My sisters and brothers, especially teachers and administrators from around our great diocese, welcome! A cordial one to all who have come from near and far for this Mass beginning our Teacher Formation Day. Expressions of gratitude go rightfully to Margaret Dubose, our diocesan superintendent, for her organization of this annual event that forms part of our formal kick off for the academic year. It is always good to be together, to grow in faith, as well as to gain deeper insights into our own pedagogic formation. We seek, above all, to be excellent teachers and provide our students with the best we can give them to ground them in the essentials of life and prepare them for a bright future, including solid faith formation so that they will not only succeed but thrive.

Together, we are partners for an ambitious educational endeavor – to accompany our students with the wisdom of our experience, to guide them with a shared humanity, to challenge them to exceed expectations. We are to do more than the minimum – just enough to “get by.” Rather, we should create an excitement about learning, grounding them in the verities of our faith and morals as they pertain to God and the truth of the human person.  

In whatever discipline we are involved, we must always ask ourselves: “What is the value added of a Catholic education? What are the essential and decisive factors that situate us in the timeless heritage of those who have gone before us and who guide us to become the best we can be?”  Catholic education, as you already know, is more than academic success. It is the realization of the human person, the young scholar with chapters of life yet to be composed. Its bold trajectory and goal of human fulfillment is ultimate freedom of the human person. That is to say, each of us is part of God’s dream – each unique, each special, each with certain gifts and talents, that enable us to form a tapestry composed of threads, colors, and textures that will result in an image far beyond our imaginations.

Our readings today help us focus a little more on the urgency of our mission. St Paul’s evocative letter to the believing community in Corinth, Greece, illustrates the challenge that we must convey. “Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way … to reach for the imperishable [crown of victory].” This not only applies to students and our young scholars but to us as well. Yes, it seems we are all entered into the marathon of life. For that reason, “I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.”  I would hasten to add: “I drive my mind … I drive my soul and train it for fear that I would not be a credible witness of what God can do in my life. Yes, each of us witnesses to our students the joy of our faith … that we not only have something, but we have something more.”

The Gospel of St. Luke speaks to our educational and formational endeavor. Jesus – already a consummate teacher - speaks to “His disciples.” You, too, have disciples for which our lives must demonstrate vividly a life of hope and fulfillment, even in the midst of setbacks. It notes, “No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” Are we able to be the point of reference for our students so that they become “like us?” I hope so. We are truly blessed, indeed, by the prospect that we are charting a unique path for our students to grow intellectually, physically, humanly, and spiritually – to take their place alongside us in the great march of life. In time, we want to walk together, learn together, live together, and be together as part of the human family, seeking the joys of being those who live in the freedom of God’s children – not to do whatever we want but to live and do as we ought. Yes, we must improve ourselves, learn ourselves, removing the barriers and splinters that prevent us from seeing clearly. And then, we can convey to our students the wonderful joy of living in such a way that others will see us and say, “I want what you have!” I want what you have found.  

Finally, I have used the illustration from soon-to-be-saint Blessed Carlo Acutis for the celebration of confirmation around the diocese. He died when he was about 15 years old in the year 2006 from leukemia. He had many sayings, especially about the Eucharist, but one saying still touches me to this day and is often part of my own reflection: “All are born original; but many die as photocopies.” Our mission, here in our schools and in our lives, is to find a way for each of our student’s originality, a gift and blessing of God, to emerge. We don’t want everyone to be totally the same in everything – a photocopy or the result of cookie-cutter education in which everyone comes out the same. Our originality, or potential, is the blessing and grace that enables us to be the dream of God – to reach our God-given potential and, as a consequence, make our world just a little better place in to live as we make our way back to our Father in Heaven.

May our Blessed Mother guide us and St. John Chrysostom inspire us by his preaching and writing. May St. Paul and St. John Vianney, our patrons, challenge us, and may our local patrons accompany us as we embark on this new academic year. Finally, may this good work in our schools, rooted in Christ, be brought to fulfillment.

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