Catholic Schools Convocation: “Hearts of Faith // Hands of Hope”
Feast of St. Monica // Church of the Nativity
August 27 2026
Words of Thanks
Let me begin with words of thanks – deepest gratitude to our honorees, deepest gratitude to Greg Farno and Sister Patricia and their colleagues in the Catholic Schools Office, and deepest gratitude to all of you: presidents, principals, administrators, & most especially those of you who expend yourselves daily in the classroom. As I think of what you do, day in and day out, the words of St. Paul, just proclaimed, come to mind: “I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him, you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and knowledge….” Let us begin this new academic year, lifting up our hearts and giving thanks and praise to the Lord our God.
Feast of St. Monica
We also begin this new school year on the Feast of St. Monica. This is more than an accident. It is providential. Because the tears Monica shed for her son, St. Augustine, instruct us. What do we learn from her tears?
There’s not a lot of reliable historical information about St. Monica, but two things we know for sure: First, she was the mother of St. Augustine, and another son, Navigius. And second, she prayed earnestly for the conversion of her sons. Indeed, her tears watered the earth as she poured out her heart to God, begging that they leave behind dissolute ways and embrace instead the way of Christ Jesus. We’re not so sure how Navigius turned out, but Augustine underwent a profound and total conversion. He was baptized by Ambrose, the saintly Bishop of Milan, and went on to immortalize his mother in his Confessions, as he thanked God for having listened to her prayers moistened by tears.
How Monica loved her children! She and her husband Patricius were able to give them the finest education. They wanted them to be well educated and successful. Indeed, Augustine was a brilliant student of philosophy and the arts, but that was not enough for Monica. More than that, she ardently wanted him to be converted and live, to forsake the ways of the world and to embrace the Gospel. She wanted Augustine to be a follower of Christ and a part of his Church. Yes, her love for her children reached beyond their earthly welfare. Her heart of faith longed to see hearts of faith in her children.
Hearts of Faith
Which brings us to our theme: “Hearts of Faith and Hands of Hope”. As we look to a new school year and as you begin each day anew, Monica’s tears invite you to contemplate the goal of a Catholic education. Surely, it is to educate the whole person—body, mind, and spirit. We rightfully rejoice when our students excel in academics, sports, & the arts. Our schools are rightly recognized for their excellence. Yet, Monica’s tears remind you and me that earthly excellence is not enough. Our hearts of faith desire to be God’s instruments in fostering and developing hearts of faith in those we’re privileged to teach. Our hearts of faith also want to steer them clear from whatever weakens or destroys their hearts of faith.
Indeed, the defining goal of Catholic education is to foster hearts of faith in those we educate. What does that mean? It means we’re serious about imparting the teachings of the Catholic faith. But the faith is more that knowledge – it is an invitation to our students to open their hearts to the transformative power of Christ’s love: a transformative love conveyed in Word and Sacrament, a love that transforms how we think, how we decide, how we interact, a love that makes a part of something larger than ourselves, a love that prompts us to give of ourselves to others, especially the poor.
Hands of Hope
But let us be clear: Despite its many strengths, Catholic education alone does not create hearts of faith. Monica’s tears teach us that only God’s grace creates such hearts. But her tears also teach us that we have a role to play: we are hands of hope. By our work of heart and hand, by our example of faithful discipleship, we are a channel through which the faith is communicated to our students. But we are not the only hands of hope, not the only channel of faith. We work in close collaboration with parents, the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith. As we seek to form young people in faith, we also recognize the need for their parents to be formed in the faith. That is why the partnership between schools and parishes is essential: as Catholic educators we strive to help school parents to be parish parents, and parishes should strive to help their parents also to become school parents. Together, school and parish should aim to help all parents reinforce at home what is preached from the pulpit and taught in the classroom. The hands of hope, then, are several: the parents, the school, the parish. All three combine to offer our young people “a future full of hope” – not simply earthly success but that success we call holiness & eternal life.
We’ve all been reading about the renewed interest in the faith on the part of many young adults, members of Gen Z. Many of these young adults have experienced the emptiness of our culture, the loneliness it breeds, the spiritual pitfalls it puts in their paths. And they have turned in unprecedented numbers to the Lord and to the Church, not because the Church’s members are perfect or because every question is answered – but because the Church, like Monica, continually sheds her tears for her children. For 2,000 years, the Church has consistently prayed for her sons & daughters, even as she has shown them the way to perfect peace and joy. We are part of that. Our hearts of faith. Our hands of hope.
Like St. Monica and like the Church herself, let us love our students so much that we want for them the highest good: Never a day should go by without our praying that they would believe in the Lord with all their heart and soul. Never a day should go by without our praying that they too would one day be so filled with hope as to employ their hands, their head, and their heart in conveying the faith to those who one day will follow after them. St. Monica, Mother of St. Augustine, pray for us!