WARWICK —Catholic school administrators marked the beginning of a new school year by gathering for a Mass and meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Bishop Robert C. Evans was the celebrant of the Opening Mass of the 2010-11 School Year, which was followed by the commissioning of the administrators to uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church and faithfully guide those lives entrusted to their ministry as educators.
“Few people influence us as much as teachers,” Bishop Evans said in his homily. “In a Catholic school setting, this influence becomes all the more pronounced since teachers are able to address matters of faith and conscience, not only science, math and history. By their hard work and selfless example, they instruct us not only in academic discipline and intellectual pursuits but in the search for truth and meaning.”
Bishop Evans suggested that every classroom in Catholic schools should have a cross displaying the crucified Christ.
“This helps to establish the proper atmosphere for educating our children not merely in the secular sciences and disciplines but in the greater and broader vision of a life to be lived for and in Christ,” Bishop Evans said.
“You who administer and you who teach are to see to it that the lamps of our children’s minds are filled with the oil of faith, hope and love so that, like the wise virgins in the Gospel parable, they are always and everywhere prepared to recognize their Lord and Master upon his coming into their lives,” the bishop emphasized.
