St. Benilde Catholic School

Vist the St. Benilde Catholic School Website
www.stbenilde.com

Dear Prospective Families,

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

          The philosopher and Catholic convert Alasdair MacIntyre once wrote that the “liberal arts and sciences” — the heart of a well-rounded education — can only be understood by a certain kind of public. Unless a culture shares certain standards of judgment, a common sense of the past, and the skills to take part in common public debate, schooling becomes just another consumer product.

          To put it another way, education fails when it only amounts to pouring facts into students’ heads. Knowledge needs a framework of meaning. It needs to be more than just “useful.” It needs to be humanizing. Facts are valuable. What the facts mean is even more valuable. And teaching students how to reason intelligently for themselves, guided by a properly formed moral character and love for the common good, is the most valuable gift of all.

          This is the heart of a Catholic education. The Church gave birth to the idea of the university. Catholic philosophers, scientists and educators rank among the greatest in history. This is to be expected. For Catholics, faith and reason have always needed each other. As our Holy Father of happy memory, St. Pope John Paul II, often said, they naturally reinforce each other. Thus, educating the whole person — mind, body and spirit — has a very long heritage in Catholic schools. In fact, Catholic schools are often alone today in understanding what a “whole person” truly is in the context of being truly human. A citizen with a stunted spiritual life has been robbed of part of his or her humanity. And the public square has lost that citizen’s ability to fully contribute to the moral life of the community.

          I could tell you that St. Benilde Catholic School offers a great academic formation, and that our teachers make great personal sacrifices to do it. That would certainly be true. It does. I could also tell you that our parish school works very hard to instill in students a sense of mutual respect, civility and discipline sometimes lacking in other schools. That would also be true. But our parish school does not exist to compete with public schools, charter schools or offer a good “private” education. In fact, that is a bad reason to consider a genuinely Catholic education.

          St. Benilde Catholic School exists to form young people in a love for Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith. It follows that religion — even more than math or science or English or history, as vital as they are — should be the most important subject matter in our classrooms. In a Catholic school, the Catholic faith should be the backbone of every other field of study. A friend of mine has the words “to Jesus through math” emblazoned in her classroom, and she is exactly right.

          Of course, learning about God can never excuse a lack of academic excellence in any other subject. Just the opposite. Knowledge of the world, and the adult achievements that come from a great education, are tremendous ways of giving glory to God. But to be fully human, to be fully alive, excellence in mind must be matched by excellence in soul, conscience, character and personal virtue. Otherwise, our parish school will create thousands of very fine technicians and specialists — but not fully rounded human beings, and not a truly educated public.

          I am excited that you are considering a partnership with St. Benilde Catholic School for your child’s education and encourage you to spend quality time exploring the St. Benilde School website. I also welcome you to visit our parish school to learn more about the excellent educational and spiritual opportunities available.

          May the Blessed Virgin Mary guide us all in the privilege and joy we share in forming and shaping our youth according to the mind and heart of Jesus Christ.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr Matthew Johnston