This document is a prayer for educators, parents, and students during the pandemic. It asks God to bless and guide administrators, teachers, staff, and support their well-being and families as they continue Christ's teaching ministry. It prays that parents receive wisdom to make difficult decisions and not feel alone. Most of all, it asks God to enlighten and protect students, keep them safe from illness, and help them grow in grace. The prayer asks for these things through Mary's intercession and Christ our teacher.

2. A Prayer for Educators, Parents, and Students

3. All Holy, Loving, and
Compassionate God,
We thank you for your loving
care of all creation and your
protection and guidance over all.
We come to you today, with all
the faith and trust we can
muster in this time of the
pandemic. Please come to our
aid.

4. We bring the administrators, principals,
professors, teachers, school secretaries,
the support staff, and the maintenance
staff of our schools and universities
before you. In their vocation as
educators, they continue the teaching
ministry of Christ. We pray for your
blessings over their lives, their work,
their livelihood, and their families.
Guide them with your wisdom. May
they be empowered by your Spirit to
see the needs of their students and to
inspire those under their care.

5. We bring our parents, guardians, and
caregivers of our students before you.
They are faced with unprecedented
challenges. They have to make
decisions that require your wisdom,
understanding and insight. When
they feel overwhelmed, be present in
their lives. May they never feel alone
or abandoned. Strengthen them from
within, so that they might be a source
of strength, confidence, and hope for
their children

6. Most of all, we bring before you our
students who are learning online, at
home, or in person in our schools. As
they pursue their education in the
midst of the pandemic, enlighten
their minds. May they grow in grace
and wisdom. In areas where there is a
lack, provide them knowledge,
understanding, counsel, and
fortitude. Keep them safe from all
illnesses and protect them from all
harm.

7. We ask all these things,
through the intercession of
our Blessed Mother Mary,
and through Christ our
teacher. Amen.

8. This Seminar is
NOT JUST for
Religion
Teachers.

9. This Seminar is
for ALL Teachers
working in a
Catholic School,
whatever
subject we are
teaching.

10. CRITICAL
TIMES FOR
OUR MOTHER
THE CHURCH

11. Clerical Abuse
Life Issues: Abortion,
Contraception, Death Penalty,
Euthanasia
Family Issues: Divorce,
Homosexual Union
Teen Suicide & Depression
Western Media Catholic Bashing
Hollywood’s Depiction of Religion

13. A secret, an open secret: these world crises are crises
of saints.
God wants a handful of men and women 'of his own'
in every human activity. And then... 'pax Christi in
regno Christi — the peace of Christ in the kingdom of
Christ’.
St. Josemaria Escriva, THE WAY #301

14. THIS IS OUR VOCATION AND MISSION AS
RELIGION TEACHERS:
To produce the next generation of Saints
and Holy Men and Women.

15. Educators are called to holiness
and wholeness of life precisely
through their vocational work.
- Thomas Groome, Educating for Life

16. The Catholic educator must consciously
inspire his or her activity with the Christian
concept of the person grounded in the
Gospel and the teaching of the Church.
Above all, such a view attributes to the
human person the dignity of a child of God.
Moreover, it calls for the fullest
development of all that is human.
~ Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 15

17. Stop Teaching
Subjects.
Start Teaching
Children.

18. WE ARE ENTRUSTED WITH
STUDENTS TO TAKE CARE OF.
NOT JUST SUBJECTS TO TEACH.

19. WE ARE ENTRUSTED WITH
SOULS TO TAKE CARE OF.
NOT JUST LESSONS TO COVER.

20. Stop Teaching.
Start
Evangelizing.

21. Our students must be formed to fall in love:
with our Catholic Faith
with our Mother the Church
with our Catholic Life

23. This is why
IT’S A VOCATION,
more than just an
employment.

24. This is why
IT’S A MISSION,
more than just a job.

25. A teacher in a Catholic school
has a significant role in the
mission and life of the
Church. In partnership with
parents, pastors and the faith
community, a teacher is
expected to contribute to the
evangelisation and formation of
children in the Catholic faith.

