Education Conference Highlights Peace, Gifts Catholic Schools Provide

“As a Catholic school educator, what do you want your students to know about how they see themselves and how they see others?”

Courtney Brown, Executive Director of the Ruah Woods Institute and keynote presenter, posed this question to the nearly 1,000 Catholic school educators gathered at Bishop McDevitt High School on September 17 for this year’s Education Conference.

Brown said it’s a question he commonly asks his audiences when he gives talks on the Theology of the Body, St. John Paul II’s profound vision of what it means to be a human person created in God’s image.

“Some teachers answer that they want their students to realize their human dignity, and that God loves them. It’s also important for students to recognize that value in each other,” Brown said.

The Ruah Woods Institute supports adults, teachers, students and parents in understanding the truth about the innate dignity of the human person. “Ruah” is a Hebrew word for breath or wind, used to describe the breath of God.

In his presentation, Brown, a former Catholic school principal who is a husband and a father of eight children, examined the teachings of the Theology of the Body and provided practical applications teachers can use to build a culture where students see themselves as a gift.

The continued focus on the Theology of the Body extends from the initiative announced last fall by the Diocesan Office for Catholic Education to delve into sharing with students the life-changing message of what it means to be human.

Theology of the Body helps us understand how and why we were created, our gifts and our identity in Christ in order to see ourselves as God intended, Brown said.

While students in our Catholic schools and religious education programs are hearing that message in the classroom, society is telling them something very different, he said.

“They’re being taught the Catholic view of the human person in school, and then the secular view of the human person everywhere in our culture,” he said. “The starting principle is essentially what is different. For us, it’s God. In the secular view, it’s the self.”

In order to build a culture that reflects the Theology of the Body, students must understand and appreciate their relationship with God and their relationship with others,” Brown said.

To help foster that understanding, Brown suggested several ways teachers can incorporate into their classrooms. These include setting aside time for sacred silence, praying specifically for their students by name, implementing Lectio Divina into their class time, sharing stories of how God has worked in their lives, modeling reverence, and using language such as “You are a gift” and “How can I be a gift to you today?”

“What we revere, we hold sacred. The body is sacred and it is something to be celebrated. Our bodies communicate that we are meant to be in communion with God,” Brown said.

The annual Education Conference is a time for teachers, principals, presidents and staff to gather in prayer, continue their education and explore new methods of collaboration. The conference featured Holy Mass, more than 30 breakout sessions and dozens of vendors.

“St. John Paul II said, ‘Each one of you has received a personal vocation. You are called by God to live your faith and to contribute to the mission of the Church in a unique and irreplaceable way. No one else can fulfill your mission,’” said Daniel Breen, Superintendent of Schools and Secretary for Catholic Education, quoting the Holy Father’s 1987 address to the laity.

“We live in a world that has so many sorrows and so much violence. Our schools can bring peace,” he said.

More than a dozen Diocesan priests concelebrated Holy Mass with Bishop Timothy Senior as the educators raised their voices in praise and worship to the Lord.

The bishop opened his homily by expressing gratitude to the teachers “for the sacrifices you make in carrying out the ministry of Catholic education.”

“We believe that Jesus is God, who became human and took upon Himself our humanity, our brokenness, our sinfulness and even death itself and gave His life for us because of His unconditional love for every person,” the bishop said.

“So much of what we do is misunderstood – our approach to issues, morality, social justice. So much of what we do is contrary to our culture. We have to remain rooted in Jesus in order to deal with the opposition to that, particularly from the secular world and the culture that wants to silence the teachings of the Church,” he said. “What we need to do is always remain grounded in Jesus and in our relationship with Him.”