MILLTOWN — Teachers from around the Diocese of Wilmington gathered Aug. 21 for their annual Spirituality Day. They spent part of it playing Scrabble.
That was the idea of Father Brian Lewis, the pastor of St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Lewes and a former high school French teacher. He used a specific set of letters — N, A, C, S, I and R — to help illustrate how those educators could help their students live the motto of this academic year, “We Walk by Faith.”
When playing Scrabble, the three-letter words tend to come to mind first. But that combination of letters has great potential, Father Lewis said.
“The S tile has the power to make something singular plural,” he said.
That can make something part of a community. Being in a community is important when teaching students. During those times when it is hardest to reach the students, “you might very well feel like you’re walking alone. But you’re not. You’re never walking alone.”
When he was teaching, which he did for 14 years before entering the seminary, Father Lewis said one of his greatest gifts was knowing that he was educating a genuine family. That family included his colleagues on the faculty, along with the students in his classroom.
“I was so grateful to know that I was not walking alone on the path that I was teaching,” he said.
It is important to know with whom you are walking, he continued. Catholic school educators have the “immense blessing” of walking with those who came before them. That includes not only fellow teachers but also the saints.
He encouraged the teachers to walk with their patron saints but also to branch out. St. Francis de Sales is a worthy model of holiness, but he walked with St. Jane de Chantal. The Blessed Mother sits at Jesus’ feet to hear his teachings, but there are also Mary Magdalen, Martha and Lazarus. Remember the shepherds at the Last Supper, Father Lewis said.
“Walk by faith with those who stayed faithfully by his side while the others abandoned him,” he said. “Walk by faith with these evangelists to spread the seed of the word.”
There are doctors of the church, such as St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas, along with a more modern saint, St. Pius X, who was pope in the early 20th century. Pius X lowered the age for children to receive the Eucharist. His feast day coincided with Spirituality Day.
“Since you will be walking by faith with these saints this year, they will be walking by you,” he said. “They have already selected you, and they are waiting for you to select them. They will become some of your closest friends in heaven.”
Father Lewis suggested the teachers talk about those saints in their classrooms and at back-to-school nights. Their lives will be changed, as will those of their students. The children will discover the joy of walking by faith with someone else.
Going back to the Scrabble example, Father Lewis said some words contain four letters, others five. But the best scoring potential comes from using all of one’s tiles. He said there is a word in the letters he supplied that is not part of everyday language, but it can be important in our lives.
If we walk too far into a forest, we risk losing our way. That’s where the six-letter word hidden in his letters comes in. That word is “cairns,” which is a pile or pack of stones used as a marker.
We should use the Eucharist as a marker, he said.
“By receiving the Eucharist at Mass this morning, you were walking by faith. Each time you come up for communion … you walk by faith. Each time you walk by faith to receive our Eucharistic Lord, you are experiencing your own Eucharistic revival,” he said.
“Be the Holy Spirit’s golden arrow pointing others the right way. Point them the way to heaven.”
Walking by faith is a lot like Scrabble, he said.
“Scrabble is not solitary. You can only play by connecting words to one another,” Father Lewis said.
Teaching is also about connecting. While endeavoring to make their students better, teachers should keep in mind that their primary responsibility is that everyone grow in spiritual health.
“You are here in the classroom to help them become saints.”
