Mass for Catholic Teachers in the Paisley Cluster

Friday in the 7^th Week of Ordinary Time

1.     In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches on the sanctity of marriage. We think that when it comes to relationships and family life, our world is complex, and so it is. As teachers who have to take account of the family circumstances of the children and young people you teach, you know that better than most. But in describing the chosen people of two millennia ago, Jesus characterises them as so unteachable which suggests that in these delicate and personal matters, things have never been simple and never will be. And yet Jesus’ teaching about marriage and divorce is nothing if not clear.

2.     The Catholic Church has given constant witness to that teaching down through the centuries to the present day.  It is the mission of the Catholic teacher and of the Catholic school to find the way to commend God’s purpose for man and woman, and for family life to our children and young people, both in the personal example of teachers and in the vision and values which are communicated in teaching and learning.

3.     Today’s Gospel happens to be about marriage, but it could have been about any part of the Christian mystery, about any aspect of Christian faith and life, and I would say that the Catholic teacher and the Catholic school have an essential role to play in communicating and witnessing to the message of the Gospel. I know this is a challenge. I know you take it seriously. That is why the Catholic school has a tangibly specific ethos, something which is beginning to be officially recognised by government, by education authorities and by HMI. I thank you for that and I encourage you to continue to reflect on your profession as a Catholic teacher as a vocation in which you are called to be evangelisers and models of Jesus Christ.

4.     So let me conclude by commending to you today’s exhortation from the Letter of St. James in which the apostle calls us to charity, understanding, patience and compassion. These are virtues which are very important in Christian life and in a school community.  Through these virtues we bring the love of Jesus to staffroom and classroom. Through these virtues, we become more like the Lord himself who is the shepherd and teachers of our souls.

St. Mirin’s Cathedral, Paisley, Friday 23^rd May 2008