Teachers, principals, and school staff members aren’t superhuman. Ask any one of them what the last two years in education have been like, and you are likely to get a very human response. Day after day, facing new, unexpected challenges and obstacles presented by the ongoing pandemic, educators are well aware of their own limits and their own humanity.
Although educators in the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Detroit are not superhuman, one might think they are. Since the earliest days of the pandemic, the educators in our schools have responded to incredible challenges with faith, joy, a spirit of innovation and resilience that can only be explained by deep faith in God and an openness to the grace that the Lord provides when He asks us to do something difficult.
The educators in our schools have responded to the Lord’s call to serve Him in the ministry of Catholic education, and they are powered by the grace that He provides to strengthen and sustain them in the work He has asked them to do.
Catholic Schools Week is a time when we join Catholic schools across the country in celebrating everything our Catholic schools are: places where we recognize that each child — and coworker and parent — who walks in the door is created in the image of God, and thus has an infinite and inviolable dignity.
Our schools are places where Jesus Christ is both the center and goal of every pursuit; places where children are formed to know they are loved and that God has a special plan for their lives; places where service to others, out of love for Christ, is the norm; places where our worship and common pursuit of Truth unites and animates our thoughts, decisions, and actions; places where our Catholic faith permeates every aspect of the curriculum, our teaching methods, and daily activity and calls us to be excellent in every endeavor we undertake. This week is a time when we celebrate the gift that Catholic education is to our Church and to society.
Please join me in thanking God for the gift of our Catholic schools, for the clergy and religious who share the gift of their vocations in our schools; for the principals, teachers, and staff members who give so generously of themselves as witnesses of Christ’s love for us; for the parents who partner with our schools to educate their children; and for the students who bring joy, hope, and light to our schools and to the Church.
Let us pray together that our Catholic schools, and those who work in the ministry of Catholic education, will continue to be powered by grace and that the Holy Spirit will guide and transform every aspect of this ministry.
Laura Knaus is interim superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Detroit. For more information about Catholic schools in southeast Michigan, including a list of virtual and in-person open houses, visit www.detroitcatholicschools.com.
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