‘Come, follow me’: The mission of our Catholic schools

Top photo credit: Father Jim Grogan, pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Moorestown, welcomes students as they arrive for the parish school’s first day Sept. 8. Mike Ehrmann photo

A “back to the classroom” message from Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M.

The beginning of a new school year always brings with it a wonderful mixture of anticipation and excitement. It’s hard to believe the time is already here again! Classrooms are prepared, schedules are finalized, books and supplies are gathered, and teachers and administrators welcome students back through the doors of our Catholic schools. There is something hopeful about beginning again.

As another school year begins in the Diocese of Trenton, however, I would like to suggest that we begin with something even more important than new schedules, new classes and new opportunities. Let us begin by remembering who we are and why our Catholic schools exist.

Sacred Scripture frequently warns God’s people against forgetfulness. In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses speaks a sobering word to Israel: “You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you; you forgot the God who gave you birth” (Deuteronomy 32:18).

Forgetfulness in the spiritual life does not usually happen all at once. It happens gradually. We become busy. Other priorities take over. Good things can quietly replace the greatest thing. Success can become more important than faithfulness. Achievement can overshadow formation. Metrics can replace mission. And before long, we can forget the God who gave us birth.

Catholic education cannot afford such forgetfulness.

Our Catholic schools throughout the Diocese certainly strive for academic excellence. We want our students to learn, to think, to discover their gifts and to develop them fully. We want them to be prepared for high school, college, careers and the responsibilities of adult life. We are rightly proud of their achievements. But if that were all we offered, we would be missing the very reason the Church conducts schools.

The purpose of Catholic education is not simply to prepare young people to make a living. It is to help prepare them to make a life – a life rooted in Jesus Christ and his Gospel. That mission belongs to all of us. It belongs to our principals, who carry enormous responsibilities and make countless decisions, often unseen by others, for the good of their school communities.

It belongs to our teachers, whose vocation extends far beyond presenting lessons and grading assignments. By their words, their example, their patience and their care for their students, teachers reveal something of the love of God every day. It belongs to our pastors and priests, whose presence reminds our school communities that Catholic education flows from the life and mission of the Church. It belongs especially to parents, who are the first and most important teachers of their children in the ways of faith. Catholic schools do not replace parents in that sacred responsibility; they stand beside them as partners.

And, of course, that mission belongs to our students. They are not simply recipients of Catholic education. They are young disciples of the Lord, growing in wisdom, grace, knowledge and holiness appropriate to their age.

Jesus once encountered a young man who asked him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. The young man was good, sincere and observant. Yet Jesus invited him to something more: “Come, follow me.”

Those words remain at the heart of Catholic education: “Come, follow me.”

Every subject taught in a Catholic school, every activity, every athletic competition, every school Mass, every service project, every moment of discipline and every act of kindness should ultimately help our young people hear that invitation more clearly.

That does not mean our schools will be without difficulties. Catholic education today faces real challenges. Resources can be limited. Costs continue to rise. Enrollment requires constant attention. Teachers and administrators carry demanding responsibilities. Families experience pressures of every kind. Our children themselves are growing up in a culture that often presents values very different from those of the Gospel.

These realities require good planning, sound administration and wise stewardship. But even more fundamentally, they require fidelity. The spiritual life is not sustained by comfort but by fidelity. The same is true of the mission of Catholic education.

Fidelity means choosing our Catholic identity not merely when it is easy, but when it is difficult. It means protecting the dignity of every child.

It means insisting that faith is not an “extra” added to an otherwise secular education but the atmosphere in which everything in a Catholic school takes place.

It means praying together. It means celebrating the Eucharist. It means teaching the truths of our Catholic faith clearly and joyfully.

It means caring for the student who struggles, accompanying the family experiencing hardship, supporting the teacher who is discouraged and remembering the child whom others might overlook.

These things may never appear on a standardized test or a school ranking, but they are among the most important measures of a truly Catholic school.

BTTC Bishop messageRE — *Children learn how to pray the Rosary during the religious education summer intensive program held this past August in St. Mary Parish, Colts Neck. St. Mary Parish photo*

At the same time, we must acknowledge that not all of our Catholic families can manage to send their children to a Catholic school. The majority of Catholic children in the Diocese attend public school and some – though not all and not enough – attend religious education classes through their parishes.

We must remember that all of our Catholic children – regardless of the school they attend – are called to be young disciples of the Lord. There are 30,176 children who will return to parish catechetical classes this month, and we need to pray for them and their religious education as well. We also need to support these programs and those who are dedicated to this ministry in any way possible.

As Bishop, I am deeply grateful for those who make Catholic education possible throughout the Diocese of Trenton. I am grateful to our pastors, principals, teachers, catechists, staff members, coaches and volunteers.

I am grateful to parents and grandparents who make sacrifices so that their children can receive a Catholic school education. And I am grateful for our students, who bring such energy, enthusiasm and promise to our schools.

To our young people especially, I offer this encouragement as you return to school: God has given you gifts that no one else possesses in quite the same way. Discover them. Develop them. Use them well. But never forget the One who gave them to you. Your education is not simply about what you will someday accomplish. It is about the person God is calling you to be now!

To all who share in the mission of our Catholic schools, let us begin this new academic year with renewed confidence in the Lord. Let us resist the temptation to measure ourselves only by the standards of the world. Let us have the courage to choose mission over convenience, integrity over expedience and fidelity over popularity.

Above all, let us never forget the God who gave us birth.

May our Catholic schools throughout Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties be places where faith and knowledge meet; where excellence and compassion belong together; where every child knows that he or she is created in the image and likeness of God; and where Jesus Christ is not simply spoken about but encountered, loved and followed.

May God bless our students, their families, our teachers, principals, pastors and all who support the sacred mission of Catholic school education in the Diocese of Trenton.

And may the Lord grant us all a happy, healthy, safe and faith-filled school year.