Raising the Standards
January 29, 2013 by Sisters of Charity
Filed under Vocation Blog
Yesterday marked the beginning of Catholic Schools Week, 2013. The theme, Raising the Standards, might refer to aiming for higher test scores and increasing graduation percentages, but it may mean more than that. If every person involved in Catholic Education from administration to volunteers to students and everyone in between set out to become the person God intended him/her to be, think what that would mean for our society. There are 1,682,412 students in our Catholic elementary and middle schools, and 638,239 in our high schools at last count. Imagine the impact these students and all who touch their lives in school could make in bringing about the Culture of Life. On the other hand, if our schools closed, how much more easily might the culture of death increase.
We are not promised the continuation of our Catholic Educational System. Pastors struggle to find ways to meet rising costs of schools. Parishes are twinned, yoked, merged and closed, threatening the very existence of Catholic Schools in their boundaries. And parents are being asked to make tough decisions, weighing the cost of a Catholic Education against the price of not sending their children to a school where core Christian values are taught across the spectrum of religious and secular subjects. What a loss to our nation when any child is denied the privilege of a Catholic education for whatever reason.
Let us pray for our Catholic schools; for teachers, students, parents, and all who support them. Let us implore Our Lady’s protection for our children. May God bless those who make great sacrifices to keep our Catholic schools open. And may these schools continue to serve our students in ways that enable them to develop their consciences, their minds and bodies according to God’s plan, so that the legacy of Catholic Education in America will flourish. Our nation owes our Catholic School system a great debt of gratitude. May our prayers help to strengthen this gift to our Land.
In the Heart of Christ the Teacher,
Mother Marie Julie
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Dear Mother,
I have a solution–more Sisters! Our children need you. When my wife and I first toured Saint Agnes School three years ago, we saw the habits of the Sisters of Charity and we could hardly contain our joy. Thank you, Sisters, thank you.
YES!!!
But with so much “scandal” going on in the Catholic church and so many options open for women now, our young people are afraid to take that leap of faith. I know this because I used to teach confirmation and because I have discerned that I DO have a vocation, I was always asked to give a short q&a on discernment, etc. Most of the girls said they wanted to be lawyers and doctors— The young men seemed more open to it— In retrospect, from those who visited, male religious life just seems like a huge fraternity whose focus is on Jesus (kind of funny!)
But I will tell you one thing:
There are those with vocations, just waiting for someone to say “Hey, you’d make a great sister (or priest), ever think of that?”—this is my tactic and I have recently gotten 3 young people responses, that they are indeed feeling that call!
God is so very good!
(Mother Julie, I apologize for my digression both above and below!)
“We are not promised the continuation of our Catholic Educational System”
That line cuts like a knife, mostly because of its candid truth. I, myself, coming from an Archdiocese that is struggling immensely to keep schools alive. Just 2 years ago (will be 3 in June) my grade school “The Shrine of the Sacred Heart”, along with 13 other schools, closed their doors forever, to Catholic education. Many of the school building go unused, or are only used once a week for religious education or CCD, merely hollow shells of the memories and the students who used to roam their hallways.
My old school is being rented out by a CITY elementary school, which helps fund our, now faltering–and on a potential merge list, parish, but it being a city school after religious education classes, we have to scout the building for any trace that Jesus was once there, for fear that the DRE (Director of Relgious Education)gets a not so nice call on Monday morning.
It is still hard for me to walk through the hallways of “The Shrine of the Sacred Heart”, or what used to be, and not see the Sacred Heart Statue greet you as you made your way through the main hallway, not see Sr. Mary Lucy’s classroom with the whole Communion of Saints (including her students for this year) on the wall, knowing that the stories of Jesus can’t be taught– but Buddha and Allah have free reign, knowing that none of my clsssmates will have the same joy that their parents did of sending their children to “The Shrine”.
I have the immense hope that the Archdiocese will thrive again, and that “The Shrine of the Sacred Heart” will once again become a Parochial School— where students start the day with The Pledge, the Our Father, and THE PRAYER TO ST. MICHAEL.
God bless you all abundantly