Bishop James Conley
Bishop Conley addresses the importance and value of Catholic education in this sermon at Mass at the 2022 Parish Teachers Association at Pius X High School in Lincoln on October 10. This is an adaptation of his sermon.
On behalf of the Diocese of Lincoln, I would like to welcome you to our annual Parish Teachers’ Institute. Thank you for saying yes to the vocation you follow, the vocation of the Lord’s most preferred title, Teacher. LaboniAll who are called to teach participate in this very basic mission of Jesus Christ.
Welcome Sister Mary Thomas OP to Lincoln Parish. Thank you to her for her wonderful keynote address this morning, comparing the educational philosophy of St. Thomas Her Aquinas with that of Dr. John Herr Dewey. We thank her and her community, the Congregation of St. Cecilia, the Nashville Minico Congregation, from the bottom of our hearts. They have served as faculty members in Catholic schools across the country and have been involved in the constant renewal of Catholic education for decades. I have been able to get to know many of your sisters over the years. Thank you for your wonderful work. I am honored to be here.
Taking Sister’s story, it is fundamentally important that we as teachers be grounded in sound Christian anthropology. In other words, being able to answer very basic questions, both for yourself and your students. why do we exist? where are we going What is our “purpose”? how do we live a good life How do you find joy, meaning, peace and happiness? These questions are at the heart of Catholic education and of human existence. As teachers, priests, sisters, husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, all of us on this journey of life must ask ourselves these questions.
Looking at education in general today, there are many challenges. Some might say that there is a real “crisis of reason” in education. Students are not taught to think logically and critically and are uncertain about reality and the nature of things. There is no objection, but in addition to the “crisis of reason” in education, there is also the “crisis of imagination”. Imagination precedes reason. You need a healthy and well-ordered imagination before you can start thinking in a rational way. We have to be grounded in the real world, the natural world. For example, we need to take our students outdoors and help them see and understand the beauty of God’s creation. In our Catholic school, subjects such as poetry, music, storytelling and liberal arts help students develop a healthy imagination, especially in the early grades. A healthy, vivid imagination can help restore some kind of common sense, but alas, it doesn’t. It’s all too common these days.
Thus, we face two challenges today: a crisis of imagination and a crisis of reason. As Catholic educators, it seems to me that we should do our best to restore the Christian imagination and right reason. There are many signs that this is starting to happen. I am seeing a real revival taking place in the world of Catholic education across the country. A kind of silent revolution. Our anthropology, our view of reality and humans is really important. As Sr. Mary Thomas taught us, if we do not believe in a transcendental world, a world that loves all things and is created and maintained by God Almighty, then we must see our students as its image or likeness. Without it, the way we teach, and the goals and results we seek from our students, who are symbols of God, God destined for eternal life, would be very different.
I am very happy to be a bishop here in the Diocese of Lincoln. Because our school does not suffer from a lack of Catholic identity. Many of my friar bishops are working hard to regain and restore true Catholic identity in their schools. Unfortunately, many Catholic schools across the country are Catholic in name only. The children may wear school uniforms and may have crosses on the walls, but these schools are not much different from public schools. , still dominate their worldview and anthropology. I am very grateful that Lincoln’s Catholic School is not confused about its identity.
But given the world we live in today and the toxicity of the cultural air we breathe, we need to up our game. I can not do it. We need to “rebuild” what we are doing to prepare our students for the new world they will soon enter. That doesn’t mean you have to start over. That doesn’t mean we have to rebuild. We need to build on the already strong foundations we have built over the years.
“But aren’t our schools Catholic enough?” In today’s world something deeper, more beautiful and mysterious has become important, not just Catholic identity. Faith must be central to everything we do. Jesus His Christ, in the words of St. John His Paul II, “is the answer to the question that every man has.” The Lord must be at the center of everything we do in Catholic schools, from playgrounds to drama departments, from science labs to cafeterias, from maintenance departments to religious classes. Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to the mission of our Catholic school. We are called to educate the whole person, body, mind, imagination and soul.
