Are Catholic Schools Fulfilling Their Mission?

Are Catholic Schools Fulfilling Their Mission?

Catholic schools do a great service to the Church and to the world. They educate more children than any other institution in the world. Countless numbers of people have been helped by them throughout the centuries, and their contribution to humanity cannot be overstated. Many people, even non-religious people, attend Catholic schools for their outstanding reputation as being leaders in education. However, I think if most Catholic schools, at least in the United States but my guess is in a lot of places elsewhere, are honest with themselves, they’re failing in their primary mission.

What is the mission of Catholic schools?

What makes Catholic schools unique among other schools is that they are… well… Catholic. If what makes Catholic schools unique among schools is their catholicity, this means that Catholics schools’ mission and identity must be the same mission and identity of the Catholic Church. But what is the mission and identity of the Catholic Church?

Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize.  ~ Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14, Blessed Pope Paul VI

Evangelization is the mission and identity of the Catholic Church, which must mean that it must also be the mission and identity of Catholic schools. This command to mission is rooted in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus, who is God, Himself, said,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.        ~ Matthew 28:18-20

Did you catch that?! Jesus, God Himself, before He ascends to the Father gives His last command to His Apostles. And as we all know, Vanessa Williams said, “Save the Best for Last.” Or perhaps more appropriately as St. Thomas Aquinas said, “Although the end be last in the order of execution, yet it is first in the order of the agent's intention.” The last thing Jesus did was to order us to go make disciples. What is last in execution is first in intention. Jesus said he was commanding this with all the authority of heaven and earth. All the authority of HEAVEN and EARTH! All the authority of dominions, powers, serpahim, cherubim, principalities, angels with all the authority of kings, judges, fathers, mothers, teachers, rulers, with all the authority of earth, with all the authority of God, Himself, with all of His Being Jesus commands us to “Go… make disciples of all nations.” Discipleship then is at the heart of mission and identity of the Catholic Church, and it therefore must be at the heart of the mission and identity of all Catholic schools. To fail to make disciples is to fail the very mission Catholic schools were given.

As the Second Vatican Council said,

A Christian education does not merely strive for the maturing of a human person as just now described, but has as its principal purpose this goal:

·      that the baptized, while they are gradually introduced to the knowledge of the mystery of salvation, become ever more aware of the gift of Faith they have received,

·      and that they learn in addition how to worship God the Father in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23) especially in liturgical action,

·      and be conformed in their personal lives according to the new man created in justice and holiness of truth (Eph. 4:22-24);

·      also that they develop into perfect manhood, to the mature measure of the fullness of Christ (cf. Eph. 4:13) and strive for the growth of the Mystical Body;

·      moreover, that aware of their calling, they learn not only how to bear witness to the hope that is in them (cf. Peter 3:15) but also how to help in the Christian formation of the world that takes place when natural powers viewed in the full consideration of man redeemed by Christ contribute to the good of the whole society.(9)

Wherefore this sacred synod recalls to pastors of souls their most serious obligation to see to it that all the faithful, but especially the youth who are the hope of the Church, enjoy this Christian education.

                                                            Gravissmum Educationis, 2  Second Vatican Council

Are Catholic schools helping their graduates do the above?

 “The definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity”

~ Catechesi Tradendae, 5, Pope St. John Paul II

My Own Experience

I went to an excellent all boys’ Catholic Jesuit school. The education I received there was really excellent. I was exposed to a wide variety of different topics as well as different viewpoints that were academically excellent. It taught me how to think critically and how to be more well-rounded. My two favorite courses at my high school were the History of Art and the History of Music. My high school offered yearly retreats, a father-son retreat for sophomores, a Kairos retreat for juniors and seniors, Mass for holy days of obligation, service opportunities and service hours, religion courses, as well as optional daily Mass available in the morning before classes. I am very, very grateful for the opportunity I had in high school to grow in my faith through participation in daily Mass. I would probably not be the same without it. I owe a lot to my high school. But if I am honest, when it comes to its identity as being a Catholic school. Did it succeed? Did it make disciples or foster discipleship?  

To be honest, I do not remember learning much about the Person of Jesus Christ. I do not remember ever being presented with the heart of the Christian faith, the kerygma, in a way that was life-giving, attractive, and an invitation to divine life. Catholicism was presented as a series of opinions or facts that had very little to do with one another. There was the First Principle of St. Ignatius, the importance of loving your neighbor, being active in social justice, some information on the Old and New Testament, tea and meditations, information about the Holocaust, information about Buddhism, historical-critical method of understanding the Bible, the five pillars of Islam, Taoism, Confucianism, abortion as sinful and wrong, a few things about pre-marital sex, and “Vatican III” was hosted where teenage boys with raging hormones decided which Church teachings they would change. I also remember being told masturbation was no longer a sin in biology class, how to put on a condom in guidance counseling class, and that “This is a Jesuit school, we don’t talk about sin here” in pre-calculus class. On retreat I remember having a psychodelic screensaver going on in the background with Native American chant playing during the Sacrifice of the Mass. I remember “Where is the Love” by the Black Eyed Peas being played as the Communion hymn. I recall students being asked to pray certain Eucharistic prayers, not consecration, but the prayers for the pope and the local bishop. I believe I remember a few skits being done for the homily that were about the Golden Rule and possibly Abraham Lincoln giving a homily. It’s been a while so I could be leaving things out or inaccurately recalling certain things, but I can say at least there was not much that I can remember that really affected me to want to live the Gospel more with the exception that they offered the sacraments. I was already a disciple of Jesus and believed what the Church taught by this point, but what if I didn’t? How would I react to what I was taught? I would probably assume that Catholicism had rules for no particular reason, it was just being nice and follow rules while believing in a guy named Jesus and God, and serve others because it’s good. I would think that Catholicism really does not have much to offer and I’d probably be pretty bitter about the arbitrary rules the Church has and hoped the teachings would just change.