26. 5 MARKS
OF AN
EXCELLENT
CATHOLIC
TEACHER

27. AN EXCELLENT
CATHOLIC TEACHER
RECOGNIZES THAT
EACH PERSON HAS
AN ETERNAL
DESTINY AND IS
CREATED IN THE
IMAGE OF GOD.
1

28. WE ARE ENTRUSTED WITH
SOULS
TO TAKE CARE OF…
NOT JUST SUBJECTS TO TEACH.

30. 1) Respecting each child of God
The role of an excellent Catholic teacher is
to embrace the dignity of humanity by:

31. 2) Preparing his or her students for
their eternal destiny
The role of an excellent Catholic teacher is
to embrace the dignity of humanity by:

32. OBJECTIVE:
NOT JUST TO PASS A SUBJECT…
BUT TO PREPARE FUTURE SAINTS

33. 3) Developing all aspects of the
child: intellectually, physically,
emotionally and spiritually.
The role of an excellent Catholic teacher is
to embrace the dignity of humanity by:

34. SEE:
not just CLASS NUMBERS
but persons is search of Life

35. 4) Seeking personally to grow in his
or her spirituality and faith.
The role of an excellent Catholic teacher is
to embrace the dignity of humanity by:

36. We transmit:
not just a Syllabus
but a whole PLAN OF LIFE

37. AN EXCELLENT
CATHOLIC
TEACHER
EXPRESSES AND
DEVELOPS A
LIVING CATHOLIC
VISION OF THE
WORLD
2

38. The role of an
excellent
Catholic
teacher is to
enliven a
Catholic vision
of the world by
1) Understanding
Catholic teachings
and doctrine

39. WE TRY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS TO:

40. WE TRY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS TO:

41. WE TRY TO KNOW HOW TO TALK
ABOUT:

42. The role of an
excellent
Catholic
teacher is to
enliven a
Catholic vision
of the world by
2) Living a
Sacramental Life
that reflects
Catholic values

43. This is why it is essential to have:

44. The role of an
excellent
Catholic
teacher is to
enliven a
Catholic vision
of the world by
3) Framing for
students a Catholic
perspective of
learning and life

45. AN EXCELLENT
CATHOLIC TEACHER
PERMEATES FAITH
AND WISDOM
THROUGH
PEDAGOGY AND
CURRICULAR
CONTENT.
3

46. The role of the excellent
Catholic teacher is to animate
a faith-infused curriculum by:
1) Fostering love for wisdom
and truth, and integration of
faith, culture, and life

47. The role of the excellent
Catholic teacher is to animate
a faith-infused curriculum by:
2) Cultivating in themselves and
developing in their students a
passion for truth that defeats
moral and cultural relativism

48. ABORTION
DIVORCE
HOMOSEXUAL UNION
EUTHANASIA
POPULATION CONTROL
CONTRACEPTION

49. “Catholic education aims
not only to communicate
facts, but also to transmit
a coherent,
comprehensive vision of
life, in the conviction that
the truths contained in
that vision liberate
students in the most
profound meaning of
human freedom.”
Address of the Holy Father Pope John Paul II to the Bishops of
the Ecclesiastical Regions of Chicago, Indianapolis, and
Milwaukee (USA) on Their “Ad Limina” Visit, May 30, 1998

50. The role of the excellent
Catholic teacher is to animate
a faith-infused curriculum by:
3) Teaching that truth is the
fundamental value that is critical
in the protection of freedom,
justice and human dignity

51. ABORTION
DIVORCE
HOMOSEXUAL
UNION
EUTHANASIA
POPULATION
CONTROL
CONTRACEPTION
Reproductive Rights
Right to Happiness
Love Wins
My Life, My Choice
Overpopulation/Climate Ch.
Sexual Freedom

52. The role of the excellent
Catholic teacher is to animate
a faith-infused curriculum by:
4) Merging consciously
‘faith’ and life

53. Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human
spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has
placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth- in a
word, to know himself- so that, by knowing and loving God,
men and women may also come to the fullness of truth
about themselves.
Saint John Paul II

54. AN EXCELLENT
CATHOLIC TEACHER
WITNESSES TO
OTHERS A LIFE LIVED
IN RELATIONSHIP
WITH JESUS CHRIST.
4

55. THE ROLE OF AN
EXCELLENT CATHOLIC
TEACHER IS TO
WITNESS BY:
1. Testifying to a
relationship with Jesus
Christ through words and
actions

56. In order to educate, it is necessary to
step out of ourselves and be among
young people, to accompany them in
the stages of their growth and to set
ourselves beside them.
Pope Francis

57. THE ROLE OF AN
EXCELLENT CATHOLIC
TEACHER IS TO
WITNESS BY:
2) Modeling fidelity to
truth and virtuous
behavior

58. What we say.
What we do.
What we post.
What we share. Like. Comment on.

59. THE ROLE OF AN
EXCELLENT CATHOLIC
TEACHER IS TO
WITNESS BY:
3) Sharing authentically
his or her journey of faith

60. Our life is our most important teaching
tool…
not the textbook
not the video
not the handouts
not the readings

61. THE ROLE OF AN
EXCELLENT CATHOLIC
TEACHER IS TO
WITNESS BY:
4) Living a life of joy and
hope

62. “How I wish your bearing and
conversation were such, that on
seeing or hearing you, people
would say, ‘This man reads the
life of Christ.’”
St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, #2

