Mending in and through the Catholic School

In one of the Moral Theology classes in the seminary, I remember commenting in a discussion, “One of my worst fears is a few years down the road teaching in a classroom about the immorality of in vitro and realizing after the fact that a student in the class is a product of that process.” That exact fear became a reality within months of becoming a priest. The breakdown of the family in the obvious, visible realities of divorce or single parent homes, or the laxity of the American perception of the integrity of the family is only the tip of the iceberg that is the attack on the institution of the family; even seemingly “intact” families experience elements of destruction present within them, and this should of course be alarming for Catholic schools. 

The relationship between the breakdown of the family and the decline of the practice of the faith as observed by Mary Eberstadt (2013) is also accompanied by an observable breakdown of the intellectual formation of students in Catholic schools. This results in a further lack of catechesis and instruction, which in turn leads to a disinterested living of the faith, it is a destructive cycle.

The role of the Catholic school in the reality in which we find ourselves is one of mending the rupture of the family and the fragmentation of knowledge; and this role is two-fold. The first role is to be mended herself. While it may not be entirely impossible, a Catholic school that is lacking in the intellectual formation of its students will have a difficult time convincing them of the importance of living the faith and of the value and dignity of the person and relationships. A Catholic school that seeks to serve the community as a means of restoring unity to culture and human life must primarily exhibit the qualities it seeks to build in the community. 

This process of growth and healing within the school, much like any healing process, can be painful. There could be losses in personnel or adjustments in policy or curriculum that create issues with parents or unrest amongst the educators, but it is a necessary process in order for the school to be healed of her own ruptures. The teachers may themselves be required to work even harder than they already do, or to be more engaged in the practice of the faith, or to continue their education. 

Once the Catholic school is mended, she can become a mender herself by imparting high quality catechesis, providing opportunities for spiritual growth, and giving students real experiences of Jesus Christ. The content of instruction can help shape the minds of the students to understand the beauty of the teachings of the Church and the intentions behind individual teachings. Students ought to also receive formation in what it means to be human, an anthropology of man that reveals our dignity. The greatest gift possible in the Catholic school is the experience of our Lord in the area of spiritual formation. 

A quality intellectual formation combined with a robust human formation and spiritual formation will heal ruptures within the community one student at a time. All of these combined with a substantial pastoral or apostolic formation of the students will even more rapidly help mend the rupture present within the culture. 

Students who have a true understanding of the faith and have come to know Jesus Christ through the Catholic school will come to see the divisions and breakdowns present in the culture and be empowered to set out to be mended themselves so that they in turn might become menders. In short, the role of the Catholic school in this process of overcoming fragmentation is to be healed so as to heal future healers. 

Resources

Eberstadt, M. [The Heritage Foundation]. (2013, May 30). How the west really lost God: A new theory of secularization [Video]. Youtube. https://youtube/DcVyz5C3LPY