I know I was not alone in experiencing things that are not in line or are at least not conducive to the mission of the Catholic Church in making disciples. Friends and siblings who went to other Catholic schools expressed some of the same concerns. There were active lesbian teachers, teachers who undermined Catholic teaching, thoughts of universal salvation all that mattered was being good to other people, a de-emphasis on Jesus and His Church, a strong emphasis on morality as the heart of the Christian message, people calling into question the authority of the Bible and the Church, and much more. I remember my Protestant friend being completely scandalized by the Catholic Church as a result, that it did not focus on Jesus enough and it made secondary issues more important than the Gospel. I whole-heartedly agree. Catholic schools in my area tended to disillusion Catholics, scandalize evangelicals, and only offered a good education with the necessary evil of religion classes for the indifferent.

Since high school it was my goal to become a Catholic religion teacher to try to “fix” the problem. A bit laughable because I am just one man and I am also me with my own huge limitations. But I knew a good portion of my classmates were not taught about Jesus in the way that I was by my family and by my middle school and I wanted them to have that opportunity to hear it presented in a beautiful and compelling way. A Jesus who was not just a historical figure who said nice things or did cool stuff, but the living and Risen Lord who we can encounter now in the present and who calls us to repent, pick up our Cross and follow Him so that we might have life and life to the full.

My Findings

I wanted to ask other people what their experience of Catholic schools were to see if I was alone in this or not. I am not a professional researcher so I do not claim that these findings are in any way definitive. But I do think they are a bit telling nonetheless. This is what I found. 137 people responded to my questions from Baltimore to Belize, from New York to Arizona, from Texas to Delaware, from Pennsylvania to California.

Obviously there could be a lot of factors as to why the graudates of Catholic schools are not intentional disciples right now. But it’s important to look more closely at the Catholic school’s own curriculum.

Here it might look very positive that the “Yes” is more than the “No,” but in my mind, this answer should very clearly be answered “Yes” if it is “Yes,” if you have to put “Other” it’s not clear enough and it might as well be “No,” so if you take the “15%” from the Other, the “No” is above 50% while the Yes is around 45%.

Now this question confused a few people because they said they did not understand what “power and authority” meant, but anyone who has heard the Gospel truly proclaimed know how powerful it truly is and with what authority it comes. There is a very clear distinction between the bold proclaimation of the Good News and the presentation of facts or opinions about religion or an imposition of morality.

My amateur findings coincided with some of the findings in a Pew Forum "Leaving Catholicism" survey.

The personal responses were very telling as well.

Do you think your Catholic school’s religion curriculum's primary aim was to help you have an encounter with Jesus Christ? To put you “not only in touch, but in communion, in intimacy with Jesus?”

"With regards to the "middle school" I attended, I would have to answer "yes" to this question. The Catholic high school and college, I would have to say "no." In middle school, religion was always "put front and center." Religion saw its way into every subject. The school was not afraid to say it was Catholic and to teach in such a way. I will admit that this was overbearing at times, but as I reflect, it was refreshing. In high school, despite the fact that it was a Catholic high school, I felt as if the school was ashamed of its Catholic identity. Religion classes were taught (in my opinion) with the focus being on Christian principles and religion in general, as opposed to the Catholic catechism. The teachings were focused on general spirituality and world religions, (this is not a criticism of those principles or the lessons learned), and not Catholicism. I would have preferred more a "Jesus centered" and "Catholic" approach to my religious education. I felt as though my Catholic high school (and College) were ashamed of its identity. They held the philosophy of "not wanting to be too aggressive with the Catholic faith and as such, let's teach about 'being a good person' and assist you in learning about your spirituality." This is all well and good and again I do not have a problem with such, but I feel as if the purpose of a Catholic school is to teach Catholic values. Should an individual not want this type of eduction (or not want to be exposed to such) then they should not attend a Catholic school. I believe in response to not wanting to offend those who are not Catholic (or religious), the religion classes were "watered down."

How would you summarize the content or main purpose of the teaching you received in your religion classes at your Catholic school?

To instill values. 

 We were taught to be good human beings and men for others, but not to adhere to strict doctrine without doubt or circumspection. 

 Educational. 

 The purpose of our religion classes was to give us the facts, theories, traditions and understandings surrounding the catholic lifestyle. 

