Schools play vital role in spiritual growth of children

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
 
As Bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, one of my great joys is to be able to spend time with the young people of our Diocese in many different settings. Each weekend, as I visit our parishes, I have the opportunity to see many families and hear from the children on any number of topics! They are always filled with questions! My visits to our Catholic schools are always a great gift that brings me joy and hope for our world.

Like many of you, our Catholic school students participated in our Year of Awakening, focusing on developing their relationships with Jesus through His Mother, Mary. On December 12, all across the Diocese, our students participated in a Consecration Prayer Service that was videotaped, placed online and shown in every Catholic school at the same time. The service enabled the students to commit themselves to deepen their relationship with Mary and her Son. In my homily at the Prayer Service, I asked them to do just one specific thing each day that is an extension of their Year of Awakening, something as simple as a “Hail Mary” as a special intention for the needs of others. I invite you to do the same! If you would like to view the Prayer Service with the students, please visit our diocesan website: www.diometuchen.org or our special website dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe: LightingHeartsOnFire.org.

The Consecration to Jesus through Our Lady of Guadalupe will continue to be a significant part of life in the schools of our Diocese. Our Catholic schools exist, primarily, to teach the Gospel message and enliven our students to have a personal relationship with Jesus who is their hope and companion for life! These schools are intended to be places where the everyday lessons of academic life are consistently taught within the context of the message of God’s love for us and our expression of that love by our actions in the world.

The benefit of a Catholic school is that the message is for all of us — parents, teachers as well as students. When a student enrolls in a Catholic school, the entire family becomes a part of that school community. Certainly, there are many activities in the schools such as geography bees, book fairs, athletic activities and carnivals. But, more importantly, there are opportunities for families to share in liturgies, prayer services, Stations of the Cross, and May Crownings. Catholic schools are meant to assist parents/guardians in their important role as the primary teachers of their children’s faith.

With that in mind, the Office of Schools is presenting a Resource Page on the Diocesan website that will be launched during Catholic Schools Week. This page is meant to provide information to assist parents/guardians to develop their own faith life as they guide their children. In my pastoral letter, “Lighting a Fire in the Heart of Our World,” one of my goals was that our schools would be intentional in their role of evangelization. This new resource is a visible sign of that role. There will be articles of interest and links to brief lessons from Bishop Robert Barron and others. Some of the materials that will be available are also being used in the schools as teachers intentionally instruct students in the role of science and our Church. Our website will link parents to the websites at each school that will have information on the faith formation activities at each parish/school community. I invite everyone to visit the diocesan Resource Page as well as the pages at the local schools.

The Most Reverend James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA Bishop of Metuchen