“The beatitude we are promised, confronts us with decisive moral choices. It invites us to purify our hearts of bad instincts and to seek the love of God above all else. It teaches us that true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement – however beneficial it may be” To be “blessed” (from the Latin beatus) means to be happy, not in a self-serving way, but being joy, knowing that we are loved. (CCC 1723).
Blessed are the poor in spirit the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Have you ever asked yourself why that would be true? Poverty of spirit reflects a total dependence on God in all that we do; we turn to God, refer to God, witness our faith in the most intimate way-with God—not easy, but a true blessing.
The Beatitudes are a ‘countercultural truth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness? We have a vocation to live the Beatitudes—the happiness of being people of faith whose actions for doing good come from faith in God.
Our catechism states:” The Beatitudes reveal the goal of human existence, the ultimate end of human acts: God calls us to his own beatitude” (CCC 1719). And what is God’s own beatitude to which we are called—Jesus tells us the kingdom of God is at hand. We are God’s blessing . . .right here. . .right now. We become our faith.
Our U.S. Catholic Bishops write eloquently: “Because God loves you, you can care for the weak, remove injustices, alleviate poverty, annihilate oppression, and restore righteousness in our world. The love of God in you gives you strength to defend the unborn, support the elderly, and lift the hearts of those without hope. God’s grace in you helps you to see that in every person beats a heart yearning to be loved. Because God loves you, you have the power to touch hearts with compassion, heal wounds in those around you, and act selflessly.”
That beautiful reflection is how God blesses us, because God loves us we care for those who are vulnerable, work for justice, strive to alleviate poverty and oppression, and defend the unborn and support the elderly. We become our faith. With a poverty of spirit, a reliance on God’s direction in our lives, we approach our faith and how we live it.
How children are formed to live our faith begins with parents that make certain Christian values and a Christ-centered life is provided to their children. Here at St Helena Catholic faith formation is available in religious education–CCD, youth outreach programs, sacramental preparation, or in St. Helena Catholic School. And this week is a blessed reminder of the value of faith formation for children Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service.” What a rich tradition of blessings from God that we have at St. Helena Catholic School founded by the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael. This year we enter our 54th anniversary of Catholic education in the Napa Valley. Many St. Helena Catholic School graduates continue to have a major influence in the Napa Valley and beyond.” Our principal Mary Herboth will share with us about the theme and meaning later.
The gift of Catholic education is life long, through a lived experience of our faith values, –more than words expressed from biblical quotes, intercessory prayers at Mass, or recited in a classroom. Catholic Christian values are who we are and reflected in how we live. How parents and grandparents—all family members’ form the children with which God has blessed them. Their moral and faith values begin in the home. Families cannot leave the formation of moral values of their children to a school or their church. Ultimately, the actions in the family speak louder than the words in any classroom or pulpit. The school and the church are to help the formation of moral—right behavior in children. We pass on how our children behave toward one another by the way that we behave toward one another.
Beatitudes or blessings tell us that we are to offer love and hope for our children, as a sacred treasure and the blessings that God gives us. Those blessings are also reflected in our parish with the ethnically and economically diverse faith family in the many faces, races, and cultures that God has brought together. It is a sacred heritage of over 150 years and our school heritage of 54 years.
I know that there are many families that would love to have their children in our schools but cannot afford it. This past year we worked to make that dream and prayer a reality with God’s help and that of special donors and school family volunteers raising over $250,000 for tuition assistance. We must continue to strive and make our parish mission to be a beacon of hope to all families desiring a Catholic education.
At the center of the school are the principal, faculty and administrators who live their careers as ministry working for less pay than their peers in the public or other private schools. We need to raise our teacher’s salaries and benefits so that their ministry does not become burden. We need to see that our school building continues to be improved as we update our facilities that our children, faculty and administration deserve. As most know, there are school improvement projects as part of our Capital Campaign.
Our sacred stewardship of our buildings and grounds reflect our inheritance from previous generations. Where would we be without those who came before us and sacrificed to provide our present buildings and grounds. As we gather to share who we are in the Lord, it is with the knowledge that his guidance, love and hope must be a part of our mission for all our children and families; beatitudes we are called to become.