St. John Bosco (1815-1888) was a great man, priest and founder of the Salesians. He was beloved by all and had the unique gift of being able to form young people into becoming who they were meant to be. Bosco was emboldened to educate the young and enable them to meet the living God so they could become holy.

This year, his feast day, Jan. 31, falls during Catholic Schools Week. Reflecting on the words of this great saint can aid us in growing our schools to become more aligned with Christ as well as provide us with the fuel to form saints like he did. 

Father Bosco once said that “my life experience has been that only the practice of religion can assure concord in families and the happiness of those who live in this valley of tears.” Here, we can view the intersection of faith and education. Families are built on relationships. Faith hinges on one’s relationship with God. It is only rational to hold that the stronger one’s relationship is with God, the stronger one’s family ties are as well.

We also know that education is about preparing young people for the trials of this life. These “valleys of tears” are a guarantee while we are on earth. Those who have their surety in the kingdom of God are able to more properly handle the tribulations of life because they know that this world is not everything. Having faith be a part of one’s formation also gives one the knowledge that no matter how bad things get, God can always overcome the darkness. His resurrection can defeat anything. 

For this reason, St. Bosco was also known to have said: “If we want to have a good society, we must concentrate all our forces on the Christian education of the young. Experience has taught me that if we wish to sustain civil society then we should take good care of the young.” 

The youth are the future. Without engaging them in faith in a meaningful manner, the next generation may simply never think about God or even deny God. The explicit teaching of Christ must be a part of their education because, without him, truth and life often become relative and meaningless. 

The weight that educators bear is great. “If young people are educated properly,” Father Bosco once said, “we have moral order; if not, vice and disorder prevail. Religion alone can initiate and achieve a true education.”

Moral behavior follows from Catholic education because Catholic schools are built on reflecting on one’s life and constantly asking if one’s actions are aligned with what the Father, Son and Holy Spirit desire for us. Christian education is not about manipulating young people into blindly following the rules. Catholic schools, supported by the examples upheld in the domestic church, form saints who desire to seek union with Christ above all else. 

That means that students become holy, and holiness always leads to an increase in true sacrificial love. 

Ultimately, Catholic education is about following after Jesus Christ and treating others as Our Lord did. As Bosco said of Christ: “He bade us to be gentle and humble of heart.”  

Catholic educators strive to bring their students into closer union with Christ. They do so by accepting that students will not always get it right but loving them anyway and leading them towards the truth. They do so by witnessing to mercy inside and outside of the classroom. A Catholic school worth its name will foster discipleship above all else. Then it will experience what St. John Bosco did: God molds us into becoming greater than we ever thought we could be.