And here is what is expected of you as parents, students and families of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic School:
To Worship
As Catholic, we gather to celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday (the Lord's Day). We expect all members of OLPH Catholic School to gather for Sunday worship unless they are unable to do so because of illness or travel. It is when we gather on the Lord's Day to be nourished by Word and Sacrament that we remember who we are and are given food for the journey. In this task we fulfill our call to worship the God who created us and are given the grace we need to continue to love God and one another.
To Grow
To become a follower of Jesus Christ is to be his disciple. Jesus said, "This is the will of my Father, that you should become my disciples" (John 15:8). A disciple literally means "one who us learning." We believe that learning and growing are lifelong tasks. When we cease to learn and grow we cease to be disciples and will experience stagnation in our spiritual lives. We expect every family of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic School to commit to at least one program of Growing Disciples Formation Series. Each grade has a specific topic they are learning as disciples of Jesus. We will provide parent sessions to enable you to grow with your children in deeper meaning and understanding of our roles as Jesus' disciples. In this way, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic School community becomes healthy.
To Serve
Jesus said, "The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve" (Mark 10:45). The essence of the Christian life is to serve God and one another. The Church is not healthy when it forgets this truth. We are called not just to serve individually, but to do so corporately as the Church. This way we give witness that the Church is the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. We also believe that every parishioner, without exception, has something to offer, something they do well and can do for the sake of the Kingdom of God. We expect every school family to serve the Church by being involved in the Celtics in Mission service outreach opportunities.
To Connect
The Church is a community of believers and not simply a collection of individuals who gather for one hour a week. Christian community is one in which we are truly accountable to one another and accountable for one another. This task needs to be taken up with due diligence as the size of our Catholic School community makes it a real challenge. We expect every school parent to contribute to the task of building community by seeing themselves as an integral part of the life of this Catholic School and being intentional about reaching out and connecting with others. There are many ways to connect with the OLPH Catholic School community including the Dad's Club, Mom's Group, Booster Club and your Home Room Mom's.
To Give
We expect all school families to be generous in proportion to what they have received. We give not to just meet the bare minimum. We give out of gratitude to God, and the more the school community receives, the more we can do for the building up of God's Kingdom, the more we can help the poor, the more programs we can run to help others grow. No one is excluded from this. If someone has less, they give less. If someone has more, they give more. This offering of generosity is given in different forms, for some it's time, for others it's their gifts and talents, still other might have the means for in-kind donations and others will make a generous financial gift. Your generosity will be honored and put to good use for building up the Kingdom of God here at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Again my thanks to all of you taking the responsibility of being the primary educators of your children to grow spiritually, mentally and physically in faith, knowledge and service for allowing us to collaborate with you in this important endeavor.
And if you'll permit me, before we move into the rest of the evening over on campus, I would like to give you An Old Irish blessing:
May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!
And may almighty God bless you.
The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit.