It's that time of year, again, when the waking air has a chill crispness to it, and the hallways are lined with bookbags full of fresh spiral notebooks, binders still blank of the doodles of midwinter boredom and the good old marble-covered notebooks, as yet unsullied. Pencils have been sharpened, erasers are not yet lost, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and snacks are tucked into their reliable spots. The kids are going back to school in their sweaters. They crunch the newly dropped leaves under their feet as they walk.

If Christmas is heralded as the "most wonderful time of the year," these first days of a new school year might be called the most "bracing" -- the weather begins to cool, the leaves turn, the school buses lumber by, and it all brings with it feelings of such hope and possibility, tempered with just a little fear: What new challenges are before us, and how we will meet them?

As someone who benefited from a Catholic education, I want to focus here on the work of our parochial, diocesan and private schools. There are so many success stories and hard-working principals, faculties, parent groups and pastors who believe in the Good News of Catholic education and struggle to find fresh, creative ways to keep schools alive and flourishing!

Certainly not every young person can or does enjoy their Catholic education -- every generation has its malcontents (and they are usually, and reliably, unhappy about all schools, in general). Yet despite tales of "ugly uniforms" and "strict teachers" and "prayers before everything!" America's Catholic schools have been and continue to be valuable; in many places they offer sound, mostly affordable alternatives to families whose children are trapped in failing, or even dangerous, public schools.

It is absolutely true that the church relies on her schools for great faith formation and youth ministry programs -- from preschool through university, it is a dynamic tool of evangelization within the church itself.

But for a growing number of non-Catholic students, our schools are becoming an invaluable source of public formation, training up a thoughtful, able citizenry capable of thinking critically and within broad perspectives, throughout the country.

My memories of elementary school are still vivid and warm. Part of that memory is attending daily Mass during Lent, May processions, what seemed never-ending recitations of the rosary during May, Hot Dog Day, a tight and warm community and, of course, the good Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston.

Whenever I would forget my lunch bag (which was sometimes on purpose), the nuns would send me over to Sister Benjamin, who would make me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the convent kitchen. As I say, vivid and warm memories -- and tasty ones, too!

The leaves are still crunching underfoot, but many things have changed since those days. Still, the mission of a Catholic school is the same as that of the church: to proclaim that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and to help us to live out the Gospels in our families and our communities.

Any school will reflect something of the society in which we are all part -- a society that is often restless, hurt, living without hope. We live in a world that believes if we increase our income or have lots of toys, the truth of who we are will be made clear. And yet, we Catholics know that is not true -- that the man-made material things do not matter. And our Catholic schools understand that the God-hewn human mind, when taught to wonder (even amid scholastic disciplines), can transcend our worldly concerns and assist the Lord in healing and helping to make "all things new."

Please pray for all those educators and parents and pastors who dedicate themselves to preserving and adapting Catholic schools for our time and for the future. Pray for new schools to be built by the generosity of those who know their lifelong impact. And as the new school year begins, may God bless and keep us all.



- Bishop Robert Reed is an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, pastor of Sacred Heart/St. Patrick Church in Watertown and president of the CatholicTV network.