Education Week in the Church Calendar

The saints this week seem to draw our attention to the search for wisdom. Sunday showed us the three wise men who bowed to the infant savior. They looked for him first in the palace of King Herod, but weren't too high and mighty to bend the knee before the baby enthroned in a feedbox for animals. What does that tell us about wisdom? It's humble.

My favorite pictures of the three kings illustrates an elderly king, crown removed, kneeling and kissing the Christ Child's foot as if to say, like St. John the Baptist, "I am unworthy to go higher than the sole of his foot." We grow in wisdom through humility.

Then on Monday and Tuesday the Church sets before us St. Elizabeth Seton and St. John Neumann, pioneers of Catholic education, especially for the poor. Education in the faith is crucial, these saints show us, to grow in wisdome and holiness in imitation of Christ. Then tomorrow we are brought back to humility with the optional memorial of Bl. Andre Bessette, a humble brother who could barely read or write. He was the doorkeeper for 40 years at the College of Notre Dame and then at St. Joseph Oratory in Montreal for the rest of his life. He was so sought after for spiritual counsel that he was assigned secretaries to help him answer his correspondence. This teaches us that education is not primarily a matter of degrees, but of humility of heart. The charwoman who cleans the college offices may be theologically smarter than the apostate head of a Theology Department or the Catholic Theological Society.

St. Raymond of Penafort is the final saint for the week. He was a brilliant Dominican priest who was an authority in canon law and a college professor. At the time, the writings on canon law were confusing and contradictory. St. Raymond's work was so clear that the pope declared in a papal bull that they should be the only ones taught in the schools. (Doesn't this remind you of the battle in catechesis with the coloring books published by Benziger and Sadlier with the marshmallow Jesus who taught about luv, without doctrine?) It was at the suggestion of St. Raymond that Thomas Aquinas wrote the Summa Contra Gentiles.

With all these wonderful saints, this week is a great one to contemplate the importance of Catholic education and to remember that fear of the Lord (being humble before God) is the beginning of wisdom. These saints had different talents, but they used them to advance the knowledge and understanding of the faith. Wouldn't they be great friends to take into final examinations?

Elizabeth Ann Seton, Founder of the Parochial School System

Today is the feast of the Elizabeth Seton and also the first day of school for most children returning after Christmas vacation. What an appropriate alignment. Elizabeth, a widow converted from the Episcopal faith after her husband's death. She was rejected by her anti-Catholic relatives and left destitute because her husband's import business had failed. To support herself and her five children she began a school in her home, but was unsuccessful. Archbishop John Carroll encouraged Elizabeth to found a school for girls and she did, in Emmitsburg, MD. Other women joined her in the venture and she began the Daughters of Charity. The Seton shrine in Maryland and the nearby grotto tell the story of the challenging early years.

The first reading for today's Mass, taken from the first letter of St. John, provides an interesting insight into what real education should do for the soul: make us critical thinkers who "test the spirits" and recognize the "spirit of truth" from the "spirit of deceit."

Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist who, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world. You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them. We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

A major part of the spiritual journey is discernment of spirits. Why? Because it helps us recognize when we are being tempted toward evil or encouraged toward good. As St. Peter says, the devil is like a lion roaming the earth seeking prey. But he'd be a fool to expose himself in all his ugly evil, so he often appears as an angel of light or he dresses in sheepskin to blend in with his lunch. "This is so good for you," he says in a melodious voice pushing us toward the cliff. "Jump off; you can fly." And so we think the lustful or greedy or selfish choice is the quick road to bliss when it's a sure path to ultimate misery.

To recognize him and his tricks, we need to understand how he works, as well as knowing the good spirits who attempt to help us. Fr. John Hardon, S.J. who often gave retreats based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius wrote about Discernment of Spirits in his book All My Liberty. This chapter would make an excellent meditation for January. Think of how much you could progress in the spiritual life this year if you chose a specific spiritual subject each month to meditate on and study. Discernment of spirits would be a good place to begin the journey. And take St. Elizabeth, St. Ignatius, and Fr. Hardon along with you as mentors and teachers. As a wife and mother St. Elizabeth knew all about the struggles and hardships of family life. St. Ignatius was a master of the interior life whose Spiritual Exercises have transformed the lives of many. And Fr. Hardon was a tireless worker in the vineyard. Persecuted by his own religious order, he never failed in seeking God's will through obedience. Take these great souls with you on your journey.

P.S. Anything written by Fr. John Hardon, S.J. will lead you to God by a short path. Please pray for his canonization.