 I don't remember my classes that well, but I remember teaching one of my religion teachers (a nun) about having a personal relationship with Christ. That being said, I feel like the main purpose was to learn Catholic teaching and practices. It seemed to be aimed more at your head than heart. 

 [My school] did not put a huge emphasis on our religion classes, let alone Catholicism. It felt like those classes where in there just because it was required. 

 Just another body of knowledge to learn - treated like all the other subjects and classes.
 Morality and social justice teachings. 

 Social justice was emphasized, general scripture, perhaps some teaching of Jesus but I honestly barely remember that. I gained my love for Christ/the Church from sources outside of my school. 

 Offered a balanced and worldly perspective. 

 From what I remember, it seemed like general Catholic knowledge, delivered without passion and from individuals without a personal relationship with Christ and His Church. 

 Personal morality - teaching the do's and don't's. 

 Church history, review of sacraments, morality. 

 The main purpose of religion classes in high school was to learn *about* God/Jesus/Scripture. There wasn't really an emphasis on encountering Jesus.

Further Testimony

One of my favorite books with probably my favorite subtitle ever, addresses this whole issue of bad Catholic education. “God and Man at Georgetown Prep: How I Became Catholic Despite 20 Years of Catholic Schooling.”

Mark Gauvreau Judge writes,

“The chaos in religious education today has resulted from an agenda that pretended to implement Vatican II, but in fact it subverted it… Over a period of twenty-five years, [certain theologians and catechetical writers] gained influence and control of the departments of religion and religious education in Catholic colleges and universities, of the publishers of the most widely-used religion textbooks, and of the middle management positions and archdioceses. They were and are the major speakers at most religious education conventions. Through their books and articles and classroom indoctrination, they shape the minds of the leaders, who in turn pass this on to the classroom and volunteer teachers. They are not teaching Catholicism but a mélange of personal opinions that usually resurrect discredited nineteenth-century liberal Protestantism and reflect New Age pieties. Bad theory had led to bad practice.” (p. 51).

“At Our Lady of Mercy, we didn’t have bad religious education, we had no religious education. Oh, we went to Mass, but had no idea what we were looking at. We received the sacraments – confession, confirmation, Holy Communion – but didn’t know what they were and Mass was mandatory, but (unlike when my older brothers had gone to Mercy in the 1960s) being an altar boy was not. It had become optional, and I had opted out. I couldn’t name the disciples, nevermind any saints. I was a Catholic illterate kept that way in a Catholic school. It was almost as if our teachers did not want us to learn our faith or even to think about God at all”

“To many of us, Catholicism had been a compartment in our lives, the Sunday Mass obligation and the imperative to be nice to people. Our strivings at work, in romance, and with our families were the real world, and the church could say nothing to our desires for material goods, love, and security – the things that really made us human” (p. 5).

“My Catholic schooling simply did not educate me that joy, friendship, and the powerful attraction to the opposite sex were natural and healthy reactions to the manifestations of the Creator. These things were the best things in life, and Christ had been minimized to the point where I could not see him in the world. When this happens the things that God created offer diminishing returns. When there is no longer a hierarchy of loves with God at the top, those lesser loves become gods who cannot satisfy.” (p. 75).

 “I knew that as a Christian we had to go to Mass, be nice to people, and not have sex too much outside marriage. But one thing had been missing from my Catholic education: Jesus Christ” (p. 65).

This fragmented, disjointed communication of Catholicism is I think unfortunately what a majority of Catholic schools communicate today.

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (who became Pope Benedict XVI) wrote on this disjointed transmission of doctrine especially in regards to morality that has greatly confused Catholic education.

             “Development of manuals [were] determined by the pratical need to form confessors and to give concrete answers to the questions that might arise in the context of confession. Hence together with a certain naturalism reflecting a substantially philosophical reflection decorated here and there with biblical citations, the manuals strongly emphasized casuistry so that they could respond to the requirements of practice. However, the atmosphere of the Scriptures was totally lacking, as was the reference to Christ, in whom man finds the Truth and the Way in person, and therefore also finds open the door to Life, reconciliation with God and communion with Him: entering into communion with Christ, who is at one and the same time a man present in my time and the Son of God, we can reconcile the concreteness of the passing moment with the eternal weight of our life. The older type of moral theology no longer allowed people to see the great message of liberation and freedom given to us in the encounter with Christ. Rather, it stressed above all the negative aspects of so many prohibitions, so many ‘no’s.’ These are no doubt present in Catholic ethics, but they were no longer presented for what they really are: the concretization of a great, ‘yes.’ So the need for a profound renewal was felt, and this was certainly the idea of the constitution of Gaudium et Spes: to return to a substantially biblical and christological ethics, inspired by the encounter with Christ, an ethics conceived not as a series of precepts but as the event of an encounter, of a love that then also knows how to create corresponding actions. If this event happens -  a living encounter with a living person who is Christ – and this encounter stirs up love, it is from love that everything else flows.”

