Teaching Philosophy

While Religious Education is an academic subject and must be treated as such, it has to be much more than that. As the old Roman Catechism states, we are called to know God, to love God, and to serve God in this world, and to be with Him in the next. No one can truly serve what they don't love, no one can truly love what they don't know. So it's vital to teach the truths and doctrines of our Catholic faith to provide the basis for a knowledge of who God is and just how much He loves us.

But knowing about God is not the same as knowing Him. The content of the faith only has value when it empowers the students to grow in a real, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So teaching the faith can't be a simple communication of doctrine or learning of prayers, but has to use the richness of Tradition, Scripture, and the Church's teachings to help the students realize that Christ is calling each of us to be a disciple, to apply His message of unbounded love and forgiveness in our own lives, and to do our best to "love one another as I have loved you." (Jn 15:12) Most importantly, the students must be encouraged and empowered to view their own lives and struggles through the lens of Christ, His Church, and His message of Good News.

By balancing strong catechetical content with an evangelical call to true friendship with Christ-- and doing so in a way that is engaging and relevant to the students-- Religious Education develops the intellectual and spiritual growth of the students.