Catholic Schools: Sowing seeds of hope
By Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone
Hope is an often overlooked and forgotten virtue. Perhaps it is because we tend to think of hope as mere optimism or wishful thinking. We might worry that relying too much on hope amounts to a kind of naïveté, disconnecting us from the real world. Or worse, we might be tempted to think of hope as a form of apathy whereby we shrug our shoulders, resigned to a stoic “que sarà, sarà” – whatever will be, will be. But this is not the Christian virtue of hope. Hope cannot be reduced to a platitude or to a misplaced optimism. Hope is called a theological virtue because it has God as its “origin, motive and object.”1
The virtue of hope is related to another theological virtue, the virtue of faith. Speaking to the Congregation for Catholic Education in 2017, Pope Francis reaffirmed that “Hope is not superficial optimism, nor is it the capacity to look at things benevolently, but rather is a way of knowing how to run risks in the right way, like education”.2 Hope is a risk because it requires trust and faith in God. It requires us to set aside our own plans and machinations so as to make room for what God has in store for us and which is always greater than we can imagine for ourselves. Hope comes through faith in God’s providential care for us, in the knowledge that He is present with us, especially in the Holy Eucharist, and that “all things work for good for those who love God and who are called according to His purpose.”3
When I look out at the Church today in the United States and in our own Archdiocese, I see signs of hope everywhere. The National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis this past July saw tens of thousands of pilgrims come together to celebrate and adore the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I had the wonderful opportunity there to participate in the Eucharistic procession through the streets of that great American city. The faith that I witnessed gave me great hope. When I think about our own historic Eucharistic procession through San Francisco and over the Golden Gate Bridge that took place in May, I am reminded that wherever Jesus goes, He brings hope.
How do Catholic schools sow seeds of hope? Catholic schools are built on hope because they are built on faith and trust in Christ. The document on Catholic education “The Catholic School” acknowledged that “(every) school is a center in which a specific concept of the world, of man and of history is developed and conveyed” (8). Catholic schools plant seeds of hope by proposing a concept of the world that understands God as the origin and sustainer of the world, who governs the world with love, and ordering it with laws that make scientific knowledge possible. Catholic schools propose that each person is made in the very image and likeness of God, imbued with an infinite dignity, and called to fullness of life.4 Catholic schools propose that God is an active presence in human history and that history is not an accidental series of events but has Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection, the definitive sign of His love, as its central event.
Catholic schools sow seeds of hope by forming young men and women who are more engaged in service, in civic participation and in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. They sow seeds of hope by helping students to come to know their God-given gifts and discern their vocations.
Of this vital relationship between Catholic education and hope, Pope Francis has said, “To educate is always an act of hope.…Man cannot live without hope, and education is a generator of hope.…May we be sustained by the conviction that education bears within itself a seed of hope”.5 Against the anxiety and despair so common in our increasingly secular age, our Catholic schools play a pivotal role in planting the seeds of hope.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Chris Fisher, the new superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese. Please pray for Mr. Fisher and the Department of Catholic Schools team as they continue to support the important mission of our Catholic schools in sowing seeds of hope!