Over a year ago I published a Father's Focus entitled "Catholic." In that article I stated, "We are a Universal Church. It is such a privilege to belong to a Church that is united everywhere around the globe. The Catholic Faith is not a faith limited to a particular race, class, culture, or language. Our parish is itself a universal parish. Our diversity (culture, race, class, and language) is a splendorous expression of our unity (one faith, one Lord, one baptism). We are a community made up of a wondrous variety of classes and cultures, races and languages, and we must both rejoice in this and protect this."
This diversity, both socio-economically and racially, is not only seen in our parish, but in our school and PSR program. In fact, our school and our PSR program is microcosm of our parish. As with our parish, we can be very proud of the fact that our school and PSR program is a splendorous mix of culture, race, class, and language. And, in my opinion, this multicultural education is precisely a result of the stewardship way of life.
In both our school and our PSR program, we are proud to serve many children from many diverse backgrounds, no matter what their race or economic status may be. What a gift!
We are economically diverse. Our school is funded through the generosity of parishioners committed to the Stewardship Way of Life. That means that we don't fund our school by tuition like other private schools do. It seems to me that, in a tuition-based school, there would be less socio-economic diversity. Such a school would necessarily limit its enrollment to those households that can afford the cost, even if that means serious financial sacrifice. Yet, in a stewardship school such as St. Francis, by sharing the financial burden of education as we do, we can reach more families with Catholic education who would otherwise not be able to afford a tuition-based school. This means families from various financial strata as well as large families can have a Catholic education without the immediate burden of tuition.
Part of our mission at St. Francis is Catholic education of our youth, whether in PSR or in the school. Our diversity is a strength, not only of our school or PSR program, but primarily of our parish. The greater our diversity, the more courageously we will spread our faith and the more hospitable we will be to everyone, regardless of their demographic.
How blessed we are that by supporting the mission of our parish we are encouraging the universality and diversity of our Catholic faith!