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January 29, 2021Catholic Schools Week is taking place this week throughout our country and offers an opportunity for all of us to rejoice in the fact that our Catholic schools are truly a national treasure. It also offers me an opportunity to reflect back on my twenty years of Catholic education which I began in September of 1959 at St. Helena School in the Olney section of Philadelphia. It was a huge school with 3 classes of first graders and about 100 students in each class. We were three to a desk and somehow the young nun in our classroom not only survived but managed to actually teach us. After my first semester at St. Helena, the family moved up to St. Joseph in Cheltenham just outside the city limits of Philadelphia. Class sizes were much smaller in the suburbs. There were only 58 students in my class. At St. Joseph I was gifted with a Catholic school education – and countless opportunities to learn more about faith. Our pastor, Father Francis Hannagan, was the first in a long line of priests, sisters and Catholic school teachers who helped me to understand what being Catholic means, who fostered a curiosity and appreciation for learning, and who asked me to be the very best person I could be.
I always say that while I was blessed with twenty years of formal Catholic education (grade school through graduate school), the gift of faith was nurtured in me by my parents, Dan and Irene Ragan. But while my parents fostered the seeds of faith, I know they felt blessed to be helped in the work of teaching Catholicism to my family through the Catholic parish and school. What we learned at home was reinforced at school. My parents knew that we would be cared for, encouraged, and challenged to grow, all for the praise and glory of God.
This week I rejoice that there are a dozen children in our faith community who are walking through the doors of Catholic schools and who are continuing the journey of faith promised to them as children of God which began when their parents brought them to the life-giving waters of baptism. They will pray, they will receive the sacraments, they will learn kindness and courtesy, and as they learn, we pray that they will be drawn deeper into the Mystery of God’s love.
Catholic schools are one important way that the faith is passed on to the next generation. This ministry is focused on education that takes place in the light of Jesus Christ. Students learn academic lessons that are well above the standards set by state and national experts, and they learn these lessons integrated with the strong moral compass and intellectual curiosity that are hallmarks of Catholic tradition.
Test scores, scholarship awards, high school graduation rates, and college placement all indicate that our schools are instrumental and successful in preparing students for the future. Research indicates that Catholic school students carry their faith forward, participate in parish and community service and leadership, and evaluate their own learning and preparation for the future as positive and impactful in their lives.
Taking the Gospel Home: Jesus came to proclaim the Good News. Sometimes he used words and sometimes he healed. But all his words and deeds reflected a greater power: God's love. He was the instrument, the conduit of that love, for he is God. The holy One made God present in tangible ways. He still does.
What word would you like to hear God speak? How would you like to be healed? Take a few moments this week to listen to God and prepare yourself for his loving touch.
P.S. Wednesday is the Memorial of St. Blaise. In his memory the Blessing of Throats will take place at 8am Mass. Join us for this special blessing.
