Citizens of Heaven

Understanding one important job of Catholic school teachers

08/10/2023

Mt 25:1-13 Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell sleep. At midnight, there was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise ones replied, 'No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.' While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!' But he said in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.' Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

Do you know where I was before I came here to Immaculate Conception? The bishop let me take three months to live with the Carmelites and discern a religious vocation. A friend asked me: “So you’re thinking about becoming a Carmelite nun??” Actually, my uninformed friend did not know there are also Carmelite friars who are brothers and priests. Another friend asked, “Aren’t Carmelites supposed to keep silent most of the day? Are you going to be able to stop talking like that?” I answered: “You are right: being quiet would be much harder than becoming a Carmelite nun!”

But during those three months I learned a lot about the Carmelite order, and I also adopted some new patron saints. One of these heroic saints was Edith Stein, whose feast day we celebrate on August 9. She was raised Jewish but later became Catholic, and joined the Carmelites in 1934. Besides leading a life of prayer and penance, she was a brilliant philosopher and theologian. Her writings had a huge impact on Pope St. John Paul II, who canonized her a saint in 1998.

Because she was ethnically Jewish and living in Nazi Germany, she was rounded up by the Gestapo, and murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp on August 9, 1942. And that is why we celebrate the feast of Edith Stein on August 9, because how saints die is the true sign of how much they loved Jesus. And, of course, their death day is really their birth-day in heaven. So it is a cause of joy, not sadness.

I mention Edith Stein to you today because I invite you to adopt a patron saint for yourself as a Catholic school teacher. Why? Well, for two reasons. First, because when we read the lives of the saints and hear of their heroic actions and courageous sacrifices, we are inspired to do the same. We emulate them because they emulate Christ. If Jesus had lived in Nazi Germany in 1942, he would have behaved a lot like Edith Stein. Saints are how we answer the question: what would Jesus do (WWJD)?

Second, remember that one of the hallmarks of a Catholic school is holiness. That is, Catholic morality does not aim for the minimum – what do I have to do to avoid going to hell? – but for the maximum: how do I become a saint? So, pick a patron saint for yourself – maybe St. Francis of Assisi if you are fond of creation and God’s creatures. Or, you might like St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who started Catholic schools in the United States. Learn about their life, share their stories with your students, and celebrate their feast day with a Sonic drink. Encourage your students to pick their own patron saints.

I had a friend in the seminary, who had a huge devotion to St. Agnes, an early martyr for Christ. Every January 21, her feast day, he would buy a huge sheet cake for everyone in the seminary (there were over a hundred seminarians). The cake was red velvet inside, to represent that Agnes was a martyr who shed her blood for Jesus. And the frosting was white to symbolize her purity because she remained a virgin. That is a simple but beautiful example of how we can adopt a patron saint and try to live more like them.

Chew on this thought this coming school year: our school is supposed to make little saints, and not just good citizens. Why? Well, because saints are another name for the citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

Praised be Jesus Christ!