![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Jesus_Teaches_the_People_by_the_Sea.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As Catholic Schools Week begins this year,
\ntoday\u2019s Gospel reminds us of a very important truth\u2014
\nJesus was a teacher:<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
\nThe people were astonished at his teaching,
\nfor he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesus was a teacher.<\/p>\n
He taught in synagogues,
\nhe taught in the temple,
\nhe taught from hillsides,
\nand he taught from boats.
\nJesus was a teacher.<\/p>\n
Jesus taught in a way that was different from other teachers.
\nAnd the people recognized that.<\/p>\n
In contrast to the scribes who merely recited laws,
\nJesus’ teaching was marked by a connection
\nto the heart of the Law \u2013 love of God and love of neighbor.
\nHis teaching had authority because he was authentic.
\nHe lived what he taught.
\nAnd the people could see it,
\neven though he did not have the title the scribes had.
\nHe was authentic,
\neven to giving his life on the cross to demonstrate the love he taught.<\/p>\n
There was once a teacher named Sharon.
\nShe, too, was an authentic teacher.
\nOne day she became the most famous teacher in all the world,
\nand she ended up giving her life in the service of teaching.
\nShe was born into a Catholic family and went to a Catholic high school.
\nHer mother was a substitute teacher
\nand when Sharon grew up
\nshe became a 7th and 8th Grade teacher.<\/p>\n
I was a junior high teacher for over 25 years,
\nand I can tell you that 7th and 8th graders are experts
\nin spotting what is false and phony.
\nTo be an effective junior high teacher you have to know your stuff,
\nyou have to be authentic.<\/p>\n
Sharon was authentic.
\nShe took her class on field trips,
\nshe brought in guest speakers,
\nand she \u201cemphasized the impact of ordinary people on history,
\nsaying they were as important to the historical record
\nas kings, politicians, or generals.\u201d
\nHer passion and knowledge of her subject matter
\ngave her the authenticity that she needed to be a great teacher.<\/p>\n
I have seen many new teachers who thought that
\njust because their name was posted outside the classroom door,
\nor just because they wore a whistle or an ID badge,
\nthe students would automatically listen to them
\nand do what they were told.
\nWell, it didn\u2019t take them long to find out
\nthat it takes more than an ID badge.
\nIt starts with being authentic.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s why it\u2019s so important in a Catholic school,
\nwhere we teach the Good New of Jesus Christ,
\nto have an authentic relationship with Jesus.
\nWe need our students to see that our relationship with Jesus is real,
\nso that there is no phoniness in what we teach.
\nAnd that is something that takes constant nourishment.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why at SJV we begin each school year
\nwith a day-long faculty retreat at Immaculate Heart Retreat Center,
\nfocusing on our faith, our relationship with Jesus Christ.
\nIt\u2019s why the teachers gather for prayer every morning
\nright before school starts.
\nWe read a passage of Scripture,
\nwe meditate on it,
\nwe share with each other what it means in our life,
\nwe offer intentions for ourselves and for the world,
\nand we end by praying the Prayer of St. Francis.
\nWe do this as a faculty each and every morning
\nbecause regular, sustained prayer
\nis essential in building our relationship with Jesus,
\nand we must have a real and authentic relationship with Jesus
\nif we are going to effectively teach about Jesus to our students.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m not just sharing this with you
\nto explain how we do things at the school.
\nI share this with you because you are teachers, too.<\/p>\n
The call to teach is not reserved for a select few,
\nbut is a universal commission given to all followers of Christ.
\nBefore Jesus ascended to heaven, he said,
\n“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
\nbaptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
\nand of the holy Spirit,
\nteaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesus was a teacher.
\nAnd so, we that dare to call ourselves Christians,
\n\u201clittle Christs,\u201d
\nare to be teachers, too.<\/p>\n
We are all<\/em> called to be teachers, This is how the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops puts it:<\/p>\n It is the responsibility of the entire Catholic community\u2014<\/em> We are convinced that Catholic schools continue to be<\/em> That is why your parish school exists, St. John Vianney Catholic School and all Catholic schools Opportunities to teach the Gospel abound in our everyday lives. Sharon used her teaching abilities beyond just her classroom. Jesus was a teacher. And that means that each of us also has the responsibility To be an authentic teacher for Christ, We know that if we are not living the life we teach about, Sharon was not like the scribes. Just as Jesus gave his life During this Catholic Schools Week, Christa McAuliffe used to say, As Catholic Schools Week begins this year, today\u2019s Gospel reminds us of a very important truth\u2014 Jesus was a teacher: \u201c\u2026on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.\u201d Jesus was a teacher. He taught in synagogues, he taught in the temple, he taught from hillsides, and he taught from boats. Jesus was a teacher. Jesus taught in a way that was different from other teachers. And the...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Jesus Was a Teacher - #Homily for Catholic Schools Week 2024 #CSW2024","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[349],"tags":[288,1207,357,1208],"class_list":["post-9078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homily","tag-catholic-schools-week","tag-christa-mcauliffe","tag-gospel-of-mark","tag-to-teach-as-jesus-did"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Jesus_Teaches_the_People_by_the_Sea.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pOucj-2mq","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9078"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9082,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9078\/revisions\/9082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nsharing the Good News
\nand instructing others in the ways of love.
