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CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
DO NOT NEGLECT TO SHOW HOSPITALITY TO STRANGERS, FOR THEREBY, SOME HAVE ENTERTAINED ANGELS UNAWARES.
-HEB 13:2
GROWING UP, MY MOTHER WAS THE ORIGINAL MARTHA STEWART. SHE WAS ALWAYS QUICK TO PULL A PACKAGE
OF HOMEMADE COOKIES FROM HER PURSE, BUNDLED AND TIED WITH FANCY RIBBON FOR EVEN THE LITTLEST ACT OF
KINDNESS. SHE IRONED HER TEA TOWELS — IF YOU ARE
UNDER 25, YOU MAY NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE. SHE WAS THE MASTER OF GRACIOUSNESS. LOOKING BACK, MY CHILDHOOD WAS A MASTER CLASS IN EVANGELIZATION.
THESE “LITTLE WAYS,” AS ST. THERESE OF LISIEUX SHARES, WERE NOT GRAND GESTURES BUT MOMENTS OF SEEING CHRIST
IN OTHERS. TODAY, I TRY TO IMITATE HER EXAMPLE AND I BELIEVE IT IS THE SECRET OUR RELIGIOUS HAVE USED FOR
YEARS TO EVANGELIZE IN OUR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES
— SMALL ACTS OF KINDNESS, ACCOMPANYING PEOPLE AND MEETING THEM WHERE THEY ARE.
THROUGH MY ROLE AT FRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY, I HAVE BEEN AFFORDED THE GIFT OF COLLABORATION WITH BOTH DOMESTIC
AND INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARTNERS. I HAVE
ESTABLISHED ENGAGEMENT PATHWAYS IN IRAQ TO HONG
KONG AND AS FAR SOUTH AS AUSTRALIA. WHAT I KNOW
TO BE TRUE IS THAT JUST AS THE CHURCH IS FAITHFUL TO
HER TEACHINGS, CATHOLIC SCHOOLS ARE THE FOUNDATION OF EVANGELIZATION. NO OTHER ESTABLISHED COMMUNITY
WITHIN THE BODY OF THE CHURCH HAS THE SIGNIFICANT, ONGOING RELATIONSHIP THAT A SCHOOL COMMUNITY HAS
WITH OUR MOST PRECIOUS GIFT — OUR CHILDREN. TIFFANY BOURY, PH.D., is an associate professor of education, director of the Master of Catholic Leadership Program and coordinator of academic partnerships for Franciscan University of Steubenville. Her research focus centers on international education and building partnerships with Franciscan University of Steubenville.
For the past four years, I have traveled to a small Catholic school on the border of Mexico and America. This modest school was the center of Catholic formation led by Carmelite sisters for more than 34 years. Returning each year, there was a familiarity that I would long for: the comfort of the sisters’ quiet presence and the all-too-sweet greetings from the children, “Good morning Dr. Boury, may God bless you.” Their devotion to Venerable Mother Luisita, the Mexican nun who founded the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, was inspiring. The Mexican-American community saw themselves in the school. They connected themselves in the fortitude and courage that the Venerable Mother Luisita represented.
However, after 34 years serving the Catholic community school, in 2021, the Carmelite Order had to make the financial decision to leave. As I walked with Sister Caridad, we cried a little for what was to come. Still, she also explained that they felt confident they had given the laity in the school the foundation to continue. Their legacy reflects a common struggle in our communities today. The last week before the sisters departed, a community parade was held with hundreds of former students returning to show their support. A Mass with a reported 180 people, community dinner and daily stream of alumni stopping to share their testimonies went on for weeks. Whether one was Catholic or not, if you lived in the town, the Carmelite sisters were your sisters. As we see our religious orders and the call to the priesthood declining, there is no greater need than for the community Catholic school to be the center of evangelization. We can no longer depend on religious to take on the responsibility.
“THE PRAYER OF ONE SOUL ALONE UNITED TO THAT OF JESUS IN THE TABERNACLE CAN
SAVE THE WORLD.” —VENERABLE MOTHER LUISITA
Recently, I traveled outside the country for work and happened to sit beside a Catholic school teacher originally from Romania. This middle school English teacher spoke four languages and could have easily left Catholic education to work for a large corporation. Moreover, her colleagues held degrees in medicine, architecture and biology. This was an intimidating faculty in a K-12 school; however, when our conversation
turned toward evangelization, she expressed she felt unqualified to take on the role, “I am but a simple teacher” was her statement to me. This comment has continued to replay in my mind. How is it that such an accomplished educator in her academic discipline does not see herself equally contributing to the community’s faith formation? Perhaps it’s because no one has acknowledged her abilities to do this.
Where it once was the assumption the religious would take the lead on being the Gospel witness, educators and all who contribute to a Catholic school must sit with our religious orders and develop the tools and professional development to build confidence in our teachers and administrators to see themselves as the subsequent evangelization.
As part of this “altar call,” I take full responsibility for the role higher education faculty play. We need to be more purposeful in providing tools for teachers to feel confident with evangelization. But it goes deeper. Evangelization in a community is not only speaking about the Gospel; it reflects the culture, languages, saints and historical events the community shares. The Carmelites were not just any order; their Mexican heritage, language and traditions breathed life into their evangelization.
—JN 15:5-6
A school community cannot give what they do not have. We live in a world that is so easily connected and still very much alone. If your school, or your student’s school, still has religious interaction in the day-to-day, give thanks. Support them by creating opportunities to document and share their legacy.
More importantly, ask your students how they see their community creating space for the Gospel and works of mercy. Let them own their own evangelization and offer the resources and adult support. This is not a service project; credit or grades are not part of the process. The only expectation is to be centered in one’s own faith life and willing to share the Gospel, offering support and welcoming the community to their school family living, as Venerable Mother Luisita reminded her sisters, “For greater things you were born.”