(“The Renewal of Moral Theology: Prespectives on Vatican II and Veritatis Splendor” Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger)

Fruit and Jesus’ Warning

Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples. He expects us to bear much fruit in making disciples. It is by our fruit that we prove to be His disciples. And we are known by our fruit or our lack of them. This applies to Catholic schools as well.

I am  the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing…By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.  

                                                                                    ~ John 15:5, 8

And Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Behold, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down’”

                                                                                    ~ Luke 13:6-9

For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.

                                                                        ~ Luke 6:43-44

Exceptions?

Yes. There are definitely exceptions to what I think is very, very common. There are excellent Catholic schools that really do have it in their mission and identity to form intentional disciples of Jesus Christ.

In what I have seen in the responses, those who had a great experience from their Catholic school had four main common elements:

1.) Teachers who had a relationship with Jesus

2.) Classes focused on the Person of Jesus and related everything back to Him

3.) They offered Adoration

4.) They offered Confession

I think the more and more we understand our identity of being Catholic is to be an intentional disciple who is called to mission, the more we will see Catholic education change. Archbishop Aquila of Denver just stated the purpose of Catholic schools is just this purpose: “Regarding the challenge of forming disciples, Archbishop Aquila presented his vision and expectations related to Catholic schools. Specifically, he stated that Catholic schools exist to form intentional disciples of Jesus Christ and create saints. He discussed how Catholic schools should be the premier method for transmitting the faith from one generation to the next.” (Denver Catholic)

But will Catholic schools get everyone?

So all we need to do is change Catholic education and all the Church’s problems will be fixed? No. It’s extremely important to know what I am saying and what I am not saying. Catholic schools cannot be seen as the main solution or the only solution to renewing the Catholic Church. I taught at an amazing Catholic school in Belize for three years. I saw students have very powerful encounters with Jesus Christ and they began the walk of conversion. They were becoming intentional disciples of Jesus Christ. But I know many of those who started on that path are no longer walking on that path, but are struggling. Life is hard, the cultural tendencies are strong, and there is little support walking with them day by day on their journey. The weight of the New Evangelization does not rest on Catholic schools alone.

Catholic schools are a huge support and have the potential to be a huge catalyst for many people in the New Evangelization. But are there opportunities after high school or after college for continual formation? Is there formation for marriages and families? Ultimately what is much more important than Catholic schools is the importance of parishes being the center for evangelization and catechesis co-working with the family as the domestic Church. Parishes and parents are vital, essential, and in the words of Beyoncé “irreplaceable,” … I mean the GDC. “Parents are the primary educators in the faith” (General Directory for Catechesis, 255). Families are where huge moments of evangelization occur. “The witness of Christian life given by parents in the family comes to children with tenderness and parental respect. Children thus perceive and joyously live the closeness of God and of Jesus made manifest by their parents in such a way that this first Christian experience frequently leaves decisive traces which last throughout life. This childhood religious awakening which takes place in the family is irreplaceable” (GDC, 226).

This was reflected in one of the responses:

Did your Catholic school experience help you to become an intentional disciple and follower of Jesus?

"No it did not. I remain a practicing Catholic because of my upbringing. Without being too blunt, Catholic school did not teach me anything about being Catholic. My parents raised my siblings and I with an emphasis being placed on our religion. It was through them and by watching their practice of the faith that I "remain" a Catholic."

But let’s say all of formation is perfect from parents to parishes, from primary schools to high schools and universtities, if all of them are perfect will every soul be reached? I do not think we can be so bold as to think that human efforts even with the help of God can convert every human heart. For if people had God, Himself in their midst, walking with them, speaking with Him, and yet even He was rejected, why do we think we would do a better job than God, Himself? Jesus said there would always be weeds among the wheat. So we should never be disappointed by the fact that there will never be a perfect retention rate. BUT we should be very concerned if lost sheep are saying that they went to a Catholic school that did nothing to fulfill the mission of the Catholic Church in bringing them closer to Jesus.

How we can begin to set things aright?

For those who have any influence in Catholic schools, whether as teachers or administators or parents, I think we need to first pray and be holy ourselves. To continually ask Jesus to renew our own hearts after His own and then to set the hearts aflame of those we encounter in our daily lives. Saints are what reform the Church not programs or plans or teachings. But this does not mean that programs or plans are not important, they are important in being conduits in which people can help form more intentional disciples, but they are not important in and of themselves. It is only by intentional disciples that other intentional disciples will be made. With this being said, let’s also see what plans can be done to help Catholic schools fulfill their identity and mission to form intentional disciples.

Evangelize

We need to recognize that those coming to Catholic schools are often unevangelized and uncatechized Catholics and non-Catholics. We cannot begin to address catechesis without first addressing evangelization. The difference between ignorance and apathy is “I don’t know” and “I don’t care.” It is much more important to address the “I don’t care” first before you ever address the “I don’t know.” If they care, they will want to know. If they do not care, it doesn’t matter what they know. Evangelization deals with “I don’t care.” It deals with conversion and primary proclaimation. “Primary proclamation is addressed to non-believers and those living in religious indifference. Its functions are to proclaim the Gospel and to call to conversion… Primary proclamation, which every Christian is called to perform, is part of that "Go” which Jesus imposes on his disciples: it implies, therefore, a going-out, a haste, a message. “ (GDC, 61-61) Evangelization implies the need to “Go, Proclaim, Call.” What do we go to proclaim and call others to?