63. AN EXCELLENT
CATHOLIC
TEACHER
CONTRIBUTES TO
A SPIRITUAL
COMMUNION.
5

64. The role of an excellent Catholic teacher is to
contribute to a spirituality of communion by:

65. The role of an excellent Catholic teacher is to
contribute to a spirituality of communion by:

66. The role of an excellent Catholic teacher is to
contribute to a spirituality of communion by:

67. The role of an excellent Catholic teacher is to
contribute to a spirituality of communion by:

68. CRISIS OF THE
DIGITAL GENERATION

69. What then is my Mission as a
Catholic Teacher?

70. I am an excellent Catholic teacher,
nourished by a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ which inspires living a
life of integrity, fidelity and holiness. I give
authentic witness to this relationship
through faithful participation in the
sacramental life of the Church and joyful
Christian living.

75. Catholic schools carry out a great mission, to
serve God by building knowledge and
character... By teaching the word of God, you
prepare your students to follow a path of
virtue.
George W. Bush

76. “Teaching is a serious commitment that only a
mature and well-balanced person can undertake.
Such a commitment can be intimidating, but
remember that no teacher is ever alone: they
always share their work with other colleagues and
the entire educational community to which they
belong.”
Pope Francis, Address, 2015

77. Evangelization is, therefore, the mission of the
Church; that is, she must proclaim the good
news of salvation to all, generate new creatures
in Christ through Baptism, and train them to live
knowingly as children of God.

78. The Catholic school forms part of the saving mission
of the Church, especially for education in the faith.
It is precisely in the Gospel of Christ, taking root in
the minds and lives of the faithful, that the Catholic
school finds its definition as it comes to terms with
the cultural conditions of the times.

79. Specific character of the Catholic school :
its reference to a Christian concept of
life centred on Jesus Christ.

80. Integration of faith and culture

81. Integration of faith and life

82. IT’S ABOUT TIME
WE ASK THE
QUESTION:

83. What makes us,
Catholic Schools,
any different?

84. Why?

85. The specific mission of the Catholic school,
then, is a critical, systematic transmission of
culture in the light of faith and the bringing
forth of the power of Christian virtue by the
integration of culture with faith and of faith
with living.

86. … Catholic schools must be
seen as "meeting places for
those who wish to express
Christian values in
education"(19).

87. The Catholic school, far more than any
other, must be a community whose aim is
the transmission of values for living. Its
work is seen as promoting a faith-
relationship with Christ in Whom all values
find fulfilment.

88. 55. The Catholic school loses its
purpose without constant
reference to the Gospel and a
frequent encounter with Christ.

89. 5 Essential Marks of a
Catholic School

90. The Holy See’s Teaching
On Catholic Schools
by Archbishop J. Michael Miller, C.S.B.

91. 5 Essential Marks of a
Catholic School

92. 1
Inspired by a Supernatural
Vision

93. “formation of boys and
girls who will be good
citizens of this world,
loving God and
neighbor and enriching
society with the leaven
of the Gospel, fulfilling
their destiny to become
saints.”

94. 2
Founded on a Christian
Anthropology

95. Teachers should have a
clear understanding of
the human persons
entrusted to their care
and address the
requirements of both
their natural and
supernatural perfection.

96. 3
Animated by Communion
and Community

97. The school is a
genuine community
of faith, united by a
strong spiritual bond.

98. 4
Imbued with a Catholic
Worldview Throughout Its
Curriculum

99. Spirit of Catholicism
should permeate the
ENTIRE curriculum.
INTENTIONALLY
directed to the growth
of the whole person.

100. 5
Sustained by Gospel
Witness

101. Vital witness of its
teachers and
administrators, all
working to create a
Christian
atmosphere.

104. TEACHER’S PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH
O Blessed Saint Joseph,
guardian of the Child Jesus,
we pray that you will help us
in our daily troubles and tribulations
as we try to pass on to our students
all the teachings that they need,
to be able to succeed in their chosen professions.
Help us to teach,
and help them to learn.
Guide us all as you guided your most Holy Son,
Jesus.
Obtain for us the graces we need,
not only to teach and to learn,
but to stay on the path shown
by the Light of Christ.
Amen.

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HANDOUTS,
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108. For handouts, free materials, PowerPoint
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