Pastor’s Letter: January 28, 2024

Pastor’s Letter: January 28, 2024

26 Jan 2024 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear friend,

This week the Catholic Church in the United States celebrates “Catholic Schools Week.” The bishops decided on this celebration as a means to joyfully celebrate what our schools represent and to build toward the future. The Church consistently teaches that parents are the first educators of their children in the ways of faith. Catholic schools exist to help parents in the transmission of the faith to our youth. St. Philomena School takes the transmission of the faith as its primary reason for existence. We teach the kids about the moral life and about how everything we say and do is a reflection on what we believe about God and ourselves. Faith is obviously a life-long journey and something that the whole Body of Christ has a role. THIS BULLETIN is evidence of the handing on of faith taking place in our school. I hope you enjoy reading some of the kids’ reflections. Our kids will partake in many activities this week to help them more deeply reflect on the great opportunity their parents have given them by enrolling in St. Philomena School.

As we emphasize and celebrate our Catholic School and the opportunity we have to spread our faith in Jesus, the school will host an open house. The open house will be on Sunday, January 28 from 10 to 11 am. You are welcome to walk through the school and visit the classrooms and teachers. We always desire to welcome new families and students into our church and school. While the school and church is a bit of a revolving door with graduations and families moving to other cities, the culture of our church and school is extremely valuable to welcoming new people and forming us in the truth of the Gospel. We always desire to communicate and live the truth of our Catholic Christian faith to draw others into the beauty of our faith. The Catholic education in our parochial school is in effect a means to handing on the love of Christ. I pray that our grade school and our Catholic High School, Peoria Notre Dame, consistently meet the needs of our children spiritually, physically, and intellectually. It is my desire, as a Catholic priest, that all of our kids experience our Catholic education. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me, our principal Mr. Dippold, or Peoria Notre Dame. We don’t want any roadblocks to the opportunity for Catholic education, especially financial. Please pray for the success of our school, for our teachers and staff, and especially for the students. May we all work together to grow in our love for God and neighbor, while understanding more about the beautiful world He created. Please join me in thanking our teachers for their excellence in service and dedication to the mission of St. Philomena Catholic School.

God bless,

Father David