The Kerygma

What is the kerygma. The kerygma is the heart of the Gospel and it can be summed up in five basic parts.

1) God loves you and has a plan for your life

“For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

2) Sin and death disturb that plan

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23)

3) God loves you so much He sent His Son for you who died and rose again!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).

4) Repent and believe in the Gospel which offers you mercy

“Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38

5) Be united to Jesus in and through His Body, the Church by the Holy Spirit

“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Cor 12:27)

Pope Francis offers an extremely important input on these topics:

“If we attempt to put all things in a missionary key, this will also affect the way we communicate the message. In today’s world of instant communication and occasionally biased media coverage, the message we preach runs a greater risk of being distorted or reduced to some of its secondary aspects. In this way certain issues which are part of the Church’s moral teaching are taken out of the context which gives them their meaning. The biggest problem is when the message we preach then seems identified with those secondary aspects which, important as they are, do not in and of themselves convey the heart of Christ’s message. We need to be realistic and not assume that our audience understands the full background to what we are saying, or is capable of relating what we say to the very heart of the Gospel which gives it meaning, beauty and attractiveness."  (Evangelium Gaudium, 34)    

 Pastoral ministry in a missionary style is not obsessed with the disjointed transmission of a multitude of doctrines to be insistently imposed. When we adopt a pastoral goal and a missionary style which would actually reach everyone without exception or exclusion, the message has to concentrate on the essentials, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing and at the same time most necessary. The message is simplified, while losing none of its depth and truth, and thus becomes all the more forceful and convincing.   (Evangelium Gaudium, 35)    

All revealed truths derive from the same divine source and are to be believed with the same faith, yet some of them are more important for giving direct expression to the heart of the Gospel. In this basic core, what shines forth is the beauty of the saving love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ who died and rose from the dead.  Evangelium Gaudium, 36                   

This is where the Good News of the Gospel needs to be proclaimed with power and authority. Not as if it simply human words, but as it is as the Word of God, Himself.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith”

                                                ~ Romans 1:16

The power of God in the proclamation of Gospel is meant to lead our students into a place of encounter. All is oriented to an encounter with the living and Risen Lord. Without this encounter, disciples cannot be formed, catechized, and sent.

Encounter
The encounter is a definitive moment in one’s life where they know that they have met the Lord and experienced Him. It should engage the whole person: the intellect, the will, the soul, and the heart. There can be a variety of ways that it occurs or ways that is manifested in people who have an encounter, but it is something that affects the whole person and engages them with the Lord. It is deeply experiential. Where God enters into human reality in a concrete moment in time to dynamically change one’s view of reality, life, and God. John records in his Gospel the very hour that his first encounter occurred, “It was four o’lock in the afternoon” (John 1).

“For each of us, too, there is a “Galilee” at the origin of our journey with Jesus. “To go to Galilee” means something beautiful, it means rediscovering our baptism as a living fountainhead, drawing new energy from the sources of our faith and our Christian experience. To return to Galilee means above all to return to that blazing light with which God’s grace touched me at the start of the journey. From that flame I can light a fire for today and every day, and bring heat and light to my brothers and sisters. That flame ignites a humble joy, a joy which sorrow and distress cannot dismay, a good, gentle joy. In the life of every Christian, after baptism there is also a more existential “Galilee”: the experience of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ who called me to follow him and to share in his mission. In this sense, returning to Galilee means treasuring in my heart the living memory of that call, when Jesus passed my way, gazed at me with mercy and asked me to follow him. It means reviving the memory of that moment when his eyes met mine, the moment when he made me realize that he loved me. Today, tonight, each of us can ask: What is my Galilee? Where is my Galilee? Do I remember it? Have I forgotten it? Have I gone off on roads and paths which made me forget it? Lord, help me: tell me what my Galilee is; for you know that I want to return there to encounter you and to let myself be embraced by your mercy.” ~ Pope Francis, April 20^th, 2014 Easter Vigil

 “Faith is a personal encounter with Jesus Christ making, of oneself a disciple of him. This demands a permanent commitment to think like him, to judge like him and to live as he lived.  In this way the believer unites himself to the community of disciples and appropriates the faith of the Church.” General Directory of Catechesis, 53

 “I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace.” How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy."                      Evangelium Gaudium, 3                   Pope Francis

“The Church as a whole and all her Pastors, like Christ, must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life, towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives us life, and life in abundance… There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him… If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation”

                                                ~ Pope Benedict XVI, 24 April 2005, Inaugural Mass

It is thus part of the role of Catholic schools to offer an opportunity for encounter with Jesus. Catholic schools must think of creative and courageous ways to allow their students to encounter our Lord, to meet Him, to know Him, to love Him.

