A Great Mission!

Another suggested Votive Mass for today is "For the Church." The opening Collect spoke about the mission that has been entrusted to the Church, the body of Christ, and how we can transform the human family and human society. We go back to Jesus Christ and those early apostles entrusted with the mission of the early Church. Then the men and women who have come before us to build up the Church that we see and love today. With us, we will hopefully build upon the foundation that has been laid and pass on this great mission to those who will come after us. This week, we have been observing Catholic Schools Week. We thank God for our students, parents, teachers, catechists, priests, religious, laity and benefactors who make a Catholic education possible. The Catholic School is a tremendous ministry of the Catholic Church because we are forming the Church of today to be the faithful leaders tomorrow. This is a mission that we all have a role in. My hope is that what our young people receive in the Catholic School is being reinforced at home because parents are the primary educators of their children. They are the first teachers in the ways of faith as it is stated in the Rite of Baptism. Many times that reinforcement is not there and we need to touch minds and hearts so that parents will realize their responsibility to teach their child and be an example to them. It is also a good time for the schools re-evaluate our religion program, to make sure that we are giving our young people the tools that they need to live their faith to the fullest. As we pray for the Church today and everyday, we also pray for the various ministries that the Church is engaged in because we are here to make a difference in the world and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. We ask God to bless our endeavors as we continue the great mission entrusted to us!!!