February 3, 2010

Denver’s Catholic schools: It’s all in the name

By Richard Thompson

Catholic Schools Week is an annual celebration that focuses attention on the good work done by the nation’s Catholic schools and reminds us that there is no better investment than in our children and our Church. It is fitting that “Dividends for Life” is the theme of this year’s celebration (Jan. 31-Feb. 6). 

If you Google “dividend,” thousands of sites pop up, centering on numbers—money, profit, yield and ratios.  The most common definition is “a share of profits paid to shareholders.”  Numbers are a good way to measure this profit, and we often use them to convey the value added in our Catholic schools, such as high graduation rates, above-grade-level national test scores in academics and Catholic faith formation, enrollment trends and efficient financial management. 
Another way to effectively share the Catholic school advantage is through a narrative that gives a sense of larger purpose to our Catholic schools and helps us understand the true dividends paid to our shareholders.  The narrative I would like to share is ingrained in the names of our 39 archdiocesan schools.

Two students I’ll name Jacob (“to follow or to succeed”) and Emma (“God with us”) have been entrusted to our school community by their parents because they have confidence that their children will experience more complete development and unsurpassed academic and personal success.  There Jacob and Emma learn through the Annunciation and Nativity of Our Lord that God loves us so much that he chose to become one of us, to take on our humanity.  They see the importance of humility, submission and obedience to God’s will, and great hope for all followers of Christ who imitate Mary’s fidelity and obedience in the Presentation of Our Lady and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  They are encouraged by Mary’s faith in children when she shared her message of hope through Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette.

Their faith is strengthened and enriched by the grace of the source and summit of our faith—the Blessed Sacrament and Most Precious Blood, and acknowledgement of the triune God—the Holy Trinity— through the sign of the cross in daily prayer. Through devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jacob and Emma celebrate and better understand Jesus’ divine love for humanity. They learn of love, protection and guidance from Guardian Angels, the Good Shepherd and the Holy Family.  Through the celebration of Christ the King, they understand that Christ’s kingship is not based on “human power” but on loving and serving others. 
They are provided a sense of Church history though Bishop Machebeuf and Notre Dame.  They learn that Bishop Machebeuf was the first bishop in Colorado an

it was his courage and vision that founded our Catholic schools in Colorado, qualities still needed today in order to sustain our schools. Both students discover that Notre Dame means “Our Lady,” the Blessed Virgin Mary, and is therefore the name given many Catholic institutions, like the cathedral in Paris—began in 1170 and completed 185 years later—where Joan of Arc was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920.  The Shrine of St. Anne centers on honoring Mary’s mother and Jesus’ grandmother, presenting each student with an opportunity to relate their family to Jesus’ family.

In celebrating All Souls, these students are engaging in an expression of the belief in the Communion of Saints, and share in the spiritual energy that flows between the living and the dead by way of prayer, good works and the Eucharist.
Emma and Jacob enjoy the benefit of team teaching from the saints. They have many false heroes presented to them, so the lives of these authentic heroes from the Church can mentor them and their teachers.  What better mentor can they have than St. Mary, the mother of Jesus and Seat of Wisdom, and St. Joseph, Jesus’ foster father and a man of faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him without knowing the outcome? His life helps them understand that humble, often unrecognized work is necessary for the success of any project.

St. John the Baptist, teacher and preacher, shows them the power of simplicity, zeal and the benefit of good example.  And then there are those whom Jesus first chose in faith, trust and friendship; and who first spread the Good News—St. James, St. John the Evangelist and Sts. Peter and Paul.  They teach these students and their teachers that colleagues can disagree, be confused and make mistakes but are ever true to Jesus.  St. Stephen, the first martyr and another disciple marked by grace, faith and fortitude, provides Jacob and Emma with an example of today’s dedicated deacons.  Over a thousand years later, St. Anthony teaches them that in every age it is important, like the first apostles, to preach the Good News clearly, lovingly and with courage.

St. Francis de Sales challenges the students to move beyond their comfort zone and to stretch without fear of making a mistake. Through St. Thomas More they learn to ask God for the grace to work hard for those things they pray for. Like St. Thomas More, St. Catherine of Siena provides writings that are wise and practical today such as: “To the brave man good and bad luck are like his right and left hand.  He uses both.” St. Pius X insists upon quality and teaches them that a great deal should be expected of ordinary Catholics. St. Ignatius of Loyola helps these students and their teachers see the need to take time for disciplined reflection, to discern what they are doing and to be open to God’s guidance.
St. Therese, St. Rose of Lima, and St. Clare of Assisi teach Jacob and Emma the vocation of love, especially love in the Blessed Sacrament, and that “God needs violets and daisies as well as roses.” St.  Louis, as a king who fed beggars from his table and washed their feet, gives the example of charity and teaches that the peace and blessings of their parish and school don’t just come through star students and athletes, but through the most common of their classmates.  St. Vincent de Paul founded the Daughters and the Sisters of Charity whose service enriches this archdiocese and touches the lives of children in so many ways.  Being a man of action rather than theory, he too helps these students translate the Gospel message into concrete action, especially care for the poor.

Although told through the collective names of the Archdiocese of Denver’s Catholc schools and two students, versions of this story are presented to each of our 10,000 students in the course of their time in any of our 39 schools.  And the longer they are in our schools, the more this narrative delights, touches, teaches, inspires, motivates and challenges them. These school names and all the meanings and traditions they embody narrate the mission of our Catholic schools—to cultivate in students and the whole school community a love for Jesus Christ, fidelity to his Church, and commitment to the dignity of the human person.   What greater dividends can there be for our shareholders?  What other school system in northern Colorado can tell this story and produce these dividends for life? 

Richard Thompson is superintendent of the Archdiocese of Denver’s Catholic schools.

This week (Jan. 31-Feb. 6) the nation’s Catholic Schools are observing Catholic Schools Week with the theme “Catholic Schools: Dividends for Life,” which is depicted in the logo above. The logo features a cross superimposed on an outstretched hand. Rays coming from behind the hand express the concepts of faith, knowledge, morals and discipline—all beneficial aspects of a Catholic education.