Principals and Teachers

Jan. 4, 2012

Feast of St. John Neumann

Dear Catholic School Educators,

We are fast approaching our yearly celebration of Catholic Schools Week. I know that each of your schools plan activities that honor your ministry to your children. I would like to add my own thanks for and encouragement of your continued service to them.

As I write this letter, I am reminded that I celebrated Mass this morning for the memorial of St. John Neumann, the founder of Catholic Schools in our nation, and yesterday for the memorial of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton who, with her sisters, set the groundwork of the American parochial school system. The Church places before us, these “giants” in Catholic school education, so that we may emulate their dedication to our children’s faith development. They have left us a legacy that you are now carrying on within your schools.

St. Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, includes teaching among the most important gifts God has given to the Church. Jesus himself tells us: “Go teach!” Archbishop Timothy Dolan in an article in America Magazine of September 2010, reminds us “history has long taught that without teachers to announce the Gospel and educate the young, the Church struggles to survive. Evangelization through good teaching is essential to Catholic life.” I agree! What you accomplish in your classrooms is a great blessing for the Church of the future. Keep up the good work, and thank you for the gift of your time, talent and treasure.

As we rededicate ourselves to the ministry of teaching, let us remember what Pope Benedict said when he was asked the question: “What does it mean to be a teacher today?” He answered by saying: “Being an educator means having joy in one’s heart and communicating it to everyone so as to make life good and beautiful; it means providing reasons and goals for life’s journey, presenting the beauty of the person of Jesus and making people love him, his lifestyle, his freedom. …that ‘extra’ that comes to us from God. This requires personal knowledge of Jesus, a personal, daily and loving contact with him in prayer, meditation on the Word of God, faithfulness to the sacraments, the Eucharist, confession; it means communicating the joy of being part of the Church, of having friends with whom to share, not only the difficulties but also the beauties and surprises of a life of faith.”

May God continue to bless you and yours, and may He grant success to all our endeavors, especially during Catholic Schools Week — endeavors that encourage our people to understand this year’s theme: Faith, Academics and Service. May God always be pleased with us!

Sincerely yours,

Msgr. Michael J. Corona, PA. KCHS