Theology of Catholic Pedagogical Theory: What it Means to Teach at a Catholic School

“Christianity, really, is a relationship with God. Faith is how God invites us into that relationship and how we will live in that relationship. As a teacher, I make sure my students understand these concepts. Many of them have no concept of an invitation to be in a relationship with God; they may not even know they are Loved. My job is to do whatever I can to let them know they are Loved by God, regardless of anything they do or say. Their own action in response to the invitation, their act of Faith, either deepens that relationship or it does not. Our acts of Faith are extensions of the invitation God gives us...we Love God and others in response to God's Love for us. I pray for the wisdom to help my students to grow in that Belovedness and in that Love.” This is the blog where I am going to go into some deeper Theology of Pedagogical Theory and more explicit concepts related to what we call the Catholic Identity of our schools. I have been thinking about this a great deal ...

"Thanks for your response. It sounds like you have been reading a lot of Aquinas, in addition to your reference from Augustine! Indeed, human intellect can discern creation and free will to be gifts from God. By creating us and by giving us Free Will, God invites us into a relationship with Him. We must be given Faith in order for us to be able to freely respond to that invitation. If we accept that invitation we do it by our own Free Will...if we accept that we are Loved by God, it is an act of Faith. If we extend that invitation to Love and to be Loved, it is an act of Faith that we choose to make. As a teacher, I pay attention, especially, to those students who do not know they have been invited into a relationship with God...they do not know they are Loved. My primary goal is to extend that invitation to them. Regardless of what you teach or what your job is at a Catholic school (or any school, really) is to make sure our students know they are Loved. What a great mission we...

“Thanks for your response. I like the points you make about some elements of Faith being given and some elements being chosen. Indeed, most theologians point to St. John when the make the claim that we are Loved first by God, regardless of anything we choose or desire. The quote I use with my students is "we are Loved into existence", simply because God is Love. In this way, we are created with a disposition to Faith as Faith is an invitation into a relationship with God. It is our response to the Faith God gives us that is Faith in action. It is my favorite concept to teach my students, and it is the blessing of any Catholic school teacher to help their students know they are called to be Loved and to Love.”             We are created with a disposition to Faith and a disposition toward the mystery of the transcendent. So why do we, as teachers, try to simplify Faith, religion, or theology as just a subject? Why would we limit ...

“Thanks for your response. Thomas Aquinas actually points out that on a fundamental level, we are given Faith in the form of what he calls operative Grace. In particular, this is Faith in the form of God simply "Loving us into creation". The fact that we exist (and the fact that we have Free Will), for example, tells us that we are Loved regardless of our Free Will. In this way, Faith is a gift from God separate from our action. You are right in your description, though, of how Faith is our action in pursuit of a deeper relationship with God; Faith is our response to the Truth that we are first Loved by God. As a teacher, many of my students seem unaware they are invited to be in a relationship with God; this mindset makes it impossible, then, for them to even act on Faith. If I am lucky enough to witness them "knowing" they are Loved, then my mission is to help them discover how God is calling them to extend the invitation to even more. All teachers in Catholic s...

            “Thanks for your response. I love this response! You organize various methods of God's Revelation or transmission of that invitation to grow in relationship with Him. Indeed, He offers us, constantly, in invitation to know what it means to be Loved and to Love. Like you said, it is our choice, our free will, to either respond to that invitation or not. It is up to us to extend that invitation, further, to others who may not have heard the invitation. Most of our students may not know they are invited into a relationship with God; it is our job as Catholic school teachers, no matter what our job, to let them know they are invited to be Loved by God and to Love others in a similar way. What a great mission for us!”            It is impossible to Love if we do not have community. The drive or the desire to have community, friends, teammates, boyfriends, girlfriends… this is part of our anthropological makeup...

“Thanks for your response. Your last line is perfect! "Faith is both a relationship and engagement with God's truths". Indeed, the concept of Faith as an invitation into a relationship with God where one experiences Transcendent Love is one we do not earn or accomplish; it is simple given. In this way, Faith is a gift. Further, as we seek ways in which to respond to this invitation, we act on that Faith. This action, as you suggest, is using other revealed or freely given Truths of God so we can grow deeper in our understanding of God's Love for us and how we can extend that same invitation of Love to others. Of course, as a Catholic, myself, and as a teacher, my goal is to extend that invitation to my students, letting them know they are Loved, and helping them to discover ways in which they can act on that same Faith-invitation.” The job of the Catholic school teacher or administrator or admissions counselor or really anyone in the school community is “to invi...