Denver Catholic

15 DENVER CATHOLIC | JANUARY 24-30, 2015 Celebrate what's right with Catholic schools T hat fi rst "Catholic school" had Christ as the Master Teacher, yet as students, those fi rst disciples made their share of mistakes. This has been true though the centuries and is no di" erent in our Catholic schools today. Our schools are Christ-centered, but as human institutions there are mistakes made and challenges to meet. The Catholic school is a sensitive meet- ing point for the problems that plague society and is thus serving students and young people who experience the di' culties of the present time and are tossed about by today's secular tsunami. Despite challenges, our schools are navigating these troubles waters, and it is important to celebrate what is right with Catholic schools to a' rm the suc- cess, importance and beauty of their mission. I would like to address three of many qualities that help exemplify "what's right with Catholic schools." First is the rich deposit of social capital, the community of faith, at the core of our schools. There is enormous trust, cooperation, high expectations, cooperation and sacrifi ce attributable to the Catholic culture that connects our community. Our schools are built on long-standing traditions and time-tested approaches to the successful formation of the young that St. John Paul II spoke of in his 1994 book "Crossing the Thresh- old of Hope" when he wrote "they are search- ing not only for the meaning of life but also for a con- crete way to go about living life." Unlike recent charter schools or other public schools, our charter goes back many centuries and is grounded in one authority, not a board or a business foun- dation, or the government. When the source of authority is Christ, the school becomes an apostolic ministry, an evan- gelizing community, and the community members engage in discipleship. This is a special gift in a society marked by an exaggerated pluralism which can under- mine community identity and contribute to a growing marginalization of faith. Second, our schools then become a learning community called to follow Jesus Christ, not unlike the fi rst Christocentric school. Rather than being a test-centered factory for educa- tion, our schools are a Christ-centered community for formation of the whole person, mind, body and spirit. Our rig- orous academics consist of knowledge marked by the synthesis of culture and faith. This results not only in knowl- edge to be attained, but also values to be acquired and truths to be discovered. The Catholic school learning commu- nity achieves high test scores, admission to good colleges, and successful jobs, but in addition to that, they acquire wisdom and truth through the lens of values informed by the Gospel, and this is something to celebrate in today's soci- ety rampant with subjectivism, moral relativism, and nihilism. Research also clearly shows that this learning community within a faith community has a positive infl uence on and success with disadvantaged stu- dents. The bishops state that, "Catholic schools are often the only opportunity for economically disadvantaged young people to receive an education of quality that speaks to the development of the whole person." Third, our Catholic schools help meet the exhortation of Pope Fran- cis: I want things messy and stirred up. I want you to take to the streets. I want the Church to take to the streets, he has said. Schools are one e" ective way that we take the Church to the streets—doing rather than talking. An assemblage of parents and guardians, students, teachers and sta" , admin- istrators, priests, parishioners and benefactors provide witness to faith by investing their time, talent, treasure and energy to integrate learning and faith in the lives of our students. This translates to thousands of com- munity-contact hours each school year, taking to the streets as a vital part of the teaching mission of the Church. And yes, this can get messy and stirred up, just like those pioneering leaders of the New Testament Church, ordi- nary men not without their faults and shortcomings. Not scholars or rabbis; no extraordinary skills. Ordinary people like those attending, supporting and serving our schools today. Regular people to help carry out an exceptional plan. And that is something right about our Catholic schools. Guest Column RICHARD THOMPSON Richard Thompson is the superintendent of Archdiocese of Denver Catholic Schools. H ave you ever walked in late to a movie, after key elements of the plot have already been revealed, and you fi nd after a few minutes that your head is spinning and you simply have no idea what is going on? That's how I felt Jan. 1 when I walked into the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville to check in at SEEK 2015, the biannual conference of the Fel- lowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). Crowded in on all sides by more than 9,500 college students jostling about to see who they knew, or fervently texting for the whereabouts of friends they hadn't seen since (gasp) before Christ- mas, my head began to spin, and I began to ask "why?" What exactly, I asked, went on before this point that would explain why these very normal (and loud) college kids from 450 of our nation's universities would freely sign up to spend fi ve days of their Christmas break at a conference where they were expected to pray, listen to talks on the faith, and seek fellow- ship with priests, nuns, bishops and lay missionaries? Over the next fi ve days, three moments helped fi ll in missing parts of the story. Questions-and-answers with Sister Mary Gabriel: It might be because this was the fi rst talk I attended, or maybe it was the warmth and charm of this Sister of Life, or that this was a women-only session, but I was deeply moved by the genuinely profound and honest conver- sation carried on here, moderated by the delightful Sarah Swa" ord. As I was following the questions on Twitter, I was a little impressed by the spiritual depth of these young college women, and the fact that more than half the questions dealt with how to discern a vocation. "Was there a defi nite moment where you just knew what God wanted you to do?" asked @BuddKate. Others asked more personal questions about how to heal deep-seated wounds, such as growing up not knowing the love of a father, or how to bring a boyfriend or a family member closer to Christ. Others had really good questions on prayer. These weren't your average college kids, or even your average Catholics. These women had received some pretty good spiritual and intellectual formation from somewhere, and my guess was that FOCUS had something to do with that. Eucharistic adoration and confes- sion: From the moment I entered the chapel on Thursday, I knew I was in the presence of some fairly powerful prayer warriors. The room was half-full of young adults deep in prayer, and as the confer- ence progressed, it became harder to fi nd an empty seat. The marquee event, however, was Sat- urday evening's eucharistic adoration and procession. Tears fl owed all around me as a series of priests processed with the Blessed Sacrament up and down the aisles, blessing each section of students as they progressed. That night, thousands of students lined up for confession (5,500 in total over the fi ve-day event). An anonymous poster on Yik Yak (a social media app) revealed the depth of his experience: "That confession was my fi rst true one. I have never been so relieved. God is good." Kylie Salmen from Dakota State University told FOCUS how she was a" ected by adoration and confession that night: "I could feel that I was not alone and that God was with me. I arrived at SEEK 2015 a wounded woman and left beginning to heal." The missionaries: This wasn't one moment, but a series of moments spent talking to several of the currently 400 missionaries who serve on college cam- puses around the country about their life and the work they do to bring Christ to their peers—befriending them, leading them in Bible studies—and the hour they spend every day in prayer. And that's when it all made sense—the prayer, the formation, the massive confes- sion lines, the adoration, the attendance at daily Mass. These were college students, living on campuses that are unfortunately rife with binge drinking and promiscuity, and nearly 10,000 of those students came to Nashville during their Christmas break in search of something totally di" erent. And why did they come? It's because a FOCUS missionary invited them. The beginning of the story that I missed was the part when a FOCUS mis- sionary stepped onto a college campus, and began to pound the pavement for Christ, seeking opportunities to bring the Gospel to young hearts that are hungry for something more. And if what I saw at SEEK 2015 is any indication, those missionaries just might be the ones who transform their lost gen- eration into a generation uniquely on fi re for Christ. Now that would be some story, wouldn't it? So, a FOCUS missionary stepped onto a college campus Karna Swanson is the general manager of Denver Catholic, www.DenverCatholic.org. Manager's Column KARNA SWANSON

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