\nIt is not easy.
\nThat\u2019s why Catholic schools exist.
\nThe Church recognizes both the importance and the immensity
\nof the task of teaching the Faith to our children,
\nand so Catholic schools were instituted to assist parents
\nin their role of educating children in the Faith.
\nThat\u2019s why we celebrate Catholic schools at this time time each year.
\nCatholic schools have an essential role in the life of the Church.<\/p>\n
\nbishops, priests, deacons, religious, and laity\u2014<\/em>
\nto continue to strive towards the goal<\/em>
\nof making our Catholic elementary and secondary schools<\/em>
\navailable, accessible, and affordable<\/em>
\nto all Catholic parents and their children,<\/em>
\nincluding those who are poor and middle class.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u201cthe most effective means available to the Church<\/em>
\nfor the education of children and young people\u201d<\/em>
\nwho are the future of the Church (To Teach as Jesus Did, no. 118).<\/em><\/p>\n
\nand why your support of the school is so important and appreciated.<\/p>\n
\nexist to assist you in fulfilling your call to teach as Jesus did.
\nCatholic schools play a crucial role in this mission,
\nbut each one of us,
\nas baptized disciples of Jesus,
\nregardless of our profession,
\nregardless of our vocation,
\nis called to be a teacher.<\/p>\n
\nIn our families,
\nwe teach the Gospel by the way we prioritize faith, prayer, and love.
\nIn our workplaces,
\nwe teach the Gospel by the integrity with which we conduct ourselves
\nand the respect we show to our colleagues.
\nIn our communities,
\nwe teach the Gospel by our acts of service and compassion toward those in need.<\/p>\n
\nShe became a catechist
\nand taught confirmation classes in her parish.
\nAfter all she was a teacher.<\/p>\n
\nSharon was a teacher.
\nWe are teachers.<\/p>\n
\nto teach with authenticity, like Jesus did,
\nand not like the scribes.
\nJust as a title or an ID badge is not enough
\nto be an effective classroom teacher,
\nso, too, our baptismal certificate is not enough
\nto be a teacher of the Gospel.<\/p>\n
\nwe need to be authentic disciples of Christ,
\nand not disciples in name only.<\/p>\n
\nwe become like the scribes.<\/p>\n
\nShe lived what she taught.
\nShe had the opportunity to do something no teacher in history
\never had the chance to do,
\nsomething that she knew would make her an even better teacher.
\nShe applied for the opportunity along with 11,000 applicants,
\nand she alone was chose by NASA to be the first teacher to fly into space.
\nShe was born with the first name Sharon,
\nbut she always went by her middle name Christa.
\nChrista McAuliffe.
\nShe trained for an entire year to be a payload specialist
\non the Space Shuttle Challenger.
\nShe went on Good Morning America, CBS Morning News,
\nand the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
\nTalk about an authentic teacher.
\nShe taught the world.
\nMany of us remember what happened on this day 38 years ago.
\nChrista and the rest of the astronauts boarded the Challenger,
\nand after only 73 seconds in the air, the shuttle broke apart,
\nand no one survived.<\/p>\n
\nto be an authentic teacher,
\nChrista gave her life to be an authentic teacher.<\/p>\n
\nwe are challenged to renew our commitment
\nto our own vocation of teaching.
\nWe are reminded that, in various ways,
\nwe are all called to be teachers like Christ \u2013
\nnot just imparting knowledge
\nbut embodying the transformative love of the Gospel.
\nAs parents, as educators, as friends,
\nand as members of this faith community,
\nwe share in the mission of making disciples.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI touch the future, I teach.\u201d
\nOur call is to be able to say,
\n\u201cI touch eternity, I teach the Gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"