Communion with Christ: According to Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross by Sister M. Regina van den Berg

Author:Sister M. Regina van den Berg [van den Berg, Sister M. Regina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Spiritual & Religion
ISBN: 9781681491066
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Published: 2015-03-29T16:00:00+00:00

The Role of the Teacher

The school, then, continues the work of formation. If the school is to form young people, we must know the goal of formation: Into what do we seek to form the children? Edith Stein describes the goal of formation in a lecture she gave on the role of religious sisters in the formation of children: “We must help to form the children of men into children of God. They ought to be formed into God, formed into Christ.”10 Children should learn to be led by God’s will and to become living members of the Mystical Body of Christ. Formation has no small goal! Edith herself exclaims: “How frightening such a large task! But we may not settle for anything less.”11

Children need to be formed into children of God. Although our fallen nature inclines us to selfishness, we are created for communion. In virtue of his baptism, each child already has supernatural life. God dwells in the child’s soul, and the child is empowered by grace to live in harmony with God and with other persons. Baptism alone is not sufficient formation; the supernatural life is fragile, and it must be nurtured. Both the parents and the school must foster the child’s life with God and allow it to develop.

Formation takes place on all levels of education, from the day care to the university. Edith Stein points out that, of all these, the elementary school is the most important place of formation. The elementary school teacher has the greatest influence on children since he is with the children for the entire day during their most formative years. Weighty is the responsibility of the teacher! Recognizing the daunting task of forming children into other Christs, a teacher may wonder how it can possibly be accomplished, particularly if he is not directly involved in the religious training of the students.

The teacher must not only know the Faith but must be permeated and transformed by it. Edith Stein remarks: “It makes a difference whether someone simply reports the facts of the Holy Scriptures as he would teach any other subject he has learned, or whether someone who was formed into His image through long, confident communication, and who is to a certain extent penetrated by Him, speaks of the Savior.”12 A teacher who lives with Christ intimately will know when and how to speak of Him in an appropriate way, also outside of religious instruction: “When the teacher, as a docile student, constantly attends the school of the Holy Scriptures, and allows the Savior to take him into His school, the children will notice that He is present, that He helps with the work; and in this way He grasps possession of their souls.”13

Being formed by Christ does not mean that the teacher will turn every lesson into a religion class. Edith Stein warns that “nothing religious may ever be introduced in an artificial and external manner, and in a context where it has no place; otherwise, the children will

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