“The answer calls for courage, creativity and determination to undertake ways that have yet to be explored. Catechesis, as component of the process of evangelization, needs to go beyond the simple scholastic sphere to educate believers, from childhood, to encounter Christ, alive and working in his Church. It is the encounter with Him that arouses the desire to know him better and then to follow him to become his disciples. Therefore, the challenge of the New Evangelization and of catechesis is staked in fact on this fundamental point: how to encounter Christ, what is the most coherent place to find Him and follow Him.”

           ~ Pope Francis  (Pope Francis Address to Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.)      

In my experience of what I have seen to work as good and creative places of encounter.

1.)  Eucharistic Adoration

2.)  Confession

3.)  Daily Mass

4.)  Praise and Worship and Gregorian Chant

5.)  Retreats

6.)  Bold and Dynamic Preaching

7.)  Beauty

a.     Spending time in natural beauty

b.    Beautiful Art

c.     Beautiful Music

d.    Beautiful Cinema

e.     Beautiful Architecture

f.      Beautiful Poetry, Literature, or Inspiring stories

8.)  Well-crafted catechesis

9.)  Honest personal testimonies of one’s life

10.)       Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet

11.)       Men Praying Together/Women Praying Together

12.)       Lectio divina – Bible study

13.)       Praying with someone or over someone

14.)       Corporal Works of Mercy

15.)       Guided meditation on Scripture

16.)       The Theology of the Body

17.)       Processions

18.)       Pilgrimages

19.)       Compassion with one’s sufferings

20.)       Listening to another

21.)       The Love Languages

a.     Quality Time

b.    Affirming Physical Touch

c.     Words of Affirmation

d.    Gift Giving

e.     Acts of Service

22.)       Forgiveness

23.)       Good clean fun

24.)       Spending time in silence

25.)       Things that capture the imagination and evoke wonder and awe

These things do not work in and of themselves. They need to be accompanied by a loving witness to the faith, surrounded by prayer and intercession, prepared for and debriefed properly.

What do Mary Magdalene, the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, and Peter and John all have in common? They all experienced Jesus after the Resurrection. Yet, what is really interesting that all of them have in common about their experience with the Risen Lord is that when they encountered Him, they did not know it at first. They did not recognize Him! They were clueless at first. Their hearts burned within them, but they did not recognize the Risen Lord. This is important for us to have set as an example before us because many opportunities of encounter occur with many people, but sometimes they do not know who or what it was that they encountered! I remember praying with a student who “rested in the Spirit” and she lay on the ground with tears peacefully streaming down her face as we prayed for her. When she got up she asked, “What just happened? What was that?” I asked her what she felt and she said, “Peace, joy, and love.” And I had to explain that she had just had an encounter with Jesus Christ. We need to prepare our students with expectant faith that the Lord does want to encounter them, that they will and can experience an encounter through some or all of these means, and then afterwards we need to listen to their experience and help them to discern where and how they encountered Jesus. By doing this we root their experience which is almost always accompanied by “peace, joy, and love” in Jesus Christ.

Threshholds of Discipleship

Throughout the whole process of Evangelization and encounters, we will see signals that our students are stepping towards discipleship. These explanations are largely based off Sherry Weddell’s five threshholds of discipleship in her amazing and pivotal book, “Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus.” These threshholds are important for knowing what our students need. Whether they need more time being evangelized, more opportunities for encounter, or if it is okay to begin catechesis. Throughout one’s life of discipleship there are always times of needing  to be evangelized, needing opportunities for encounter, and needing catechesis, but before discipleship begins its important we allow our students to be converted before we give them catechesis. To see where our students are we look at the five threshholds.

  

Trust

Trust is the first treshhold. If they do not trust you, they do not care what you are saying. No matter what you say, no matter what you proclaim, if you are not credible or seem like a trustworthy person, your message will fall on deaf ears. First, you need to build a relationship of trust. “They do not care what you know, until they know that you care.” Trust can take time to build or it can be instantaneous depending on the person and the relationship, but before any further development towards discipleship can take place, a person needs to trust you. As Don Bosco said, “Get them to love you, and they’ll follow you where you go.”

Curiosity

After trust has been established, curiosity sets in. Curiosity usually manifests itself where one begins to ask questions. Usually very simple questions, sometimes more complicated ones, sometimes blocks that they have against the faith. When people are curious, there is no commitment on their part. They are not even necessarily open to your answers. They are simply just curious as to what you will say. Will you continue to be someone they will trust or will you allay some of their fears or confusion? In this treshholds it is important not give more information than their curiosity desires. It is important to keep them wanting more, so that as they continue develop in their relationship of trust you are answering some of their unanswered questions.

Openness

There comes a point that they now trust you, you have answered some questions and now they are open to the possibility of giving their lives to Jesus. However, there is no real commitment yet, no real interest yet in giving their lives to Jesus. It is just that now they are no longer closed off completely to the idea, they are only open to it being a possibility. This is a huge step.

