Feast of St. John the Evangelist

Across the Christian world, the feast of St. John the Evangelist on December 27 is a timely moment to remember the famous opening of his Gospel: 'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'

These famous lines, so often recited in grave tones in churches across the world, are one of the first signs of the Christian engagement with concepts arising from Greek philosophy. It is here that the roots of the partnership between faith and reason are found  - and from this dynamic partnership emerged the Catholic intellectual tradition which, as we know, is the foundation of western education.

Perhaps we can use these days of rest to reflect on the roots of our contemporary educational systems. This is not a call to remain fixed (or fixated) in the past but it is our duty as educators to become more and more familiar with the family tree of educational thought in order to plant the seeds for the future.

Once again, happy Christmas 2013.

Holidays and education

Education continues when schools are closed for holidays. This might be self-evident but we so often conflate education and schooling that we could be forgiven for thinking that education is a school-based endeavour.

At this time of the year education in the virtues is important, especially the virtue of detachment from a surfeit of materialism and the virtue of charity. Families and various community groups, including our schools, have a wonderful opportunity to demonstate these virtues by going to the aid of those in any kind of need.

In looking towards 'the other', we educate ourselves in detachment from our own needs by the practice of charity towards the needs of others. The exchange of gifts between friends and family is of little merit if we cannot give freely of our time and interest to at least one of the many social initiatives designed to promote human flourishing.

During this Christmas holiday, perhaps we can take some time to consider ways in which we will support some worthwhile project in 2014. Who knows, we might even decide to start up one of own!

A Reason Open to God

The election of Joseph Ratzinger in 2005 brought one of the foremost theologians of Catholic Church to the Papacy. As an academic, he had played a significant role in the Second Vatican Council. Afterwards he helped to found the influential journal Communio, a publication intended to ensure that the Council’s legacy remained faithful to the “Catholic intellectual tradition”. In the following decades, he interrogated the fertile fields of liturgy, the relationship between faith and culture and inter-faith dialogue, to name just three. 

Click here to see the full  review of A Reason Open to God on www.mercatornet.com