SENT TO SERVE A REAL, PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHRIST

As we prepare to begin a new school year this month, we enter into a time of new beginnings. Families begin a new rhythm after the summer months. Students begin classes with new teachers and subjects to learn. Some may even be starting a new school or moving away for the first time. As we focus on the beginning of the new school year in this month’s issue, I would like to focus my reflection on how powerful and important education can be – particularly education and formation in our Catholic faith. The purpose of all Catholic education – whether in a Catholic school or in a parish youth formation program – is not simply to teach our young people about Jesus or simply the knowledge of the faith. While that is very good and incredibly important, if it stops there, we have missed the very heart of Catholic education, which is to bring students into a real, personal encounter with Jesus Christ. When we know Him, it brings a new life to all of the things that we learn about Him. Rather than learning about some man who lived 2,000 years ago, we are learning about our intimate friend and Savior. And beyond simply knowing the teachings of our Church, we have the opportunity to live them out in the decisions we make every day.

That encounter is not something that should just remain at school. It is meant to change every aspect of our lives, and it should especially impact our family. It is within the family more than anywhere that our young people are formed to be impactful men and women in our world. Schools do not exist to replace parents. Rather, they exist to support them in their calling to form their children in the faith and in virtue. Parents, as well as teachers, have an opportunity to be important role models for our young people, both by what they say but especially by what they do. When the things that are said and taught are lived out in their lives, it has a profound impact in the world. Pope St. Paul VI wrote very beautifully that men and women today “listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if they do listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” The power of witness, of living out what is taught at school and at home, has the power to change the world. The lives of our teachers and the lives of parents encourage our young people to more fully follow Jesus Christ.

We see this especially in the young people who have discerned a special calling to the priesthood and religious life. We are blessed in our diocese to have this fruit being born from our own schools and our own parishes. It is so important that we strive to create a culture of vocations in our Catholic schools and parish youth formation programs, where we always ask the question “What is God calling me to? Could He be calling me to be a priest?” Our schools have produced great fruit for the Church, and God will continue to grow this fruit in abundance. More than anything, our students should be encouraged to follow Jesus Christ above all else, to follow whatever it is He is calling them to, and to seek whatever it is He wants for them. When we do that, we find true happiness, which is what we all long for.

The result of this kind of education – where we form our young people to know and follow Jesus above all else – results in a new generation that understands that love is much more about giving than it is about receiving. It results in a generation that is not afraid of commitment, because their faith allows them to trust in God’s plan for them beyond what they can see. It results in a generation that brings new hope to the world by the witness of their faith. As this faith grows, and as we follow the Lord’s call in our lives, we see that following Him is neither boring nor is it something that takes away our happiness. Rather, we discover that it is the greatest adventure of our lives. We find a deeper happiness than we ever thought possible, if only we follow Him. The deepest joy is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He longs to give it to us if we follow Him. That is my prayer for each of our students and their families.

As we begin this school year, I invite you to pray for all of our students and teachers as they embark on this essential endeavor, that they may come to know the person of Jesus not as an abstract idea but as an intimate friend whom they encounter every day. May God bless all of our students, teachers, and families as we continue this journey together.