Seeking

Seeking is the first active phase.  There is no commitment yet, but they want to know more and they are actively seeking to see if commitment would be a good thing for them. They hunger for more, they desire more, they want it, but there may be real fear and real concerns that need to be addressed first. They want to give their lives to something or someone. Seeking is where they actually start to do things to seek the truth (they may attend Youth Group of their own free choice, not just out of invitation, they may ask more questions, Research online,  read books on their own to search for truth, they may Go to church on their own, go to Bible study on their own, check out RCIA, etc…)

Discipleship

Discipleship is the beginning of the journey of walking with the Lord. It begins when someone has dropped their “nets.” As Peter and Andrew, James and John dropped their nets, leaving behind their former way of life, and began to follow in the footsteps of the Master. They have decided to begin to follow Jesus and give their lives to Him. Their initial conversion has begun. They realize their need for Jesus and want to follow Jesus. Just as Peter had a long journey to go from the moment he dropped his nets all the way until he offered his life in sacrifice, so too do all disciples. There will be mistakes, there will be faults, there will be sin, denial, but discipleship does not mean perfection, it means that the process for continual conversion has begun. It means that we have experienced the mercy of Jesus and every time we fall we will try to approach that same merciful Jesus to forgive us again of our sins and live out His will for our lives, not our own. It means that we are coming to follow after Him, to pick up our Cross, that we are willing to leave father or mother if Jesus asks it of us, that we are willing to lay down our life for His sake, that we are willing to be persecuted for His sake, that we are trying to love as He loves, to forgive as He forgives, and to live our vocation according to His will and not our own. It means that we have received the gift of the Spirit and are also called to make other disciples. We will fail just as Peter did along the way. But we are trying and we will try to keep trying. We will try to suffer with Him and for Him, we will try to “Do whatever He tells [us]” and we will try to daily sit at His feet to listen to Him and hear what He wants for us each and every single day as we follow Him in the context of His Church.

Discipleship is a lifelong process, but it is the beginning of the journey. It is only after we give our lives to Jesus that the full context of what the Church teaches makes any sense at all. The teachings of the Church are hard to live, but that is because our life is no longer our own, it is Jesus’ and we live His life in the Spirit. We do this because we have experienced the amazing and transforming love of Jesus Christ and know that in living His life we love Love, Itself in return. We will struggle in laying down our lives and putting down our selfish wants, but we need continual encounters or the remembering – making present – of our first encounter to rekindle the love and mercy of Jesus Christ that we first experienced. It is that charity of God that will help us to live the life of Jesus with peace, joy, and love. Teaching the intricacies of morality before our students experience the saving love of Jesus Christ will fall on deaf ears and will heap a heavy burden on them, leaving them bitter, resentful, or indifferent that many rules are there, but little love, meaning, and purpose. It is our duty that everything be rooted and grow organically from the love of Jesus Christ.

Catechesis

Only after an encounter and only after initial conversion and repentance can true catechesis occur. It addresses the “I don’t know” by giving education and formation in the content of the faith to the already converted so as to teach them how to walk in discipleship with Jesus.  If Catholic schools give catechesis without evangelizing their students and providing them an opportunity to encounter Jesus Christ, they will not filfull the proper task of education in the faith. “Catechesis, however, starts with the condition indicated by Jesus himself: "whosoever believes”, whosoever converts, whosoever decides… Catechesis, "distinct from the primary proclamation of the Gospel",  promotes and matures initial conversion, educates the convert in the faith and incorporates him into the Christian community… Only by starting with conversion, and therefore by making allowance for the interior disposition of "whoever believes", can catechesis, strictly speaking, fulfill its proper task of education in the faith” (GDC, 61-62). The role of catechesis is to welcome, educate, incorporate converted people into the Body of Christ in the Church and to show them their role within the Body of Christ. But we must never think that catechesis does not relate everything back to the centrality of the Gospel: the kerygma. It is all focused on the Person of Jesus Christ and His saving message. Everything that is taught must be related back to Him.

“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” ~ Colossians 1:17-20

We also need to explain that the point and reason for everything is Jesus. From every coporal work of mercy, to every act of popular piety to every doctrine or dogma – we need to answer, because of Jesus. Why do we feed the hungry, visit the sick and imprisoned, because it is Jesus in the hungry, sick, and imprisoned. “Whatever you do to the least of these my brethren, you do to me” (Matthew 25). Why was Mary immaculately conceived? Because she was the mother of Jesus and Jesus’ love purifies us.  Why do we go to purgatory? Because Jesus’ love purifies us and purgatory allows us to “be perfect as [His] Heavenly Father is perfect” Why do we practice chastity? Because we are the Body of Christ and our bodies therefore are the temple of the Holy Spirit because our flesh was put to death in baptism with Jesus that we might walk in newness of life in and with Him. Why do we believe sex is meant to be pro-creative? Because Jesus’ love leads to eternal life and all love is meant for life. God is the Creator and we were created in the image and likeness of a God who is Love and out of His love He created new life and told us to “Be fruitful and multiply.” Why do we confess our sins? Because Jesus has the authority to forgive sins and He gave His apostles the authority to be ambassadors for Him when He said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you loose are loosed” (John 20). Why do we believe in the authority of the Pope? Because Jesus is the Rock and He gave Peter the ability to share in that authority as rock when He founded the Church on him and told him, “You are Peter and on this Rock, I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-20). Why do we teach about the Trinity? Because Jesus revealed that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that in the communion of love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all life takes on new meaning and purpose. Everything needs to be rooted in Jesus and the fact that God loves us and has a plan for our lives and we find it in Jesus.

