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January 11, 2024
"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
Luke 10:27
Dear Sacred Heart Schools Community,
In Luke 10, a scholar tested Jesus by asking, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responded to embrace and live these words: You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. This may be the most difficult call for us as Catholics/Christians. The call to love others transcends much of what our current society tells us. Just watch the news, social media, or daily interactions between others, and the call to love each other is often missing, or the message is the opposite of the gospel message of Jesus. It is more important than ever that, as a Catholic school, parents, and community, we focus on loving our neighbor.
As a Catholic Ursuline school, we embrace the core value of “reverence” and define it through our actions, resulting in mindful relationships built with compassion. Sacred Heart sees reverence as an abiding respect for God, ourselves, each other, and all of creation. Jesus reminds us to “love your neighbor as yourself.” The Catholic church teachings are clear: we are to care for and love each other with our hearts, actions, and thoughts. This charge to love each person can be one of the most difficult commandments for each of us. It requires us to look at the world through another’s eyes. Loving your neighbor encompasses the Catholic teaching that all life is sacred, and as such, we join the Church in praying for an increase in respect for the dignity of every human life.
In January, the call to be reverent to others is the overarching theme of holidays, celebrations, activities, and events. Just as Sacred Heart Schools will commemorate these important milestones, and each member of our community may embrace and experience them uniquely, the dignity of all human life is at the heart of each.
This month, we remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, “…stick to love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” The Catholic Pastoral Letter, “Open Wide our Hearts,” shares our commitment to love our neighbors, and our Archbishop Fabre was key in drafting the document to respect the dignity of others. As Catholic Ursuline schools, we believe that the inherent value and dignity of human life is a gift from God.
Our foundress, St. Angela Merici, charged her company of women to be out in the community and serve. She was a trailblazer of her time for women’s leadership and service to others. St. Angela’s wisdom and loving heart are at the core of all we do at Sacred Heart Schools. Her feast day is January 27th, and we celebrate her legacy and our beloved Ursuline Sisters of Louisville on that day.
Our month ends celebrating Catholic education through Catholic Schools Week. We are blessed that we can teach and share our faith throughout the school day with our students and colleagues. We do not take working in a Catholic school for granted. Each day, we are blessed to serve students through Catholic education and continue to share the gospel of Jesus, including the passage above.
Thank you to our parents for entrusting your child’s education to us and our SHS community for supporting our Ursuline education.
Together in Heart,
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