I have come to fall in love with teaching in Catholic schools. What are YOU in love with?...

"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything." - Pedro Arrupe

Monday, March 2, 2015

One

This week's Catholicism lesson at Church focuses on the four marks of the Church: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. And I want to focus on one today. (Yes, actually one.) Because, it struck me this afternoon - almost as if I were actually being slapped in the face or as if a lightbulb was shining over my head in a cartoon - just what one really means...

To start 8th grade Religion class off today, I invited the students to close their eyes and to speak to God and the Holy Spirit - to offer up any concerns, anxieties, excitement, and thoughts that they may be having, especially in light of their Confirmation. And I gave them a few moments in silence to do so. Afterwards, I shared with them just how much they are on the minds and hearts of so many people:

- This past weekend I was blessed to be on retreat with over 60 young adults from my parish (as mentioned in my previous post). While there, we had a prayer intentions board. On that, I wrote "for my 8th grade students who are receiving Confirmation this week," and I know people read that and prayed for them. 

- A friend from Notre Dame (in the seminary) sent me a beautiful text message on Saturday night with a candle lit at the Grotto. Below it, he wrote that, while he wasn't sure exactly when Confirmation is, he is praying for my students in a special way.


- Each classroom at our school has 1-2 doves decorated with the names, Confirmation Saints, and pictures of the 8th graders; thus, the classes have been holding the 8th graders in prayer this past month.

After relaying these sentiments to my students, they seemed to be in awe. They were silent (which is highly unusual). The wheels seemed to be turning - they are about to fully enter into the Church, which is so much bigger than themselves. It's a body (the Body) in which there are so many others around the world and in the local community who are united together in their faith in God, their prayers for the community, and their love for one another.

This is what it means to be one - we have one God, and we, near or far, are one community, one body in Christ, lifting each other up in prayer and following in the footsteps of Jesus, which will lead us to heaven.

2 comments:

  1. This is beautiful! You can also count in my prayers from deep in the heart of Texas. :)

    I read a Christian book last year (I think) called "Bound Together." It was about unity, focusing on both the positive and negative aspects. The negative aspects of being "bound together" is that original sin exists, and there is a social dimension to our sins. The positive aspects are that our prayers benefit others (and other people's prayers benefit us), and we are wrapped up into the salvation Christ won for us. It's like being tied to everyone by a rope: they can drag you down with it, but they can pull you up, too.

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