Faith Formation: Catholic Education Week – May 18-22, 2020

In Alberta, we are blessed to be one of three provinces in Canada to have publicly-funded Catholic education.  May 18-22, 2020 is Catholic Education Week and on May 21 we are celebrating World Catholic Education Day.  We are grateful that we have the opportunity to educate our children with a faith-based approach. It’s “who” and “what” we are but more importantly…. It’s a vital part of our “why”!  This occasion is a chance to reflect upon the five characteristics of a Catholic school: 

• 1) Each child is precious, gifted and loved; 
• 2) Catholic worldview is evident in physical space, liturgical celebrations and prayer life;
• 3) Our faith permeates every aspect of education including learning outcomes and teaching strategies; 
• 4) Catholic educators are living witnesses to the Gospel 
• 5) Catholic schools are safe and caring communities.

We are celebrating the work that we do in support of Catholic education for all our students. All district staff, no matter their roles, support the education of our students… so we celebrate together.  We are all called to advocate for the children and all in our school community and surrounding area.  This ties in very well to the nature of our spiritual vocation as followers of God and our overall role in the church especially in the modern times we live in.  It becomes a big piece of “our why”!

Please be mindful of this and the following Prayer of the Faithful for Catholic Education…

• That our Catholic schools may be a source of hope for the young, we pray to the Lord.
• That our Catholic schools may fill students with a love for learning and a desire to change the world for the better, we pray to the Lord.
• That our Catholic schools may be always able to draw excellent and faith-filled teachers to serve in the classroom, we pray to the Lord.
• That our Catholic schools may be a blessing to families through their work with the young, we pray to the Lord

With gratitude and prayerful hearts we turn to God and say . . .