Dr Leonardo Franchi (Lecturer, School of Education, University of Glasgow)
Prayer
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret (Matthew 6:6).
Catholic educators will appreciate that to know Jesus involves both study and prayer. The Compendium recognises this by its inclusion of an Appendix containing common prayers and doctrinal formulae.
The phrase ‘prayerful study’ encapsulates neatly the modus operandi of the Catholic scholar. Authentic Catholic Education will draw heavily on the faith of the teacher who has ‘known’ Jesus in prayerful study in his/her own formation and, consequently, teaches in a prayerful yet scholarly way.
A second point to note here is the structure of this section. The prayers are also presented in Latin as well as English. Some may regard this as a hankering after an alleged pre-Conciliar spirituality yet the Second Vatican Council itself recommended that Latin remain in use in the Latin Church (Sacrosanctum Concilium 36, 54). The Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI Sacramentum caritatis, goes further, asking that ‘the better-known prayers of the Church’s tradition should be recited in Latin’ (62). The use of Latin is a clear reminder of one of the roots of Catholicism. It is a common heritage which binds us together.
There are also prayers from the Byzantine, Coptic and Syro-Maronite traditions, reminding us that the Church can accommodate within its intrinsic unity a legitimate diversity of liturgical expression. This is a message which is needed in a fractured society which often looks upon difference with some suspicion.
Practical Exercise: Catholic educators may wish to consider including a short daily reading from the Compendium as part of their prayer life. The 598 short questions and answers are, in many cases, excellent points for meditation although they should not replace Scripture in meditative prayer (see Compendium, 570). This is a practice which could be recommended to students: perhaps some could be encouraged to come together informally for such a purpose – with their tutors there too.
Concluding Remarks
Catholic education is a gift to live, celebrate and hand on to others. We ask Mary, the Help of all Christians and Sedes sapientiae, to intercede for us.
A version of this paper was published in The Sower, July-September, 2007.
The Cloisters 