Fortunately, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We have everything you need to succeed. No need to look for the “next best thing”. I think you see this a lot in the world of education. We look for a quick fix, the next new method, the next new technology, or the next new fad in education. What was popular 10 years ago is now obsolete. Our school has the opportunity to bring a true renewal to the minds and spirits of our students, rekindle their imaginations and create a new sense of wonder, joy and beauty in learning.
At the banquet of saints and scholars, when I was recently in Rome for the ordination of one of our seminarians and a fine example of the achievements of our Catholic school, Deacon Matthew Silmorar, I talked about Deacon Matthew is a graduate of North American Martyrs Elementary, Pius X High School, and St. Gregory the Great Seminary. As a student at his American College in North Rome, he currently holds a graduate degree in theology from St. Thomas College and will be ordained a priest in the Diocese of Lincoln in May.
I had the privilege of living in Rome for 12 years as a student and as a Vatican civil servant. During that time, I also served as a pastor at the University of Dallas Rome Program and as a theology teacher at Christendom University Rome Program. In fact, most of my priesthood office was spent working with college students. I always enjoy visiting university students.I am always interested and curious to hear what is going on in their world.
Last night I was in Rome, I took three college students to dinner. One of them, she was baptized in Rome 19 years ago when her parents were assistants at the University of Dallas in Rome. Two were from Phoenix, one was from the Washington, DC area, and all three had very good Catholic education. They had just finished a typical college summer job and were mingling with their secular world peers. What are you asking? What issues are they most concerned with?” Finally I asked, “What are her two words that best describe your companion?” After some thought, I said, “Confused and sad.”
I’ve been thinking about it since that evening. It really is. There is a lack of clarity in the minds of today’s youth. They don’t know why they are here, who they are, or where they are going. With so many voices and information reaching them through social media, multiple news sources, mobile phones, etc., it can be confusing. They are trying to decipher and understand all this information, pulling and pulling them with all sorts of ideologies. They seem to have no solid foundation or worldview, who they are, why they are here, where they are going, who loves them and cares about them. feel isolated, and that confusion, isolation, and loneliness lead to sadness.
We know that suicide is on the rise among people our age. Anxiety, stress and depression are very prevalent in today’s youth.Adolescence and adolescence should not be a time of depression. It’s a time of joy, excitement, and adventure. Years not for sorrow, but for joy and discovery!
So I think the very important mission of the Catholic school is to bring that clarity and lack of confusion, safety and trust in the truth, goodness and beauty of life. It reminds us all that we are not inventing our own truths, but following the truths that are already there. We are children of God, beloved sons and daughters of a father who loves us, cares for us and wants us to be happy with him in this life and in heaven forever.
There is truth, we know it and we can own it. We are not just manufacturers, we are not just builders, we are not consumers, we are not just producers.
We are children of God, we have a destiny, and God wants us to be happy here. moment. Anyone who watched a chick come out of its shell in elementary school, solved a very difficult and complicated math problem in high school, or discovered the truth of a scientific theory in graduate school produces such a thing. . Wondering in the real world around us.
That’s what solves the crisis of imagination. Our imaginations are filled with good, true and beautiful things created by a good, true and beautiful God. Rebirth in that wonder is what Catholic education is all about. We see it in the classroom, we see it in our students, and that’s what we’re trying to create as teachers. We are more than just an information delivery system. We are on a learning adventure too.
We are on the same learning adventure. We must be confident in the truth we tell. This generation seeks clarity, safety, grounds, purpose, and answers to “why.” They seek joy, which is the antidote to the sorrows that surround them. They want happiness, contentment and peace. And we can provide it for them at school. We have been entrusted by our parents to provide them with a Catholic education, and as teachers we must be true to that mission. I have.
That is why I am so excited about Catholic education today, especially here in Lincoln Parish. We truly believe that we are ready to be the leaders of this country. So many positive things are happening for us here in Lincoln Parish. We need to recognize it, celebrate it, and build on it. Thank you very much. keep doing what you’re doing. Keep learning, keep loving your students, keep bringing the joy of learning, the clarity, the confidence and the reassurance that this and every generation so desperately needs.
god bless you.
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