The pews filled with diocesan students, teachers, administrators and supporters, Jan. 31, to celebrate a Mass commemorating Catholic Schools Week. The Mass was held in the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, and celebrated by Bishop John Iffert. Students representing every diocesan grade school and high school were present among their educators, processing in with banners decorated in school colors.
Women and men religious gathered with laity for Mass, Feb. 3, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington. This special Mass celebrated World Day of Consecrated Life. Bishop John Iffert celebrated the Mass, joined by Father Ryan Maher, the Cathedral’s rector, with Deacons Barry Henry and Gerald Franzen assisting.
The World Day of Consecrated Life was established as a day of prayer for religious men and women in 1997 by Pope St. John Paul II. This celebration is attached to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on Feb. 2.
By Isaak A. Isaak.
The Church has long talked about vocation and sacrament. The one sacrament referred to as a vocation, a calling, has been priesthood and religious life. The sacrament of matrimony was rarely referred to as vocation.
Today, it is! Our sacrament of matrimony is indeed a true sacrament. It is an outward sign of unity only achieved through years of letting go of self for the purpose of feeding the relationship. Those years couples share are years of adjustment, struggle, joy, peace and turmoil. They are years of happiness and sorrow, gain and loss. Slowly, two become one, sometimes despite the struggle each goes through to hold on to their own individual self.
The sacrament of matrimony has the same purpose as Holy Orders; to bring people to a deeper relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. It does so in a different format, relating to specified individuals as opposed to reaching out to masses of people at the same time. Both vocations rely on modeling, setting example and being consistent in one’s own relationship with God.
Couples are charged with bringing in new life, educating that new life and reaching out to those around them with the touch and love of Christ. They are to do all this with minimum training. Oftentimes, couples find themselves asking for the manual to being married and raising children.
Today, society is struggling to maintain its balance. Marriages are breaking up at unreasonable rates, couples living together imitating marriage, society striving to redefine marriage and its purpose, attempting to eliminate God and his purpose for humankind. If society is to rebound from where it finds itself at this point, it will have to be through strong, God–centered couples intent on living out their vocation.
The basic cell of society is the family. The family has conquered difficult environments, overcome strife and deprivation, but in the midst is still able to teach new life of God and God’s ways. It is the faith and families we celebrate. It is the vocation of matrimony which holds hope for society.
It is time to regain society as God intended for us, one family at a time. Therefore, “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage.” (Heb. 13:4)
Isaak A. Isaak is co-director of the Office of Catechesis and Evangelization.
By Isaak A. Isaak.
Again, this year, the Diocese of Covington and dioceses across the United States celebrated Catholic Schools Week a week ago.
This annual observance usually begins the last Sunday in January and runs throughout the Week, which this year was Jan. 28 through Feb. 3.
Each year, the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) selects a theme and every Catholic school across the country plans activities around this theme. In addition to special school activities for students, families, and the community at large, students also attend Mass at local parishes and sending student and teacher representatives to the local Mother Church, in our case the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption.
This year’s theme for Catholic Schools Week is “United in Faith and Community.”
This is a vital and appropriate theme for all our teachers and catechists because this is what they do daily. They teach the faith in our communities. It is truly a beautiful theme. Teachers and catechists are indeed agents of teaching the faith.
When I think of Catholic Schools Week, I immediately think of our schoolteachers and catechists who teach the faith in our Catholic schools and parishes. They are the ones who stand as witnesses to the person of Jesus Christ in their classrooms. St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” (Romans 10:15)
Our teachers and catechists are agents of good news. They bring good news to our students in the classrooms. Christ becomes present in the classrooms. They touch the lives of all the young people who come to our schools and parish religious education programs by teaching the Word of God. They are great examples and evangelizers of the faith. And we are truly grateful for what they do on behalf of the parents, who are the first catechists of their children.
Every year, I look forward to seeing our students in their school uniforms when they come to the Cathedral to attend Mass. I especially like seeing them as they approach the altar, lining up to receive Holy Communion. They stand up and make a statement of faith by receiving the Bread of Life. Indeed, this is great statement of faith, believing that the author of life, Jesus, is truly present in the Eucharist. Of course, they make statements of faith every day in learning the faith, in serving the community, in leading and succeeding in the Catholic way of life.
