Pope to educators: Amid daily struggles, keep eyes on Christ
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
"How can we avoid losing hope and keep nourishing it every day? By keeping our gaze fixed on Jesus, the teacher and companion on our journey," Pope Francis told educators in the Vatican on Saturday.
The Holy Father received the delegation for the 80th anniversary of the Italian Catholic Teachers Association and of the Union of Italian Catholic Teachers, Principals, Educators, and Trainers, as well as for the 50th anniversary of the Association of Parents of Catholic Schools.
"This is a wonderful occasion to celebrate together, to reflect on your history, and to look towards the future," he said.
God's pedagogy
Recalling that their meeting takes place during the liturgical season of Christmas, "a time that reveals God's pedagogy."
Pope Francis therefore asked those gathered: "What is His 'educational method?,'" responding, "It is one of closeness, compassion, and tenderness," noting these three qualities are essential. "Like a teacher who enters the world of their students," the Pope said, "God chose to live among people, teaching through the language of life and love."
Moreover, God’s pedagogy, he added, calls us live in communion with Him and others "as part of a universal fraternity project," where "the family has a central and irreplaceable role."
'The family!'
Reflecting on the 'the family,' the Pope shared an anecdote someone told him after the individual had gone out to lunch one Sunday. At the table next to the man at the restaurant, Pope Francis recalled, was a family, "father, mother, son, and daughter—all glued to their cell phones, not talking to each other."
This man, the Pope noted, felt something was wrong and approached them, saying: 'You are a family, why don’t you talk to each other instead of staring at your phones?' The Pope said they just brushed him off and continued.
"Please, in families, let’s talk!" Pope Francis insisted, stressing, "A family is about dialogue, and dialogue helps us grow."
Jubilee
The Holy Father also remembered today's encounter takes place at the beginning of the Jubilee journey, and that the Holy Year "has much to say" to the world of education and schools.
Recalling the Jubilee's focus on 'Pilgrims of Hope,' the Pope stressed that a good teacher is a man or woman "of hope" because they dedicate themselves with trust and patience to a project of human growth.
"Their hope is not naive," he stressed, noting, "it is rooted in reality and sustained by the conviction that every educational effort has value and that every person has dignity and a vocation worthy of being cultivated."
'It breaks my heart'
"It breaks my heart when I see children who are not being educated, forced to work, exploited, scavenging for food or items to sell in trash heaps," he continued, saying it's "heartbreaking" and "there are so many of these children!"
In the midst of all of this, the Pope said, hope and keeping one's eyes focused on Jesus is the solution for getting through day-to-day difficulties and stresses, for the Lord is at our side and our 'companion.'
Cultivate peace, never bullying
The Holy Father commended any educational efforts at schools to promote peace, noting that 'imagining peace" lays the foundations for "a more just and fraternal world" through "every subject taught and through the creativity of children and young people."
"But if, at school," he warned, "you wage war among yourselves or engage in bullying, you are preparing for war, not for peace."
Pact among associations
In the midst of various challenges, Pope Francis called for the formation of a kind of “pact among associations” to better "represent the face of the Church in schools and for schools."
Telling them to focus on "the present" of schools, which "is also the future of society," he urged those gathered to think both of the young teachers "taking their first steps" and "the families who often feel alone in their educational responsibilities," and to give them genuine support.
Pope Francis concluded by imparting his Apostolic Blessing, reminding them that hope never disappoints, and once again, warning against bullying.
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