This week, in a particular way, we proudly claim our heritage and participation as a Catholic School. It is an opportunity to be reminded of the gift and responsibility we have to enthusiastically educate to the message of Jesus Christ, whose Heart most perfectly reveals the depth of God’s very personal Love to and for each of us!
Within the Church, different gifts, or charisms, are given to both people and groups of people. As a Sacred Heart Catholic School, our charism flows from our founding congregation, the Society of the Sacred Heart, whose mission within the Church has always been this:
To discover (know) and reveal (manifest) God’s Love as we have come to know that Love in and through the Heart of Christ!
Our aspiration is to educate to this personal love of God by LIVING each of our Five Goals and all of their Criteria, and by INVITING our students to live each of our Five Goals and their Criteria. We hope that our children are constantly learning about/discovering/coming to know about God and God’s Love in and through every aspect of their education.
Naturally, education of this kind occurs through a deep and rich prayer life (liturgical, Eucharistic and otherwise) to which the students are invited. This education also occurs in religion classes, which are topically specific in their education about God’s Grace and Mercy. But education of this kind also includes:
- offering our students the opportunity to serve,
- providing our students with the space to reflect,
- challenging our students with the questions which demand their critical thinking, and
- helping our students to value and act with respect towards themselves and others.
As we often say, this is holistic education! I recently read that the original meaning of the word Catholic, though often translated as “universal,” can also be translated as “whole-making.” I love that idea because that is what we try to do—educate the whole child to be wholly loving and wholly inclusive, as was our perfect model, Jesus Christ.
Happy Catholic Schools Week,
Maureen Glavin, rscj
