A Vision for Catholic School at Epiphany of the Lord - Part 4

I wanted to conclude this series of reflections by sharing with you a couple of stories that reveal, I think, the underlying reality of why a parish would embark on building a Catholic school. The first story was mentioned to me by a family here at Epiphany, whose children attended Pope John Paul II, which, if you’re not familiar, is a Catholic elementary and middle school located near Eldridge Parkway and Briar Forest Drive. The school is only 10 miles from Epiphany, but can take up to 40 minutes on a weekday due to morning traffic. I know firsthand, having driven to John Paul II just a few times to celebrate the school Mass there. That’s just a few times. There are some children from our parish who wake up a full hour earlier every day to be able to attend the closest Catholic school. We as adults expect and ultimately choose to make the morning commute to our workday destination. The heaviest burden falls on the children as they embark on a commute not of their own choosing.
When I recounted this story during our Master Plan presentation after Mass a few months ago, a mother later told me that her adult daughter, now herself a school teacher, said, “Thank you,” for acknowledging the sacrifice that she made as a child, waking up an hour earlier every day to attend a Catholic school while living in Katy. There are, as well, Epiphany families who choose not to attend a Catholic school because there is not one here in Katy. Building a Catholic school would be a challenging endeavor. Some might say they do not want to embark on this endeavor. But that is the nature of a true sacrifice—the physical and material dimensions of it is not very appealing (as Jesus modeled for us in the Garden of Gethsemane). But the spiritual reasons and the good that come out of a sacrifice are what we are choosing. This sacrifice, we would be making as a community so that our children (yes, they are “our children” because we belong to the same Body of Christ) are not made to take upon the larger burden of this sacrifice.
The other true story was recounted to me by Fr. Sean Horrigan, the Pastor of Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church (located on Huffmeister, off of Highway 290). Their parish opened the doors to the newest Catholic school in the Archdiocese just a little over a year ago. Fr. Sean tells the story of when their parish first announced the school, the parishioners who regularly attend daily Mass were the most vocal in questioning whether a school was necessary. They wondered how it would affect them, knowing that they would not directly benefit from a Catholic school. Fr. Sean recounted that as it turned out, these same parishioners now find the school children so adorable and they are the ones who love seeing them around the church campus every day…because it brings them hope, seeing the future of the Church in the school children.
When it comes to the Church and our participation in the life of grace, it’s not a proper question to ask, “Is there something in it for me?” When someone calls the Church and asks for her compassion and support upon the death of their loved one, the parishioners do not ask, “What’s in it for me?” No, the parishioners are the ones who take off of work to help set up for the funeral Mass, the parishioners are the ones who serve as cantor and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and the parishioners are the ones who prepare the Family Center for a funeral reception if the family requests one. And the truth is, with a school, there will be students to serve at funeral Masses during the school week. As a priest, it becomes too mechanical to celebrate a funeral Mass with just one or two adult volunteers because all of the children are at school. It’s a little unceremonious actually when I’m walking back and forth on the altar, because there are no servers. Funerals (and weddings) without altar servers are not as beautiful as the liturgy should be (on an important occasion like funerals and weddings). And trust me, with a Catholic school, we will never have a shortage of kids volunteering to “miss class” in order to serve and help at a funeral.
These are just a few of the realities that underlie our decision to build a school here at Epiphany. It may not be an easy endeavor—but it will be a holy one. There are many parishioners who are ready to begin. Let us continue to pray and rely on the grace of the Lord, who promises, as he sends his disciples to teach the faith, that he will be with them always and without end. ~ Fr. Tom Lam