Bishop O’Reilly’s Address at the Launch of Catholic Schools Week 2010

This week we celebrate Catholic Schools Week throughout the country, North and South. It’s not that we don’t value the great work being done in other schools and the great service being provided by them. Catholic Schools are the ones we have responsibility for and we take this opportunity to celebrate their work and to reflect on the vision that inspires it.

The very distinctive thing about Catholic schools is that they take Christ as their inspiration. Christ’s life and Christ’s teaching is where they get their vision and their energy. Christ came that we might have life and have it to the full, and that is what a Catholic school wants for each and every one of its pupils – that they may have life and have it to the full; that they may develop all their talents and grow in knowledge and skill, in love and in service.

This year’s theme for Catholic Schools Week is: Catholic Schools: A Light for Every Generation. It’s a suitable theme for schools that take Christ as their inspiration, because Christ is the light of the World. The challenge for our schools is to be places where the love of Christ is shown in practical ways – in respect for each other, especially the weak and the poor and the needy; in love; in generosity; in patience and kindness and tolerance. The kind of things St. Paul speaks about in his great passage about love in the second reading today….

But schools are full of human beings, large and small. There will be differences and rows now and then. People will not always be perfect. But the example of Christ will lead them to be humble, to be sorry if they have hurt others and to forgive if they have been hurt themselves.

There will be lots of activities in the schools to mark this week and I know the children will tell you parents all about them. This year it’s hoped we’ll involve grandparents too. Grandparents may be invited to schools because there is a day for grandparents during the week, and we all know how important grandparents are in the lives of their grandchildren and especially in handing on the faith.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all our teachers for their work and dedication in our schools. I would like to thank them especially for the work they do on your behalf in teaching your children about their faith and in preparing them for the sacraments. This is something I always do at Confirmation, but only the principals or the class teacher for Confirmation might be there to hear it, and only the parents of Confirmation children would be there. I want everyone to hear it. Everyone deserves to know about the work and dedication of our teachers and to show our appreciation to them.

I want also to thank another very important group of people in our Catholic Schools – the members of the Boards of Management. They provide a great service to the schools, to the Church and to the State. They provide it on an entirely voluntary basis – not even travel expenses. We have between six and seven hundred such people in this small, rural diocese. Their generosity with their time and talents should not be taken for granted. They are an outstanding example of good citizenship, of good leadership and good lay involvement in the mission of the Church. May we always have such generous people in our communities and parishes.

I went to school in Tullyvin. I remember the old cast iron road sign warning of a school ahead. The symbol on it was a flaming torch – education was even then seen as a light. The sign is long gone, and so is the school. But the light that was lit there still shines on and is being passed on through all the pupils who learned in it. Our theme this week is the same: Catholic Schools: a light for every generation. May all our schools be a light for this generation of pupils, and may they continue to be a light for every generation in the future.