CLARKSVILLE — St. Louis School in Clarksville – located just nine rolling miles southwest of the Howard County home of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence – is in the second year of a pioneering faith formation program that could prove to be a model for preserving Catholic identity in schools across the archdiocese and beyond.
Developed by Principal Deborah Thomas and Father Michael DeAscanis, pastor, the program started at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year. Its initial focus is on teachers, with students and parents to follow in later phases.
“One of the things we’ve discussed with our teachers is that the school is only as Catholic as the teachers are Catholic,” Father DeAscanis said. “The school in itself doesn’t have some magical entity that when you walk in the doors, it’s there. Somebody has to create it.”
The pair worked with Dr. Donna Hargens, archdiocesan superintendent of schools, to create the structure for the program. Hargens granted the school three extra half days which, combined with existing professional development time, allows for gatherings every month, with a daylong retreat at the Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City before the school year begins.
At the retreat, teachers are placed in small groups guided by colleagues who are recruited and prepared for the role beforehand.
“We found that being a small group leader isn’t an easy thing where you just walk in and say, ‘Okay, I’m going to lead these discussions,’” Thomas said. “We tried to pick people [who] are noticeably faithful and have the drive and understand evangelization. They have that presence to welcome people in.”
Small groups form the core of the monthly sessions, which start with lunch and fellowship. Videos from “Emmaus Road Journey” (created by Franciscan University of Steubenville and required by the archdiocese for all teachers and staff) and small-group discussion follow. A half-hour of eucharistic adoration and lectio divina (prayerful reading of the Scriptures) led by Father DeAscanis comes next, which many say is their favorite part of the afternoon.
Second grade teacher and group leader Kathy Johnson, a member of the parish for 29 years, recalled as a child a picture in her room of the resurrected Christ surrounded by children, one of whom is asking what happened to Jesus’ hands. Having lost her brother at 12 – and subsequently three other siblings – she’d felt God had betrayed her.
“I’m in adoration and I get this overwhelming sense – I’m thinking about that picture – and I got this sense that Jesus said, ‘I know what it’s like to be betrayed.’ Because of his hands. It was a healing moment.”
She still has the picture.
Deep faith experiences such as that have helped form many of the small-group leaders, who guide the final part of each session, fostering discussion of the faith centered on the Gospel reading for the following Sunday.
Education is critical, too. Religion teacher Lara Miller, who notes she was formed by her parents, the Dominican Sisters at Mount de Sales and the Jesuits at St. Joseph’s University outside Philadelphia, said the program “encourages reading the catechism and turning to Scripture. I think a lot of people just don’t know the richness of church teaching. It’s a never-ending sea of wonder and truth.”
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