Saint Patrick Students Explore Mercy During Catholic Schools Week
During a school-wide Catholic Schools Week celebration last week, students explored God’s mercy through the theme “Opening Doors to Hearts” by working in the five Life Of’s—Life of Spirit, Life of Relationship, Life of Mind, Life of Vocation, and the Physical Life. Catholic Schools Week is an annual celebration of Catholic education across the nation. The national theme this year was, “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.”
Examining their Life of Spirit, lower school and middle school students transformed their classroom doors into “Holy Doors”. Religion teacher, Marilyn Ertel, explains, “Pope Francis has declared this the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. During a Jubilee Year, the ‘Holy Doors’ are opened throughout the world. Saint Patrick Catholic School is participating in this merciful Jubilee Year by decorating our doors with images of mercy that remind us all of God's love, forgiveness, and compassion.” The colorful doors turned religion class into a Christian pilgrimage as students toured the halls and were led in discussions about their fellow students’ illustrations.
The lower school doors depicted the seven Corporal Works of Mercy. The middle schoolers decorated doors to show how mercy relates to the Life Of’s and is inherent in bible stories and scripture verses such as Noah’s Ark and the Shepherd Boy.
Reflecting on their Life of Relationship, students wrote letters to their future selves and placed it in their Journey Portfolios. In the letters, the students wrote about what mercy means to them. Many students pledged to live with intentionality and meaning, to not hold grudges, to forgive, and to be kind—today and in the future. Students were also encouraged to place notes of gratitude in the Blessings Jar in the main office.
Students explored mercy in their Life of Vocation by donating 144 coats to the “Warming Hearts with Coats” drive to benefit ForKids. Students also held another canned food drive and collected 9 bins of canned goods.
Fusing their Life of Spirit and their Physical Life, students revisited the Pope’s encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si. The beautiful weather took religion classes outside and allowed students to fully appreciate nature. Working in their Life of Mind, they engaged in meaningful conversations about the environment during lunch, prompted by quotes from Laudato Si. Students watched films in religion classes about environmental stewardship promoted by the Catholic Climate Covenant.
These Catholic Schools Week activities aid us in our call to share religious teachings with students and deepen their understanding of God's personal love for them, as well as their Christian responsibility for loving and serving their neighbor. Thank you to our faculty and staff for organizing these insightful activities for Catholic Schools Week and facilitating student growth in all of the Life Of’s.
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Saint Patrick Catholic School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. Saint Patrick Catholic School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.