Pope Francis adds,

“In catechesis too, we have rediscovered the fundamental role of the first announcement or kerygma, which needs to be the center of all evangelizing activity and all efforts at Church renewal. The kerygma is trinitarian. The fire of the Spirit is given in the form of tongues and leads us to believe in Jesus Christ who, by his death and resurrection, reveals and communicates to us the Father’s infinite mercy.

            On the lips of the catechist the first proclamation must ring out over and over: “Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.”

            This first proclamation is called “first” not because it exists at the beginning and can then be forgotten or replaced by other more important things. It is first in a qualitative sense because it is the principal proclamation, the one which we must hear again and again in different ways, the one which we must announce one way or another throughout the process of catechesis, at every level and moment. For this reason too, “the priest – like every other member of the Church – ought to grow in awareness that he himself is continually in need of being evangelized.”

                        Evangelium Gaudium, 164 

“We must not think that in catechesis the kerygma gives way to a supposedly more “solid” formation. Nothing is more solid, profound, secure, meaningful and wisdom-filled than that initial proclamation. All Christian formation consists of entering more deeply into the kerygma, which is reflected in and constantly illumines, the work of catechesis, thereby enabling us to understand more fully the significance of every subject which the latter treats. It is the message capable of responding to the desire for the infinite which abides in every human heart. The centrality of the kerygma calls for stressing those elements which are most needed today: it has to express God’s saving love which precedes any moral and religious obligation on our part; it should not impose the truth but appeal to freedom; it should be marked by joy, encouragement, liveliness and a harmonious balance which will not reduce preaching to a few doctrines which are at times more philosophical than evangelical.  All this demands on the part of the evangelizer certain attitudes which foster openness to the message: approachability, readiness for dialogue, patience, a warmth and welcome which is non-judgmental.”

                        Evangelium Gaudium, 165 

Needs the Support of Everyone

This endeavor needs the support of everyone involved with Catholic schools. From the local bishop to parish priests, from the math and biology teachers and staff of the school to parents and students. It cannot be the duty of only religion teachers. Local bishops need to be aware of their Catholic schools and their identities and really persuade them to become schools of discipleship, schools of prayer. It needs to begin with the administration and the teachers. All involved need to work towards an environment of encounter and continual encounter for everyone on staff so that when religion teachers teach they have the support of the whole staff as fellow disciples in Jesus Christ and are themselves continually renewed in the love of Jesus. Communal prayer and staff retreats can play a part in this.The mission needs the encouragement and involvement of parents who desire that Catholic schools be intentional in forming disciples. Catholic schools in order to be transformed “to be who they are” need to be surrounded by prayer and witnesses of those living the faith.

Conclusion

Catholic Schools have done an amazing job of educating children throughout the world. The majority do uphold high standards of education and have consistently met those standards. There are definitely Catholic schools that do know their place and role in the New Evangezliation in making disciples, but imagine if all Catholic schools knew their mission and identity are no different than the aims of the New Evangelization – that all people are called to have an encounter and to receive the saving love of Jesus Christ Crucified and Risen. If high schools became places of encounter, it could create a new culture for the Catholic Church today. No doubt that we would need support for post-graduation formation, for marriages, families, and parishes, but Catholic schools are an extremely important factor in the New Evangelization. But imagine if all graduates of Catholic Schools could at least say “I know that Catholic schools are centered on Jesus Christ, because I experienced it.”

Sources.

Catechesi Tradendae. Pope John Paul II.

Evangelium Gaudium. Pope Francis.

Evangelii Nuntiandi. Pope Paul VI.

General Directory for Catechesis.

Gravissimum Educationis. Second Vatican Council.

Judge, Mark Gauvreau. “God and Man at Georgetown Prep” New York: The Crossroads Publishing Company, 2005.

Pope Benedict XVI. Inaugural Mass. April 24^th, 2005.

https://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20050424_inizio-pontificato.html

Pope Francis Address to Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.  http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-address-to-pontifical-council-for-promoting-the-new-evangelization

Pope Francis. Easter Vigil Homily. April 20^th, 2014.

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-at-easter-vigil-return-to-galilee-and-redisco

Martin, Curtis. “Messaging the Gospel to the Young.” Address to USCCB in Spring General Assembly. Day 2.   6 June 2015. http://www.catholictv.com/shows/americas-catholic-television-network/usccb-spring-assembly-day-2-presentations/

Pew Forum. “Leaving Catholicism” http://www.pewforum.org/2009/04/27/faith-in-flux3/ April 27^th, 2009.

Ratzinger, Joseph Cardinal. Communio: International Catholic Review, 2005, Communio 32, Summer 2005. http://www.scotthahn.com/download/attachment/3640

Swanson, Karna.  Denver Catholic. “Catholic Schools Look to the Future” October 8^th, 2015. http://denvercatholic.org/catholic-schools-look-to-the-future/#.Vh2WLWRVikp

Weddell, Sherry A. Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2012.