“You are where God needs you to be this year,” Bishop Michael F. Burbidge said to an overflowing church of more than 1,500 Catholic educators.
Not a spare parking space was to be seen at the annual Opening Mass for Catholic Educators celebrated at All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas Aug. 19. Educators from Catholic schools across the diocese packed into the standing-room-only church to worship and reflect on the beginning of a new academic year.
In his homily, Bishop Burbidge reminded educators of their essential role beyond the classroom.
“You are one in the love that unites us as the Body of Christ, and this love calls us to look out for one another, especially a young person who can easily fall below the radar, to live and encounter one another, especially our colleagues when they’re feeling overwhelmed, to be patient with the challenging parents or overactive students, to forgive one another, including those who have offended us,” he said.
He empathized with the emotional struggles educators face. “You know well the fears and the hurts and the wounds and doubts that our young people experience, including those who deal with isolation and despair, emotional suffering,” he said. “To them, God sends you as a messenger.”
Despite the challenges educators face, Bishop Burbidge commended them on their academic pursuits. “I think that God has given you one of the most beautiful vocations possible, as he entrusts you to be with his children every day to hand on the faith, to teach the truth,” he said.
He ended with a message of hope: “I know this is hard work, so I encourage you to pray daily, as St. John Newman did, for holy perseverance.” Holy perseverance, he said, “shifts the focus for ‘What I am going to do’ to ‘What God will do for me.’ ”
At the end of Mass, Bishop Burbidge and Joseph Vorbach, diocesan superintendent, congratulated educators celebrating milestone anniversaries. Mary Baldwin, celebrating 25 years as principal of St. Andrew the Apostle School in Clifton, said that teaching has been “the best experience you will ever have in your life.”
“God has called me to this,” she said. “And what a blessing.”
Amelia Kyker, a sixth grade religion teacher at St. James School in Falls Church, said that witnessing a thousand-plus educators gather together in worship was “very encouraging.”
Having just completed the Camino de Santiago in Spain, Kyker said she hopes to bring the spiritual fruits of her pilgrimage to the classroom. “It took me six weeks, (and) it was wonderful. Every day, I worked on trust. And being a new religion teacher, that’s what I want to impart to my students: trust.”
Stephanie Zimmerman, a learning support specialist at St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, said the encouraging message of “holy perseverance” resonated with her.
“I teach high school, so they’re very strong-willed, determined individuals,” she said with a laugh. “We have our own plans, but God has better ones.”
