We have heard families talk about the “x” factor of a Sacred Heart education. We know it when we experience it. We can tell when we feel it. But it is challenging to describe it. What is “it”? We try to articulate the essence of a Sacred Heart education in the description of our Five Goals and all of their Criteria—but, that is a lot of words!
Our essence has much to do with the Society of the Sacred Heart’s contemplative spirituality. The beginning of Lent is a perfect time to remember that contemplative core. Our education is one that:
- calls each one (adults and students) to meet/see Christ in one’s own depth (thus providing inner peace, deep joy, centered confidence and the desire for each one to reach one’s potential and the interior courage to act with freedom)
- calls each one to meet/see Christ in all others (thus providing the capacity for compassion, respect, generosity, collaboration, the desire to communicate and the call to build community)
- calls each one to meet/see Christ beyond all materiality and temporality (thus providing an appreciation for Mystery and a capacity for awe, wonder, reverence and humility)
It is an enormous grace to have this as our foundation, not only for an educational philosophy, but as a foundation for a God-Centered Life!
Blessings on your Lenten Journeys,
—Maureen Glavin, rscj
