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February 6, 2022Dear Parishioners,
I hope that everyone made out it through the snowstorm. We owe a huge thank you to Topper Senn, his son Tad and all of their workers who cleared the parking lots and walkways of the parish. They did an excellent job. You may have even seen Topper driving the backhoe on Newport Avenue clearing away the sidewalk so that funerals could park there.
In related news I had an elderly parishioner call asking for help plowing her driveway. The person she had hired did not show up. If you or anyone you know plow driveways and would be willing to be a contact to help elderly parishioners, please let me know by sending an email to the parish office ([email protected]).
This past week we celebrated Catholic Schools Week. Catholic Schools Week was first introduced by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) in 1974. It is an annual event which typically takes place on the last Sunday in January. The purpose of this week is to emphasize the value and necessity of Catholic education to families and young people, as well as how it contributes to the Church, the community and to our nation. It is a time to showcase St. Teresa School and the many benefits of an education rooted in the Catholic faith.
Education has always been an essential part of the mission of the Church. After the Fall of the Roman Empire, it was the monasteries which preserved and handed on the knowledge of Rome, Greece and other ancient cultures. It was the Church who invented the first universities in the Western world in Paris, Bologna, Oxford, Padua, and so on. Members of the Church have been behind advancements in all major areas of study and the Church herself funds the progress of science and the arts. Education is listed as one of the spiritual works of mercy.
What sets Catholic schools apart from other types of schools? Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI stated: “It is in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of our lives becomes clear.” Essentially what Benedict is pointing out is that Catholic education provides its students with a vantage point; a way of looking at the world that takes in all aspects of the mystery of life. Very often students are presented with only half the picture. The essential reality that we are bodily and spiritual beings formed to be in communion with God who has taken on our nature is left out. They seek to teach truth to students and omit Truth itself. At St. Teresa School our children pray, learn about their faith, the dignity of every human life, the value of sacrifice and selflessness, and the virtues (most importantly the virtues of faith, hope and love).
A very big thank you to the students who spoke at our Masses and their teachers and parents who prepared them. Our parish is blessed to have the opportunity to educate the young.
God bless,
Fr. Barrow
