal they examined their consciences and made an act of contrition.

An intentional awareness of God punctuated the entire school day. For instance, long before marketers raised awareness of “WWJD?” via bracelets, posters, and such, these teachers motivated student decision-making by remarking, “What would Jesus do …or say…or desire?” “How will this choice contribute to the greater glory of God and the salvation of your soul?” “Live Jesus!” On every heading of student papers and copybook pages students drew a cross followed by “JMJ,” “JMJAT,” “AMDG” or an acronym-inscription related to the charism of the religious congregation. In my elementary school, every hour on the hour, a designated student rang a bell and intoned: “Pardon me, Sister. Pardon me, Class. It is time to bless the hour.” All activity ceased. The student then said, “Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God.” The class responded: “Let us adore God’s divine majesty.” Together we prayed the “Glory be” and promptly the lesson continued wherever it had been interrupted. Wherever students happened to be at 12 noon, inside or outside the building, they stood still and prayed the Angelus formula while the Angelus bells rang in the distance. When emergency sirens were heard, the class prayed an aspiration or formula that asked God’s assistance for the unknown person in need. When Church bells tolled for a funeral, class stopped for a moment of silence and/or to pray for the deceased, “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.”

Additionally, religious instruction occurred daily, usually as the first session of the day. And, in many schools, the afternoon session began with a 15 minute period of story-telling that applied faith to action. Nothing else trumped Religion class! Some textbooks even referenced Catholic culture. Then, too, there were rituals of the liturgical seasons (Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost), devotions to Mary (rosary, May Procession), Eucharistic devotion (frequent Mass, Forty Hours’ visits to the Blessed Sacrament, Benediction), Stations of the Cross, litanies and novenas, and regular participation in the Sacrament of Penance. The combination of all of these kinds of customs created a culture, an ambiance, a Godly reverence that pervaded every aspect of schooling. This culture underscored the sense that the institution was a divine enterprise and its teachers were the custodians of its spiritual nature and essential to its effectiveness.

The Catholic school was essentially an extension of convent or priory life. School practices, priorities, and order mirrored the lifestyle of the vowed religious. By 1970, the numbers of men and women religious in the schools declined tremendously. If their shoes were filled by lay counterparts, who had themselves been educated in the kind of Catholic school just described, the Catholic Identity or Catholic Culture continued in a similar fashion or adapted modern expressions that created the same end: a faith-infused environment; a divine, God-centered enterprise where activities reflected the spirituality of the teachers.

Over time, elements like a competitive market, certification requirements, and national standards impacted school design. Program demands increased; the length of the school day/year did not! Faith-related cultural customs were deleted. Simultaneously post-Vatican II faculty members—though faithful and faith-filled, well-educated, practicing Catholics—had no experience of schooling within “the Catholic bubble” and that style of spirituality was foreign to them. Consequently, maintaining or fostering Catholic identity or Catholic culture relied all the more on the religious character of school personnel.

Podemos tomar por supuesto el hecho de que la Iglesia Católica opere un gran número de escuelas alrededor del mundo. Es claro que la Iglesia debe de ofrecer educación religiosa, pero, ¿por qué la Iglesia enseña matemáticas, educación física, ciencias, literatura e historia? ¿No sería más fácil que la Iglesia enfocara más estrechamente lo sobrenatural? ¿Para qué enseña también sobre el mundo material y cómo leer y escribir? En el Gran Mandato, Jesús mandó a sus Apóstoles a que hicieran discípulos (mathetes en griego y discipli en latín –ambas palabras se refieren a los estudiantes) y que les enseñaran (Mt 28,19.20). Jesús, el Verbo de Dios, por Quien el universo fue hecho, estableció una Iglesia que desde el principio acogió a la instrucción sobre la naturaleza de la realidad en su totalidad.

Las humanidades y la cosmovisión católica

La Iglesia acogió a las humanidades para ayudarles a sus miembros, en particular a los religiosos, a comprender y a contemplar la Palabra de Dios, y también para poder hablar y escribir de modo efectivo para poder compartir este conocimiento. Desde la enseñanza de las siete disciplinas de las humanidades en las escuelas de las catedrales y monasterios, las universidades fueron formadas para enseñar filosofía y tres carreras terminales en teología, derecho y medicina. La misión de salvación de la Iglesia creció para incluir la formación completa de la persona, uniendo la fe y la razón en la misión común de buscar cómo vivir en el mundo y ordenar todas las cosas a la gloria de Dios.

La educación católica, recurriendo tanto a lo natural como lo sobrenatural, ofrece una visión completa de la vida: una cosmovisión católica. La cosmovisión, en un sentido sencillo, describe cómo vemos a la realidad y formamos a nuestros estudiantes para que ellos la comprendan y habiten en ella. La enseñanza con una robusta visión católica acoge a la persona en su totalidad: cuerpo, emociones, mente y voluntad. La persona humana, como un ser sacramental (es decir, una unidad de cuerpo y alma), requiere el desarrollo de su potencial en todas sus dimensiones: la fortaleza y la salud del cuerpo; el control sobre las emociones de acuerdo con el bien; la conformidad de la mente con la realidad y el desarrollo de hábitos mentales que permitan que uno comprenda y se exprese claramente; el desarrollo de las virtudes de la voluntad que conducirán a la felicidad; y el encuentro con el Dios vivo que da vida a nuestra alma y permite vivir una vida de santidad.

