One very good friend is a priest, who was ordained priest later on in life, after a good career in teaching – he had been the head-teacher of a Catholic primary school. We agree on almost everything, and I enjoy his common sense, good humour, ability to tell jokes ‘till the cows come home’, and his love of life and of the post Vatican II Church. On one thing we disagree: the value of our English Catholic Education System. He does not rate Catholic schools very highly, while in my case, I do. Even to this day it is not clear to me whether, or not, he is in the right on this subject.

My view is that the English Catholic School System gives youngsters and their families the chance to be involved with the life of the Catholic Church throughout their education. My friend’s point, basically, is that, if the resources given to Catholic schools were to be used within the parishes, there could be excellent extra-curricular sharing of faith that would be of greater benefit to young people, than their use in the schools’ scenario.  

Be that as it may, on Wednesday 24th February, a week after Ash Wednesday, we distributed ashes to everyone who wanted them in our High School – a total of more than 800 people, counting staff and pupils. Ash Wednesday, itself, fell within the half-term holiday and consequently, most of the pupils and staff had not received ashes on the actual day. It was quite striking to see pupils and adults – Catholics and those of other Christian Churches alike – receiving the ashes, and in such an obviously good spirit. It manifested a clear sign that all in the school – teacher, dinner lady, site supervisor, pupil or chaplain – were on the same journey to God; the annual distribution and reception of ashes teaches us that each one of us is a sinful human being, and all need God’s saving grace. In one sense, all of us are brothers and sisters, even though the role of the adults is to be “in loco parentis” – acting as parents – in a special relationship with the pupils.

Distributing the ashes was a speedy and efficient operation; it was also prayerful and meaningful… “Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel”…. were the words we used – and, certainly, the ‘smudge’ on my forehead lasted ‘till tea-time. This ‘operation’, I suspect, could only happen in a Catholic school. It provides the ideal opportunity, right at the start of Lent, to explain what is a central Christian principal – that whatever mistake, or wrong path, we have taken in life, it is always possible to start again, in our relationship with the Lord, and also to do our best to mend our ‘broken’ relationships with others – the latter, sometimes, being more difficult than the former.

That same evening, we celebrated the 150th Anniversary of a local Catholic school in our Pastoral Area (Deanery). The School of SS. Peter and Paul, in the village of Mawdesley, was inaugurated, 30th January 1860. Situated in a rural area, the school has never had more than 129 pupils; at present they total around 70. Those who originally contributed to its building and maintenance, in the mid 19th century, had family descendants among the ‘packed’ congregation – Wednesday night – in SS. Peter and Paul Church, where we celebrated Mass, joyfully, for the occasion.  But, in describing this happy event, an important question is raised in my mind.  Why was it that people gave money to build, and open, and maintain a Catholic school all those (150) years ago?  It seems they must have wanted their children to benefit from a Catholic education, and, taking the argument a step further, were prepared to give their money to make all this possible.  We must remember, in those days, there was no state provision!

There has been a basic instinct within the Catholic community ever since the beginning of the Church, to devote a massive amount of time, money and energy to the education of the young. In fact, the vocation to teach has been considered the highest vocation of all, within the Church, because, fundamentally, it is assisting, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the formation of the person of Christ in the student. Teachers, and all those involved in the school environment, provide the context in which human talents are developed, and so Christ is formed in each person, according to each individual personality and character. Teaching …  education … are processes by which the mind is ‘broadened’ and ‘stretched’, new things are learned and the person then develops in art, music, sport and so on.

But, there is more to it than that!  I speak of the term ‘ethos’ – something that is hard to explain in terms of its true meaning.  It may be that we are unable, or too ‘shy’, to state where the ‘ethos’ or ‘special atmosphere’,  found in many Catholic schools, comes from.  Or, it may be that those involved in education do not realise it, themselves, because they do not live their Christianity as it should be lived.  Essentially, it concerns the presence of the Risen Christ in the school. The Risen Christ, in the Acts of the Apostles, was not accepted by all, just as Jesus, himself, was not accepted when he was alive on earth. There will, I am sure, be those who will reject the Lord within our Christian Catholic schools, but if you really want to be more precise about the ‘ethos’ within the Catholic School, it is good to be ‘up front’ and say: “It is Christ, raised from the dead, who is among us, who is our inspiration, our guide and our leader”.

To be absolutely clear, this presence of Christ does depend on the fulfilment of conditions – for Jesus to be really there – it does not happen without the Gospel conditions: “Where two or more are gathered in the name of Jesus, there he will be among them” (Mt. 18: 20).  What on earth does that mean?  In a ‘nutshell’, it means that there are those, in the school, who are really and truly living the New Commandment of Jesus (John 13: 34). Love that is lived, and lived with each other, is the challenge, and it is a big one, for we are human and often we fail. It means living the art of loving.  Chiara Lubich (died March 14th 2008) – the founder of the Focolare Movement (and its Charism is Unity) – put it like this:

• Christian love means seeing Christ in every person we meet.
• Christian love means loving everyone without exception.
• Christian love means being the first to love. We cannot expect to be loved before we start loving.
• Christian love means loving others as ourselves.
• Christian love means making oneself one with others. This means loving in a practical way.
• Christian love means loving our enemies, doing good to them and praying for them.
• Jesus want the love he brought on earth to become reciprocal. He wants us to love one another.
• Love led Jesus to die on the cross for us. Genuine love for others requires self-denial and sacrifice; almost always love demands suffering.

With some temerity, I would also add that genuine love never seeks for an immediate response, but is just given – something that could go on for years and years before it is recognised –  indeed, it may never obtain response or even recognition.   It is given without thought of return. All this provides us with a programme for a good and ‘well-lived’ life-time.

To return to school: the ‘ethos’ of a truly Christian Catholic school, or ‘Christ Present in the School’, affects the subjects that are taught, the way they are taught, the way the school is managed, the priorities that are given day by day, even those who are invited in to be guest-speakers for the students. The ‘ethos’ affects those who visit the school, the school dinners, the refereeing on the football pitch. Then, there is the relationship that the teacher has with the individual student: a unique forum where the young person is led to discover the truth behind the bare facts of the subject, until he, or she, learns to know ‘Truth’ itself.  Make no mistake, this is an awesome responsibility, requiring the teacher to ‘be’ in the Truth, and to ‘live’ the Truth – a major challenge –  but, not just for teachers: the challenge is there for all those who work in the school; those involved in school dinners; those involved in cleaning and maintenance, and so on.  All these people share the one vision. Overall, the School Governors must have these values at heart, for the pupils, their families and the multitude of school staff.

And, the aim? This must be to lead the students – together with all who are involved in this community enterprise – to a fulfilment beyond our imagining. Thus teaching, or being howsoever involved in the whole enterprise of education, means being a partner with God, in his plan for a better world, where, in the end, God will be all in all.

I must ask my priest friend, with whom I agree about most things, what would he think of all this?