This coming week is a historic one here in Portlaoise Parish. Children will begin to experience the fantastic new school campus in Aghnaharna, where the new Holy Family Junior and Senior schools commence.
In Knockmay, the new Fantastic Scoil Bhride building also welcomes students for the first time.
Building work soon commences, for the new St. Francis school, on the site of St. Paul’s.
This is indeed a great time for Catholic education here in Portlaoise.
It’s back to school time. Back to school is also an expensive time. A time, when many parents greatly struggle to meet growing demands on limited resources.
Enthusiasm
Teachers and Students return with enthusiasm, or perhaps with a sense of apathy, to a process, that holds a huge responsibility, in shaping and educating our young generation.
Any school community can only be as healthy and vibrant, as it embraces the diversity, difficulties and challenges that are part and parcel of all our human stories.
Every young student has an abundant supply of gifts and talents. It is so important to encourage young people utilise their gifts and talents to the full.
The most important thing for all our young people, as they begin a new school year, is that they have a sense of happiness and freedom, in order to discover all that is new.
May the Lord bless all our school communities with health, peace and protection and may the gifts and talents that God has blessed us all with be realised to the full.
Ethos
I value greatly the inclusive and faith filled ethos of our Catholic schools.
I am nourished by the vibrant faith that is nurtured throughout our school communities. Faith contributes to a positive sense of self and helps build confidence in our young people’s lives.
I fundamentally disagree with a secular agenda that suggest faith in the life of a school community has no place.
The following short story speaks for itself……. It fits well into this season of “Back to School”
Chalk
There was a professor of philosophy who was a deeply committed atheist.
His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester proving that God couldn’t exist. His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic.
Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever really gone against him because of his reputation.
At the end of every semester on the last day, he would say to his class of 300 students, “If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!”
In twenty years, no one had ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would say, “Because anyone who believes in God is a fool.
If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground. Such a simple task to prove that He is God, and yet He can’t do it.”
And every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom, and it would shatter into a hundred pieces. All of the students would do nothing but stop and stare.
Most of the students thought that God couldn’t exist. Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through, but for 20 years, they had been too afraid to stand up.
Well, a few years ago there was a freshman who happened to enroll. He was a Christian and had heard the stories about his professor.
He was required to take the class for his major, and he was afraid. But for three months that semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to stand up no matter what the professor said or what the class thought.
Faith
Nothing they said could ever shatter his faith…he hoped.
Finally, the day came. The professor said, “If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!” The professor and the class of 300 people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the classroom.
The professor shouted, “You FOOL!!! If God existed, he would keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!”
He proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleat of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe.
As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away unbroken. The professor’s jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk.
He looked up at the young man and then ran out of the lecture hall.
The young man who had stood proceeded to walk to the front of the room and shared his faith in Jesus for the next half hour.
300 students stayed and listened as he told of God’s love for them and of His power through Jesus.
Best wishes for all returning back to school.
Fr Paddy Byrne
