Fathers For Good

Eight Rules for Catholic Schools

My two children start classes for the first time in Catholic elementary school this week. It’s a time of excitement and measured anxiety in our home.

My 9-year-old boy was homeschooled from K through 4th grade, and will now enter a fifth grade of many boys and girls. How will he adjust, fit in, adapt to not being the only student in our basement classroom?

My 5-year-old boy went to Catholic preschool and now enters kindergarten in the same school as his brother. I worry less about his adjustment because he has always gone "out" to school, and got along well at preschool. But as a father, I am still concerned that all goes well.

Now that both of my boys will be educated outside the home, I am giving serious thought about what I want from the school, as a Catholic parent.

Here is my list of 8 Rules for Catholic Schools:

+ Teach the Catholic faith in its fullness, no apologies (but some apologetics). Of course, religion class should be attractive and enjoyable, but don’t be afraid to have the kids memorize the seven sacraments, the Ten Commandments and the Apostles’ Creed. They don’t have to understand everything fully now (I’m still exploring the depths of the faith!), but if they memorize the essentials they can always have one of those "aha!" moments later on.

+ This means, of course, that they must learn that there is heaven and hell, good and evil, reward and punishment, and that life is either a movement toward or away from God. All teaching and learning should be conducted with this reality as a backdrop.

+ Demand and expect excellence – and model that excellence in the way classes are taught, discipline is given and problems are handled. Catholic principles apply to all subjects, not just religion class, and our faith teaches us to pursue excellence in human endeavors, with the understanding that sometimes humans fail.

+ Teach the sacredness and beauty of human life, that each person is a unique, once-and-forever creation of a good and loving God. Instill this ethic by the respect and fairness shown by teachers toward one another and toward the students.

+ Teach them to pray, and pray with them. A Catholic school should be a place of prayer, which means a "lifting up of the heart and mind to God." This should be the spirit not just during morning prayers or first Friday Mass, but in every subject and in every class. Even during math and computer science, a spirit of "lifting up" the mystery of human inquiry and effort should be present.

+ Engage their bodies in healthy recreational activities – sports, outings, nature walks – that will thrill their souls as well, and give them a spirit of camaraderie and school pride.

+ Love them as the children of God that they are, precious and open to eternity. Build a school environment of love, care and protection that respects their freedom yet is never slow to correct and discipline when needed.

+ Remember that we, the parents, are their primary educators. Return them to us each day whole and inspired. Work with us to help them discover what God has in store as they grow from our care.

There are many more points I could add, but these will do for this week, at least. Please add your own list in the comment box below!

What do you expect from your Catholic school?

Are You Saved?

 “Lord, will only a few be saved?”

  

What a question we heard yesterday at Mass, from the Gospel of Luke (13:22-30). It is asked by “someone,” the Gospel says, as Jesus is passing through the towns and villages on his way to Jerusalem. In other words, it is a question that probably all his listeners had on their minds – and us, as well.

  

Notice how impersonal the form of the question is, yet how personal the intent. We all want to know – will I be saved? Yet we usually think in terms of the other guy, or humanity. Look at him or her – boy, I’m better than they are. Look at the world with war and hatred and envy. They’re all going to hell – how can they all be saved?

  

But Jesus is not concerned with generalities. He is concerned with you and me as individuals. Look at his reply to that “someone” who wants a global sort of answer to the question of salvation.

  

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”

  

Salvation is personal. The questioner speaks in general terms, yet Jesus answers him directly, as if to say – never mind about all the others, you strive to enter through the narrow gate. Whether there are few or many depends on how you (and you and you and you) live your life. Still, Jesus does mention the "many" who will attempt to enter and be unable. We don't know how many, but we know that some (maybe "someone") will not make it.

  

Salvation is personal, yet it is also in some way communal. We all are individuals striving for that narrow gate – yet we are all in this together, and can help or hinder one another.

  

It is easy, as the Gospel is read, to stand with that “someone” and wonder, as we look at others at church (those whom we know we are better than) – “Will only a few be saved?” Yet somehow, we are all in this together. Rather than asking if others can possibly be saved, we should be asking: How have I been treating my wife? Have I made enough time for my children? Should I be the one to respond to the request for volunteers in the parish bulletin? Should I take a few moments to talk after Mass to the man who lost his job, or lost his wife, or looks depressed? And how about that family I used to be friends with, but then we had a falling out – what was it about again? – should I take a moment just to say hello and “good to see you”?

  

In all this issues, there is a wide and easy path, or the narrow gate that God calls me toward. Somehow, we are all in this together.

