This year the celebration of Catholic Schools Week takes on a particular enthusiasm and significance because it occurs amid our celebration of the Jubilee Year of Hope.
A jubilee year is special because it occurs only once every 25 years.
This jubilee’s theme of “Hope” fits perfectly with the mission of Catholic schools and underscores precisely why Catholic schools are needed in our world now more than ever.
Hope is one of three theological virtues, along with Faith and Love. It is born out of our relationship with Jesus Christ, who was born, suffered, and died for our sins, then rose from the dead winning the definitive victory over sin and death forever.
It is in Christ whom we have hope, for we know that no matter how daunting and difficult our lives become, Jesus has already won the victory over sin and death, paving our road to heaven with His sacrifice and love. He is the reason for our hope.
Our schools and hope
Catholic schools are harbingers of this hope!
In Catholic schools, students are invited to enter into a personal, transformative relationship with Jesus — who created us in His image, loves us beyond measure, and promises to be with us always.
Through frequent opportunities to receive Jesus’ forgiveness in the Sacrament of reconciliation, to spend time with Him in Adoration, and to receive Him into their own bodies in the Eucharist, Catholic schools feed students’ hope and form them in the image of Christ.
This hope impacts all facets of our students, spiritual, and intellectual.
Parents partner with teachers who awaken their children’s curiosity, develop their intellect, and cultivate the motivation and discipline necessary for further academic study.
Catholic schools have a strong reputation for excellent academics that continues to this day.
According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2022, fourth and eighth grade students in Catholic schools scored significantly above their public school counterparts in math and science.
As Kathleen Porter-
Magee, an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute noted, “If Catholic schools were a state, they’d be the highest performing in the nation on all four NAEP tests.”
This commitment to academic excellence provides hope that children will fully develop their talents, and gain the knowledge, discipline, and skills necessary to thrive as adults.
A solid education gives one hope for a meaningful and fulfilling life.
More important than offering excellent academics, Catholic schools help students grow in faith and virtue, directing their God given talents to be used in the service of God, others, and the common good.
This formation in faith and virtue leads students to the truth about all things, including themselves, and points them ever toward Jesus in whom all truth originates and finds its completion.
It is this that strengthens our hope that as these children grow into adulthood, they will work hard to serve others, acting with integrity, courage, patience, fortitude, and love.
This gives our communities great hope for the future.
Strengthening the Church
Catholic schools are also a great source of hope for the Church.
According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, students who attend Catholic schools are seven times more likely to attend Mass as adults than students who don’t attend Catholic schools.
Similarly, students who attend Catholic schools are three times more likely to consider the priesthood and Religious Life than those who attend other schools.
Catholic schools are effective instruments of evangelization, shining a bright ray of hope for the Church in our world.
It is this hope, springing from Christ’s victory over sin and death, that Catholic schools impart to our students so they may go forth, acting boldly and confidently to transform our world in Christ.
This is the hope that Catholic schools bring — the hope that does not disappoint.
Thank you for reading this and for your support of Catholic schools.
May God bless you and your families and may we all move through Catholic Schools Week and this Jubilee Year with great hope!
Michael Lancaster is the superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Madison.