This past week we celebrated once more Catholic Schools Week. This year, the theme of Catholic Schools Week is “Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.”

 

We are rightly proud of our faculty and students all year round. But this week in a special way we step back and remind ourselves of the benefits to the Church, society, families and students that come from a Catholic education.

 

We are very proud of how well the approximately 11,700 students in our Catholic schools learn. The statistics bear that out. For example, the ACT scores of our high school students for the most recent year were 13 percent above the state average.

 

Most important, however, is that our Catholic schools help students to learn about the ultimate reason and goal of life. Catholic schools teach our young people about Christ, sin and redemption, heaven and hell, God’s love and His forgiveness. 

 

In short, our students learn the Catholic faith. And then they are helped to live it by daily prayer, attendance at Mass and works of charity.

 

Catholic schools would not be complete if the model of faith did not include service. Students are constantly challenged and taught to serve God and to serve their brothers and sisters, both locally and throughout the world. And our students are well aware of the lived example of service among their teachers and administrators, many of whom contribute to Catholic education as a means of living their Catholic faith.

 

Society, the Church and families are constantly in need of leadership, both for the present and for the future. The emphasis on discipline, good human formation, prayer and concern for others helps explain why so many students of Catholic schools take on such responsibilities. 

 

In the Church, vocations, especially to the priesthood, are often one of the fruits of Catholic education. The same can often be said for lay leaders, in the Church, industry and in government.

 

Taken together, the foundations of Catholic education are a solid recipe for success for our young people. 

 

In spite of the challenges to faith and human flourishing that abound in our increasingly secularized world, Catholic education prepares our young people so that they can go forth, live rightly and witness to what is truly good. 

 

They are given preparation to compete academically and spiritually with whatever confronts them after graduation.

 

Of course the real success is the very reason that the Catholic Church and the Diocese of Rockford invests so much time, love and money in Catholic schools. That success is to be found worthy of a place in heaven for those who have lived rightly. In the end, this alone is what truly matters. 

 

It is no secret that our Catholic schools are part of our fulfillment of Jesus’ great command, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” (Mt. 28:19). The Catholic identity of our schools, students and teachers seeks to instill in the next generation the tools to live in this world as they strive for eternity with Jesus.

 Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed. That describes well the living of faith in our Catholic Schools. 

 

To those parents, grandparents and parishioners who make Catholic education possible in your family and faith community, thank you! 

 

If you are parents considering the advantages of authentically Catholic identity and education for your children, visit your local Catholic school and check us out. Come and see why we are so proud of Catholic education.