“Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear. It is not surprising, then, that in Him all the aforementioned truths find their root and attain their crown.” - Gaudium et Spes, 22
Reflection on Catholic Education
All truth is rooted in and crowned with Christ Himself. He radiates in and through truth, simply insofar as it is true. Thus, the vocation of a teacher is to allow Christ to shine forth. The teacher does not create or define truth nor does he deliver it as if it is some packaged good, capable of being contained. The teacher co-operates with Christ in each lesson communicated. Whether the lesson being taught is a grammar quiz or how to navigate the school day, the teacher is an instrument of Christ revealing Himself in truth.
The easiest way for the teacher to attend well to this co-operation is to see, as St. John Paul II does above, that imitating Christ’s love does the work of placing truth in its proper place. The teacher, then, must imitate Christ’s love. For Christ, that meant self-gift by dying on the Cross. For the teacher, that self-gift can look as particular as saying hello in the morning to as broad as keeping the classroom well-ordered. The teacher is a presence in the lives of the students, and everything communicated by the teacher is an expression of his self-gift for the students. In being attentive to this, the teacher allows Christ to radiate through his work, calling the students forth to a higher understanding of truth than could ever otherwise be attained.
Ms. Hogan is an alumna of Mount Royal Academy, graduating in the Class of 2019. She went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts with a concentration in History and an Apostolic Catechetical Diploma from Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts in 2023. During her time at Magdalen, Ms. Hogan visited Mount Royal to serve in various capacities, including as an intern through the Cardinal Newman Teaching Institute.
Ms. Hogan has long had a passion for education. Her family has been involved in Mount Royal since its second year. Over those years, she has seen many generous souls pour themselves into the mission of the school. She hopes to imitate those sacrifices in serving as teacher and coach. Ms. Hogan lives in Newport and attends St. Patrick Parish