About 1,500 principals, administrators and teachers from Catholic elementary schools across the Diocese of Cleveland gathered on March 8 at the Huntington Convention Center in downtown Cleveland for “Heart of the Mission,” a half-day professional development presentation focusing on how the Theology of the Body program will be incorporated into schools throughout the diocese.
Bishop Nelson Perez addressed the group and thanked all for the moments in their ministry that no one sees.
“A teacher is constantly preparing -- many times alone. When it’s late at night and you are in your home preparing, tired from the day, you are not alone – the Lord is with you. He called you and walks with you. The people of the Church of Cleveland are grateful. Do not underestimate the power behind what you do,” the bishop said, adding that sometimes, as Jesus teaches us, the kingdom of God works silently.
As a former religion teacher for grades 6-8, Bishop Perez said it is a great joy to touch the lives of young people and give them a chance to hear the voice of Christ amid all the other noise in their lives. He also thanked the teachers for their dedication, noting they chose to work in Catholic schools.
“You did it for your love of faith and the love of your students. This love is a source of blessing and grace for the people in Cleveland,” the bishop said.
He called the workshop “a gift of coming together to talk about mission, vision and an exciting initiative that will bring a new voice to the Church of Cleveland. “Today we will talk about that voice,” he said, calling it a “powerful gift unfolded.” The bishop said he hopes that voice will become deeply rooted in the spirit of Catholic education and formation in the diocese.
“Catholic schools have a unique and uplifting mission,” said Frank O’Linn, interim superintendent of schools. “We form the whole person. Our goals are not just to get our graduates into high school or through college or even to have a prosperous adulthood. We want to see them get to heaven. Our schools are about preparation for life and life everlasting. We are not just developing students’ minds, we are also forming their hearts.”
O’Linn went on to say that “first and foremost, our schools need to be places where we freely and unapologetically follow Jesus' commands to love God, and love one another.”
It is more effective to bring everyone together under one roof, he said, because “if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. We hear and align ourselves with the vision that our shepherd – the bishop – provided. We see this vision in the curriculum, the call to love God and love one another, and the great commission to go out and make disciples of the world. We know that great teaching is the vocation of forming young people,” O’Linn added.
Father Ryan Mann, parochial vicar at St. John Neumann Parish in Strongsville, served as emcee for the event. He compared Catholic education to being a musician, and he juxtaposed merely playing the notes correctly with feeling the music. He acknowledged that tips and techniques are important, but that’s not what the program is about. He said it is important to get in touch with the beauty of our faith – with our hearts and the heart of Jesus.
Father Patrick Schultz, parochial vicar at Communion of Saints Parish in Cleveland Heights, also shared thoughts on Theology of the Body, telling attendees that we were made by God to be seen, known and loved – and God truly loves each of us. Teachers can get caught up in assessments and put distance between themselves and their students. We tend to hide our weaknesses in order to give the perception of perfection. Also, students may question if they are worth knowing and loving.
Father Schultz said that once he allowed Jesus completely into his heart, everything changed. “When you give God your misery, he gives you his heart,” he said.
Eileen Updegrove, principal of St. Charles Borromeo School in Parma, talked about what Theology of the Body and Christopher West, co-founder of the Theology of the Body Institute near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, meant to her as an educator. After attending a weeklong Theology of the Body Head and Heart Immersion, she said she “became mesmerized by the beauty of our faith” and couldn’t wait to share how we are all God’s sons and daughters and that he loves each of us. “Things made sense in a new way. It helped me relate in a new way to teachers and students – in a loving way,” she added.
West, who has studied St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body teachings for about 25 years, said he grew up with a “starvation Gospel” in a stoic culture that repressed desire. Some people try to fill the void or the emptiness they feel with a steady diet of unhealthy indulgences that lead in the wrong direction and can cause a person to “crash and burn,” he said, adding the other option is to become an “aspiring mystic,” something we are all called to be -- when redirected with God’s grace.
The good news is that we all are invited to the eternal wedding feast, West said. He used the image of Christ as a bridegroom and the Church as his bride. He also explained that the family is the nucleus of society and if the family is breaking down, everything else will be affected, so we need to treat the family.
God had a plan for creation, West said, explaining that men and women are “organized for each other.” Rediscovering God’s divine vision put things back into balance. He also talked about how the word covenant was used throughout the Bible, pointing out that marriage is a covenant. Heaven is the eternal embrace between Christ and his Church, he added.
“God loves us and wants to fill us with eternal life,” West said, noting that love is at the center of Theology of the Body.
Jen Ricard, pastoral associate at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Cuyahoga Falls, shared her thoughts and experiences from teaching about Theology of the Body at schools and parishes around the diocese. She said if we meet people where they are, accompany them and lovingly share the truth of the Gospel, the Lord will do the rest.
A curriculum revision is in the works, O’Linn said, and Theology of the Body will be incorporated.
In explaining the implementation, he emphasized that “we are called to live as missionary disciples who encounter and accompany as we strive to deliver on our mission. The human dignity of all people and the teaching of the Church guide us as we act pastorally in our ministry of education.”
This Catholic identity is the “secret sauce” of our schools, O’Linn said. “We not only teach the faith as a subject, but we live it in the culture of the school, everything from greeting students with joy, to forgiving wrongs in discipline, to reconciling hurt and calling students and ourselves to growth in holiness. In short, we keep our schools places where we can live the commandments to love God and love one another.”
