Many resources focused on the legacy of St. Patrick have pointed to Thomas Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization for irrefutable evidence:
[A]s the Roman Empire fell, as all through Europe, matted, unwashed barbarians descended on the Roman cities, looting artifacts and burning books, the Irish, who were just learning to read and write, took up the great labor of copying all of western literature—everything they could lay their hands on. These scribes then served as conduits through which the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian cultures were transmitted to the tribes of Europe, newly settled amid the rubble and ruined vineyards of the civilization they had overwhelmed. Without this Service of the Scribes, everything that happened subsequently would have been unthinkable. Without the Mission of the Irish Monks, who single-handedly re-founded European civilization throughout the continent in the bays and valleys of their exile, the world that came after them would have been an entirely different one—a world without books. And our own world would never have come to be.
Then this author takes that claim to whole new level, marveling at the mission of Catholic schools in the face of progressive-activist vandals:
The result of this purging is the growth of an entire population of children who have never read classic literature, aren’t able to present a logical and literate argument, do not understand the ultimate underpinnings of natural law on society, and have no awareness of the trove of the great histories and philosophies of civilization. They are becoming more ignorant and even more proud of their ignorance as they seek to attain the hollow “holiness” of virtue signaling and the “pinnacles” of virtual ad hominem attacks.
Just as students who don’t know Moses can’t truly understand the Underground Railroad or the writings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (according to Camille Paglia), schools that don’t require mastery of traditional grammar or maintain that formal grammar is unjust are cruelly crippling their students as writers, readers, and lifetime learners.
After compiling the laundry list of benefits of Catholic schools, she offers this inspiration from another source:
Catholic school success is not simply the product of rigorous curriculum, structure, and order. It’s also the result of a school culture animated by the belief that every child is made in the image and likeness of God and focused on drawing out of every pupil their own God-given potential.
Careful observers will also see that Catholic schools’ academic results are not actually the main goal; rather, they’re byproducts of schools that focus on forming young people not just with the skills that will make them financially successful, but also with the habits of virtue and values that will make them choose to do good and contribute to their communities.
I am proud to be part of the salvation of mankind by teaching the faith at a Catholic school! I am proud to bask in the true legacy of St. Patrick!
I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.
https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/lorica-of-saint-patrick-349
No comments:
Post a Comment