Last year, our diocese received an extraordinary gift to strengthen and sustain efforts to transform Catholic education in Maine. From that gift, the Mother Cabrini Maine Catholic Education Initiative was established. Its mission is clear. The Mother Cabrini Maine Catholic Education Initiative is a work of the Diocese of Portland to proclaim the Gospel, bring others to Jesus Christ, and build the reign of God through Catholic education. In essence, this initiative, as all Catholic education does, serves the mission of the Church. In this article, I will examine concrete ways in which Catholic education fulfills that mission.

When you examine what makes a Catholic school distinctive or consider Catholic homeschooling, you notice important differences. The first is the curriculum. Every Catholic curriculum includes theology. Theology, the study of God, is an extraordinary field of study because no matter how much one learns, it can never be exhausted. At the heart of theological study is God Himself. Although God has revealed Himself to us through Jesus Christ, sacred Scripture, and the teaching of the Church, He remains a mystery. We can truly know Him, but we can never fully comprehend Him.

Theological study takes many forms, including moral theology, sacramental theology, biblical studies, and pastoral theology. Far from being dull, theology is inexhaustibly fascinating. If it ever seems otherwise, it is not the content that lacks depth but perhaps the way it is being presented. Imagine dedicating your life to a study that continually opens new horizons and never reaches an end.

At the center of theology stands this astonishing truth: God is love. In the First Letter of St. John, we read, “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16). If God is love, then the fundamental call of the human person is to remain in love with God and with one another. Catholic education assists students in their lifelong journey to know, love, and serve God, who is love. An essential dimension of this formation is learning to love others rightly and well. Students in Catholic schools and homeschooling programs are guided to understand what authentic love truly is.

When the Gospel is proclaimed clearly and sincerely, the message that God loves us unconditionally must resound with confidence. God loves us. Why should we be afraid? God loves us. Death no longer has the final word because of what Jesus has accomplished through the paschal mystery: His life, death, and resurrection. God loves us. In response, we are called to love ourselves properly and to love others generously. This is the Gospel at its core. Jesus is Lord, and He is love incarnate.

In this sense, our Catholic schools and homeschooling programs are schools of love. They guide, form, and encourage students to discover what real love is and what it does.

Real love is a gift. It is self-gift. As Jesus gives Himself for our redemption and salvation, authentic love involves freely giving oneself for the good of another. This self-gift is never selfish or self-serving. We give ourselves in love to help the beloved become his or her true and best self. The effect of being loved authentically is transformation. We become who we were created to be. In a profound way, love participates in redemption. When I am loved authentically, the one who loves me cooperates with God’s saving plan in my life. In this graced exchange, both the one who loves and the beloved advance along the path of becoming their truest and best selves because they both give and receive love.

Catholic education is not merely about teaching respect, manners, prayers, and ritual observances. It is about helping students truly know they are loved by God and created to love God and others. This is especially urgent today when there is widespread confusion about the meaning of love. Catholic educators are entrusted with addressing this distortion and presenting the beauty of authentic love.

Real love attracts because it never seeks to harm or use another. If I have a friend who genuinely desires my good, I know that I will not be used. Using another person is not love. Jesus never used people. He invited them. “Follow me” were His words. Those who were drawn to His way of love formed a community. Love attracts. Selfishness and hatred divide and repel. By teaching students both how to love and that they are capable of loving, Catholic education builds community around Christ and His Gospel. That community is the Church, a communion of love.

We are sinners, and we often fail to love as we should. Yet the Church provides a home where we can grow in love. Through the sacraments, gifts to the Church, we are strengthened and healed. We cannot become holy alone. We cannot reach heaven by ourselves.

Finally, Catholic education builds the reign of God here and now. I am not referring simply to the many hours of service that Catholic school and homeschool students generously provide, important as those are. I am speaking of something deeper and more enduring. To build the reign of God is to shape culture itself. One foundational principle of the reign of God is the inherent dignity of every human person from conception to natural death. What a bold truth: Every person possesses value not because of what he or she does or has but because of who and whose he or she is. When this conviction is learned, embraced, and embodied, it changes the culture. It changes the atmosphere in which we live. It influences systems, institutions, and decisions. Catholic education is transformative in the truest sense.

Catholic education is a great gift to the Church and to the world precisely because it serves the mission of the Church: to proclaim the Gospel, to bring others to Jesus Christ, and to build the reign of God.