Boston Priest Gives New Media Challenge

The Catholic New Media Celebration in Boston last weekend was such a rich and informative event that it will take many blogs to cover it all. A few days ago I gave an overview, and now I will get a little deeper into the opening keynote by Father Robert Reed, president of CatholicTV.com, based in Boston. He did a good job of explaining the unique character and mission of Catholic media while underscoring the ongoing need for high professional standards.

Just because it’s "for the Church" or "for Jesus" does not mean that you can let the message speak for itself without attention to presentation and context, Father Reed said. In fact, the Gospel message should be presented in most appealing manner possible – just as the precious blood of Jesus is carried in a gold chalice at Mass to signify the dignity of the divine Person.

Since the Gospel is timeless and true, it is relevant to every age and to each person, Father Reed noted. It is the challenge of media evangelists to find the best way to communicate that timeless truth to the people of today. New media technology can help immensely in spreading the message, but simply using TV, or the internet or Twitter does not guarantee an audience. You have to attract people’s interest and attention, just as with any medium.

The main goal of Catholic media should be to enhance people’s spiritual lives and lead them to the truth, he said.

"With all our technology, how are we doing in the mission?" he asked.

"What we communicate is sacred and deep. Handle with care," Father Reed explained. "We have in our hands the mysteries of the faith."

His final message to the new media gathering was: "We need to be fed if we would try to feed others." Those who are appointed or who take it upon themselves to represent the Church and her teachings in the media must make sure that they have a firm foundation in the faith and take the time to reflect upon the Word of God and receive the Eucharist with grace and reverence. Only then can they go forth to bring the Good News to others.

CatholicTV is the oldest Catholic station in America, and it is growing with the times under Father Reed, taking advantage of all the forms of new media. For more information, visit the website www.catholictv.com.

Winning the Web for Christ

In the democratic “digital continent” that is the New Media, Catholics must not settle for second-class citizenship. As Pope Benedict XVI has said repeatedly (following the lead of his predecessor, John Paul II), Catholics must step up to the digital platform and claim the web for Christ and his truth, using responsibly, with energy and imagination, the many forms of New Media that are the communications modes of today and tomorrow.

 

This was the message offered by speakers and attendees at the 3^rd Catholic New Media conference hosted by SQPN (Star Quest Production Network), a constellation of Catholic bloggers, podcasters, video posters and web heads. Held at the Archdiocese of Boston’s pastoral center in Braintree (10 miles south of Boston), the gathering was graced by a visit from Cardinal Sean O’Malley, known as the “blogging cardinal,” who offered encouragement to all Catholics engaged in the New Media.

 

The Knights of Columbus was a main sponsor of the event, and featured the Order’s three main websites:

 

www.kofc.org

www.fathersforgood.org

www.headlinebistro.org

 

The keynote speakers provided some excellent insights into the why, the how and the vital importance of Catholic New Media. Thomas Peters of American Papist offered a rallying call for Catholic bloggers to work together in formal and informal ways to defend the teachings of the Church and the tenets of natural law and common sense, to effect fundamental cultural change. One blogger networking and linking with others can have an exponential impact on the web.

 

Lino Rulli, host of the “The Catholic Guy” show on Sirius Radio’s Catholic Channel, had a serious message about quality production and standards within Catholic media – amid his usual humor and antics ( would someone find this 38-year-old Italian guy a wife!). With an engaging and iconoclastic radio persona, Rulli said, he seeks to call the young, disenchanted, uncatechized into a dialogue about the possibility of God and the joys of Catholicism. His target audience is not the pious who show up on Sundays. Rather, he considers himself a success if he can give out his business card in a local bar and have someone say – hey, I heard you on the radio while I flipping the dial looking for Howard Stern.

 

Father Roderick Vonhögen is the mastermind and energy behind SQPN and the annual conference. He and his group are leading the way into the digital age, forging a positive and effective engagement with the New Media. Although he agrees with Catholics who yell and scream on the sidelines that the Internet can be an ungodly cesspool of sin and conceit, Father Roderick also pointed out that it is an open forum that offers equal time for Catholics who are willing to rub elbows with the pagans, like St. Paul at the Areopagus.

 

The message I came away with from this conference, and the one last year in San Antonio, is this: don’t be fooled by the web’s façade of secularism and cynicism. The person blogging bile or sheer nonsense on the web is made in the image of God (however he has defiled it) and has a deep-down thirst for the good and the beautiful – for truth. Catholics must enter the web with no illusions (and an Internet filter), knowing that they will face resistance, bigotry and blowback of the worst kind – but by faithful, reasoned and charitable persistence in presenting their message (in whatever digital format) they are positioned to win the web for Christ. At the very least, they must seek to “save at least a few” because God expects no less.