Catholic Schools Week
Students, faculty and staff from all 28 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Evansville traveled to St. Benedict Cathedral Jan. 28 for a Mass honoring the 41st National Catholic Schools Week. Bishop Charles C. Thompson celebrated, and priests from parishes with schools across our 12 counties concelebrated.
The Cathedral filled to overflowing, with temporary seating in place at the rear of the sanctuary.
“You represent something we greatly value,” Bishop Thompson told the students during his homily. “You don’t exist for (our Catholic schools); they exist for you. They serve you so in turn, you will be able to serve others.”
He also talked about St. Thomas Aquinas, a Doctor of the Church, whose feast we celebrate annually on Jan. 28. “He’s known for the many hours he spent in prayer, writing and study,” Bishop Thompson explained. “He had a great love of the Eucharist.
“That writing and studying was born out of prayer,” he added. “Without the prayer, I don’t think he would have ever been as effective at his writing and studying.”
Bishop Thompson talked about the day’s Mass readings – in particular the Gospel, which recounted the parable of the sower and the seed.
“The crowd is so big He gets in a boat and gets off the shore. Jesus always has crowds following him,” the bishop said. “People are hungry for something He can give … something that no one else can give. He’s able to give them something everlasting; something the world cannot give – sense of love and mercy, and the wisdom of God.”
He added that Christ knew that not everyone would embrace what he had to give, so he used the parable. “Jesus knew the crowds were not necessarily going to walk away fully committed, so He tells the story of the sower and the seeds. The sower is God the Father. Jesus’ teaching is the seed … the word of God – His love, His mercy, His peace.”
“We have to be people of prayer,” the bishop continued, slightly shifting his focus. “If you look at scripture, we have these moments with all these crowds around Jesus … pretty much every time before and after the crowds, He’s praying. He knows He has to be united with the Father if He’s to be effective with the people He has come to save.
“And if Jesus needed prayer, how much more do we need prayer?
“That’s why we celebrate CSW with the Mass,” Bishop Thompson added. “We know we need prayer. We know it all means nothing if we’ve not connected to God. We gather here to humbly acknowledge that, ultimately, we are merely instruments.
“I encourage you to be people of prayer,” he continued. “Pray at your homes. Pray in your cars. Pray in your schools. Pray with your community. Pray for one another. Pray for yourselves. Pray for all those making sacrifices so you can have this opportunity. Pray for me.
“It’s through prayer that we allow ourselves to be that rich soil where God’s word takes root.”
He closed by noting that Catholic schools form students in faith, knowledge and service – suggesting the “and” as the most important word in that phrase.
“Faith, knowledge and service,” he said. “Don’t forget the and. When we forget the and, we start doing either-or stuff. The and is very important. Faith, hope and love. Faith knowledge and service. Prayer life and study.
“Don’t forget the and because you and I need each other,” Bishop Thompson said. “You and I need God.”
