What is spirituality at Saint Anthony Catholic School?  Saint Anthony Catholic School’s identity is embedded in daily life at school. Belief in a loving God and a visible outreach to others is how we live our lives in the school community. Religious instruction is the beginning of a carefully guided spiritual journey, where prayer, appreciation, respect, reflection, and a growing knowledge base intertwine. Saint Anthony Catholic School affirms the virtues Christ exhibited as he walked the earth.

Although Saint Anthony is a Catholic school, we embrace and honor the families of all faiths in our community, for their very presence enriches us all. Christians and non-Christians are more alike in their spirituality than they are different, and it is these essentials that we celebrate. As our Saint Anthony graduates enter broader communities, we recognize that they will be working and living among many different cultures and faiths. We believe that their spiritual journey, begun with people of all faiths at Saint Anthony, will engender a life-long appreciation for the many ways there are to worship God, and will enable them to live in peace and harmony with others.

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different kinds of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)

Saint Anthony:  A Catholic School

As a Catholic school, the religious core of our tradition is rooted in Christianity and the richness of the Roman Catholic tradition. At the core of this tradition is the tenet that we must love one another as God has loved us.

“I give you a new commandment: Love one another. Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for each other. This is how all will know you for my disciples: your love for one another.” (John, 13:34-35)

As a Catholic School, we are grounded in the teachings of Christ and His Church, and committed to nourishing the unique spirituality of each member of our school community and deepening our students’ understanding of God’s role in their lives.

As a Catholic school we are a community of openness and inclusivity. Indeed, the roots of the word “Catholic” (katha holos) mean “all are welcome.”   We demonstrate by our love for one another that “…within this fundamental unity of the faith there is room for a plurality of cultural differences, forms of expression, and theological views.”  (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #18)

Hence, we fulfill our mission when we invite students and families of all faiths to join our school community. Catholic spirituality is a way of living in the world that acknowledges that we are “all spiritual beings on a human journey.” Our tradition appreciates the mystery and breadth of God’s love. We live our mission when we give witness to this powerful and awe-inspiring mystery and this energizing love.

Saint Anthony is a thriving faith-filled community. From preschool through middle school, we offer opportunities for learning, worship, daily prayer, reflection, school liturgies, the sacraments, and the integration of morals and values in academic studies. While these experiences form the core of our mission and tradition, we affirm the right of each child and member of our community to follow spiritual paths open to discussion and inquiry that are respectful and mindful of our Catholic tradition and accepting of differing views.

Our values spring from our religious conviction. By introducing students to a thoughtful study of the Christian faith in the Catholic tradition, we prepare them to recognize the importance of their own spirituality, religion in our nation and the world, and the critical values of tolerance, reverence, respect, and understanding, among people of different faiths. In these ways, we are preparing leaders, young people of virtue, conviction and perspective who can appreciate the powerful and positive role that values and religion play in shaping their own lives and the future direction of human kind. We expect every student to strive for peace and justice, respect the dignity of every human being, and be “men and women for others.”

We are fortunate to be identified as a Catholic school, not only because this expresses the importance and centrality of Christ, God’s grace, love, and power in the raising of children, but also because this Catholic tradition provides the compass for our navigation through the shifting winds of change so prevalent in our lives today. We strive to act out of love, teach love, model love and love one another in this community. When we love, we are transformed and Christ’s presence is alive.

Children are planted in warm, safe and loving soil here at Saint Anthony. We believe that the grounding that they acquire here in prayer, worship, study, reflection, the conscious pursuit of virtue, excellence, and spirituality will nourish their roots. Of course, at times we will need to tend the weeds or provide some extra fertilizer and water; yet, if we allow our children’s roots to reach out into the soil and seek a path of their own creation, we will all be able to take great joy and pride in the young men and women who will emerge. Our job always is to plant seeds that, with God’s help, will flourish in time.