To further strengthen these great and beautiful institutions of learning, the Diocese of Covington has developed a unique partnership with the Franciscan University’s Catechetical Institute. This partnership with the Institute will enable the Office Catechesis and Evangelization along with the Catholic Schools Office to provide workshop tracks at no charge, and with unlimited access to over 200 courses, to our parish and school catechetical leaders, catechists, and schoolteachers.
For anyone who lives, serves, and worships in the Diocese of Covington, Bishop John Iffert is generously providing these workshops to all at no cost. Detailed information about this will be coming soon.
It is our hope that teachers and catechists will immerse and engage themselves in these workshops so that through their own formation they will form others in our beautiful faith.
Our teachers and catechists are sowers of the seed — the Word of God (Romans 10:17). These resources will assist in doing just that. It is my hope and prayer that whenever they sow the seeds of faith, these seeds will take root in the lives and experiences of all the youth of our Diocese.
Teachers and catechists are ordinary people who perform an extraordinary duty because they teach as Jesus teaches and teach in his name. They are faithful to the author of life by dedicating themselves to deepening the faith of the present generation. They teach and live the faith just like Jesus.
Jesus — Teacher of teachers and Catechist of catechists — bless our teachers and catechists throughout this year and beyond. Amen!
Isaak A. Isaak is co-director of the Office of Catechesis and Evangelization.
The clouds were gray, and the rain was pouring as hundreds gathered in Frankfort for the first Kentucky march for life. The day started with Mass celebrated by Father John Lijana, pastor, Good Shepard Church, Frankfort.
“Life is good because it comes from God … do with it what he wills.” This was the message that rang throughout Father Lijana’s homily on Jan. 23.
The words hung over the congregation of about 500 as they took in the message that what they will be marching for is the sanctity of life and the dignity of mother and child. The latter of which being the theme of this year’s march, “Love Them Both.”
A new year means a new year of Cursillo retreats, with the next scheduled as soon as this month.
Cursillo is named for a Spanish word meaning short course. A Cursillo (pronounced “kur-see-yo”),therefore, is a short course in Christianity. Originating in Spain in the 1940s, today Cursillos are given in more than 50 nations on 5 Continents. It is estimated that more than 2 million men and women of various races and languages have participated. Locally, all Cursillo weekends are held at the Jesuit Spiritual Retreat Center in Milford, Ohio.
By David Cooley.
Education is a ministry of the Catholic Church because there is an undeniable thread between the general pursuit of knowledge and the journey of understanding who we are in the universe. We cannot come to fully know ourselves and the world around us unless we come to know the Creator of all things.
The goal of education is not to get into the best university or to be successful at a desired career. The goal is not even for an individual to ultimately obtain his or her financial freedom. It is so much deeper than that. Education is good for its own sake. There is something innate in us that makes us want to find the truth.
And the Truth is a person. It is not enough for us to just be financially free, we long to be completely free. And we will only be completely free when we come to know, love, and serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is a foundation that is missing in secular education, and it is one of the many reasons why Catholic schools are so important.
Education cannot and should not only be an intellectual exercise. Not only must the intellect be formed, but the will must be formed as well. This is why Catholic schools put such an emphasis on a complete formation of the human person. Human beings are intellectual, physical, spiritual, emotional, and social beings. We long for communion with each other and with God.
We are made for so much more than a career. We are made for God, and we are restless until we understand this and give over our lives, which are a complete gift, back to God. Learning about God must be part of a student’s education; however, Catholic schools are designed to not only be a place where we learn about God, but, more importantly, to be a place where we can encounter and grow in our relationship with Him.
To know about Jesus is to love him, and to love him is to serve him. Only on this path can we truly learn to know and love ourselves, and to love and serve our neighbors.
Our Catholic schools can and do prepare students for college and the work force, but they go way beyond that. Our Catholic schools do form good citizens that will contribute in a positive way to society, but that is just a happy accident. Our Catholic schools have great athletes, but they are more concerned with forming disciples of Christ and future saints than anything else. Now is the perfect time for all of us to double down on our faith, be bold and proud Catholics, and let our children know that it is way more important for them to get into Heaven than it is for them to get into Harvard.
David Cooley is co-director of the Office of Catechesis and Evangelization, Diocese of Covington, Ky.