CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

It is not news to any of us how in the past 50 years the landscape within the Church and our larger society has shifted drastically.

THE DAYS OF A COMMON CATHOLIC WORLDVIEW HAVE

DIMINISHED OR, IN SOME PLACES, DISAPPEARED OUTRIGHT. IN THE END, THE ONES WHO TRULY SUFFER ARE THE CHILDREN. IT IS FOR THEM THAT WE MUST PRAYERFULLY WORK TO RENEW

THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL, TO FOSTER A CULTURE IN WHICH CHILDREN CAN EXPERIENCE THE FULLNESS OF CHRISTIANITY

AND, THEREFORE, BE BEAUTIFULLY FORMED INTO THEIR TRUEST IDENTITIES AS SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF A LOVING GOD.

SUCH A FORMATION DOES NOT JUST HAPPEN. SUCH A CULTURE

MUST BE INTENTIONALLY CREATED, CULTIVATED AND NURTURED. IT IS PRECISELY HERE, WHERE THE TWO WORLDS OF HOME AND SCHOOL MUST CONVERGE, THAT PROMOTING THE RICHEST FORMATION OF A CHILD’S BODY, MIND AND SOUL IS POSSIBLE. ONLY IN SUCH A CULTURE WILL LITTLE ONES COME TO KNOW

WHO THEY TRULY ARE. AS A CATHOLIC SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

FOR 20 YEARS NOW, I HAVE SEEN THE FLOURISHING CHILDREN EXPERIENCE WHEN THEIR HOMES AND THEIR SCHOOL BEAT WITH

THE SAME HEART, THE HEART OF JESUS CHRIST! THIS IS WHAT WE CALL VIRTUE EDUCATION — TRAINING ALL ASPECTS OF WHAT

IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN TO FIND GOD IN ALL EXPERIENCES, EMOTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS. SISTER JOHN DOMINIC RASMUSSEN is the co-founder of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, where she serves as the bursar general and oversees the financial growth of the community and schools. Sister has also been involved in Catholic education for more than 35 years as a teacher and administrator.

After all, what does every parent and educator desire for those entrusted to them? Goodness. Beauty. Truth. Holiness. It is not insignificant to realize that the word “educate” comes from the Latin word educere, meaning “to draw out.” This is the responsibility of every parent and educator, namely, to “draw out” and thus form the potential and innate goodness in every child. We see this invitation in the first pages of Scripture: all are made in the image and likeness of a loving God (Gn 1:26-30) and the goods of this creation are given to us to help us grow in that divine resemblance. Furthermore, St. Paul reminds us that since the foundation of the world, we are called to be holy and blameless (Eph 4:24) until Christ’s own life is formed deep within each of us. (Gal 4:19)

Accordingly, in raising and educating children, we can never fail to ignore these truths and must work tirelessly to create a culture that unites the two worlds of home and school. As such, these responsibilities should not be the sole responsibility of either world. A while back, a frustrated parent expressed a sentiment that captured what our schools should be about: “I didn’t sign up for a conversion, I just wanted to drop my kids off each day.” While this overworked and stressed-out mother wanted to use a Catholic school for nothing other than a daily respite for her and a safe place for her daughter, she had wandered too close to our mission. Through her daughter’s own joy and growth in knowledge of the faith through school, this mother’s home was being changed as well. Once again, through the simplicity of a child, a Christian culture is formed and human hearts are converted.

My moments of deepest conversion have come in searching my mind and heart, seeking the Holy Spirit’s counsel on how to lead. At other times, I would listen to what a parent would teach me about this child, enabling us to enter into an honest dialogue sharing common hopes, difficult differences and a plan of action for this child’s flourishing.

We must always remember, therefore, that Jesus Christ alone can unite us in this common purpose. Only Emmanuel, the Lord present in our midst, can renew the riches of our shared Catholic faith and common sacramental life. But to live fully in Christ, we must speak and live a common language, a way of life which everyone knows, understands and sees reflecting Jesus back into his world. This is the beauty of knowing and understanding the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are abundantly given to each of us

at our baptism — the gateway to all the sacraments. (CCC 1213) At this moment we are drawn into the life of the Trinity and the Spirit breathes forth the sanctifying life of grace. (1266) This grace restores our relationship with our loving Father and we are drawn into Christ’s own life as adopted sons and daughters of the very same Father and even Mary our Mother. (1265) The graces of this extraordinary event are what must be “drawn out” in the life of every child, which can happen only when the parents understand the awesomeness of their vocation in shaping the next generation of saints.

The Catholic vision of the human person teaches that our human nature is perfected by grace. The Holy Spirit is therefore given to us at baptism to grant us the grace to act lovingly instead of selfishly, prudently as opposed to hastily, moderating our desires rightly so we may live in this world with integrity and joy. The same Spirit empowers us to walk through difficulties and see others, not from our own limited perspectives (so often hampered by stress and our own immediate needs), but from the eyes of our loving Father in heaven. This is the way of life Christ offers, mapped out in the Gospels and most especially in the beatitudes.

Cultivating the virtues is the way to remain fully in Christ and thus continue his life in our own daily circumstances. (1 Jn 2:6) This way of life is acquired by an education which enables us to develop the habits which provide us with a firm and stable disposition for goodness. (1833) Children must be able to freely navigate the many “worlds” in which they must live today, from their neighborhoods to their classrooms to their sports fields. This need to live in the world is precisely why we must give them a culture of virtue, one in which parents, teachers and coaches all embody and bear witness to what it means to aspire to goodness, to live an upright and integrated life in and for Christ.

This formation requires bringing together the two worlds of home and school so the inner lives of each child will live in harmony and unity. Only in this tandem culture can a young mind know the joy of living fully alive as a child of God. This must be the ultimate goal and purpose of every Christian home, of every Catholic school. These places must become training grounds and merciful havens where a child can feel safe to ask questions, to make mistakes, to know there is such a thing as absolute truth and to be free enough to be open to the movements of the Spirit, thereby becoming ever more aware of their vocation to become saints.