La escuela católica no puede simplemente ofrecer la misma instrucción que la de la educación pública, agregando posteriormente la educación religiosa y la Santa Misa al programa de estudios. Cada materia tiene que ser enseñada de modo distintivo, reflejando la unidad del conocimiento, con una fuente común en Dios – Su creación y Revelación – y ordenada a la sabiduría que comunica el fin último de todas las cosas. Una escuela católica aborda cada materia con las dos alas – la de la fe y la de la razón, a sabiendas que cada verdad conforma a nuestra mente a la Mente de Dios. Simone Weil afirma que cada verdad “es la imagen de algo precioso. Siendo un fragmento pequeño de una verdad particular, es una imagen pura de la Verdad única, eterna y viva que érase una vez declaró con voz humana, ‘Yo soy la verdad.’ Cada ejercicio de la escuela, pensado de esta forma, es como un sacramento.”

We can take for granted the fact that the Catholic Church runs a large number of schools throughout the world. It is clear that the Church must offer religious education, but why does the Church teach math, gym class, science, literature, and history? Wouldn’t it just be easier if the Church focused more narrowly on the supernatural; why also teach about the material world and how to read and write? In the Great Commission, Jesus commanded his apostles to make disciples, (mathetes in Greek and discipli in Latin – both words for students) and to teach them (Mt 28:19-20). Jesus, the Word of God, by whom the universe was made, established a Church that from the beginning embraced instruction on the nature of reality as a whole.

The Liberal Arts and a Catholic Worldview
The Church embraced the liberal arts in order to help its members, especially religious, to understand and contemplate the Word of God, as well as to speak and write effectively to share this knowledge. From the teaching of the seven liberal arts at the cathedral and monasteries schools, the universities formed to teach philosophy and three terminal degrees in theology, law, and medicine. The Church’s mission of salvation grew to include the complete formation of the person, uniting faith and reason in the common mission of seeking how to live in the world and order all things to the glory of God.

Catholic education, drawing upon both the natural and supernatural, offers a complete vision of life: a Catholic worldview. Worldview, in a simple sense, describes the way in which we see reality and form our students to understand it and live within it. Teaching with a robust Catholic vision embraces the entire person: body, emotions, mind, and will. The human person, as a sacramental being (body-soul unity), requires development of its potential in all of its dimensions: strength and health of body; control of the emotions in accord with the good; conformity of the mind to reality and development of the mental habits that enable one to understand and express oneself clearly; the development of the virtues of will that lead to happiness; and the encounter with the living God that enlivens our soul and enables a life of holiness.

The Catholic school cannot simply offer the same instruction as a public education, with religious education and the Mass superadded onto the curriculum. Every subject must be taught in a distinctive fashion that reflects the unity of knowledge, having a common source in God—his creation and revelation—and ordered in a wisdom that communicates the ultimate purpose of all things. A Catholic school approaches every subject through the two wings of faith and reason, knowing that every truth conforms our minds to the mind of God. Simone Weil claims that every truth “is the image of something precious. Being a little fragment of particular truth, it is a pure image of the unique, eternal and living Truth which once in a human voice declared ‘I am the Truth.’ Every school exercise thought of in this way, is like a sacrament.”[1]

Ample research has shown that a great majority of young people are leaving the Church before age 22 and choosing to never return. Many studies have been done on the Millennial Generation to discover their affinity (or lack thereof) to the Christian Faith. The Church’s response to this lack of faith is the New Evangelization.

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On March 25th, Pope Francis released Christus Vivit, “Christ is alive!” This post-synodal exhortation is addressed both to young people (16 to 30 year-olds) and the entire Church. Rich with inspirational quotes and practical suggestions, the document contains many insights about youth, for youth, and for those who minister to youth, while raising many important questions that need to be addressed.

About Youth
A young person stands on two feet as adults do, but unlike adults, whose feet are parallel, he always has one foot forward, ready to set out, to spring ahead. Always racing onward. (140)

Pope Francis begins the document by highlighting young people in the Bible as well as in Church history, figures such as Joseph (son of Jacob), Ruth, and David to St. Sebastian, St. Francis of Assisi and St.

Thérèse of Liseiux. Young people have always played an important role in salvation history. Particular attention is given to Mary, who as a young woman said “yes” to Gabriel, and to Jesus himself: “It is important to recognize that Jesus was a young person. He gave his life when he was, in today’s terms, a young adult” (23).

“Youth is more than simply a period of time; it is a state of mind” (34). This is why the Church, over two thousand years old, can be considered “young”—and needs the help of young people to keep her that way. Francis compares the shallow and superficial ways culture can manipulate youth to the true happiness that only Christ can offer. “Dear young friends, do not let them exploit your youth to promote a shallow life that confuses beauty with appearances” (183). Young people are in danger of being isolated and exploited which makes relationships with older people a great benefit. The young generation needs older generations, and the older generations need them. “When young and old alike are open to the Holy Spirit, they make a wonderful combination” (192).

To learn more about this NEW Master's Degree Program in Catholic Leadership click here. Or call (740) 284-5239.The first cohort for this program will start May 13, 2019. It will be capped at 20 students, and there is a March 1, 2019, early deadline.

Introduction: Addressing the Interface of Faith and Reason
The final installment of this series reaches back to the nineteenth century to highlight the contribution of Blessed John Henry Newman. Cardinal Newman was widely acknowledged to be among the greatest thinkers of his time. His special relevance to the field of education can be found in his classic work, An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent. It was here that Newman confronted—at their point of origin—many of the intellectual challenges that have come to fruition in our own time.

Of these challenges, Pope John Paul II drew particular attention to the issues of rationalism and fideism. Rationalism is the tendency to explain the created world and humanity itself without reference to God’s role in it. Those who retained some belief in God reduced him to practical irrelevance in terms of any divine impact on human affairs. Fideism was the opposite tendency. Everything that happened was viewed as coming about through the direct intervention of God. While it is true that God is the ultimate cause of all things, human beings have genuine freedom to act in their own sphere. Without this, there could be no free will and no possibility for us to love God or anyone else; we would simply be puppets.