Students build faith through knowledge and encounter

Are you smarter than a Catholic school eighth grader?

Give it a shot:

Which gift of the Holy Spirit helps us to distinguish right from wrong?

How many popes have there been?

What do we call the promises made between God and His people?

Which Italian teenager will be canonized in April 2025?

Nearly 100 eighth grade students from Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Francis Borgia in Washington, St. Gertrude in Krakow and St. John the Baptist Gildehaus in Villa Ridge tackled these questions and more in a friendly Know Your Faith trivia game on Jan. 30. The gathering at Our Lady of Lourdes school was the second year the competition was held as part of Catholic Schools Week activities.

National Catholic Schools Week is the celebration of Catholic education in the United States. It is typically held the last week of January — this year, observed Jan. 26-Feb. 1. Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and around the country observed the week with Masses, assemblies and other activities for students, families, parishioners and community members to celebrate the great work and good news of Catholic schools.

Our Lady of Lourdes director of religious education Katelyn Dreher and associate pastor Father Donald Morris wrote and read the trivia questions, testing the students on confirmation, Church numbers, Bible trivia and saints, as well as a “finish the hymn lyric” audio section and a lively round of religious pictionary.

But the day wasn’t just about knowing facts of the faith. Afterward, the students filed upstairs to the church to encounter the Lord face-to-face in eucharistic adoration.

“I think bringing Jesus to the students in adoration is so important because they get exposure to Jesus in many things that we do here, but allowing them to physically see Him in the monstrance and to feel His presence has been very impactful,” Dreher said. “The silence gives the students time to listen for God’s call and to have personal conversations with Him while He is directly in front of them.”

Before exposing the Eucharist in the monstrance, Father Morris spoke to the students about vocations, a popular topic at many schools during Catholic Schools Week.

A vocation is a calling from God, Father Morris said. We’re all called to holiness, but God also has a specific plan for each one of us. For many, that will mean marriage; but for some of the young men and women present, it might mean answering a call to the priesthood or religious life, he said.

The eighth graders are at an age where they’re dreaming about all the things their futures can hold, he said. “And I just want to invite you to make part of that thought, that equation: God, what do you want me to do? What did you create me for? What is your vocation for me?”

At Our Lady of Lourdes, the whole school gathers for adoration once a month, and invidual classes take turns in the adoration chapel at other times. Confession is also available monthly during adoration. On Jan. 30, Vinny Pescarino led the students in several praise and worship songs while they prayed.

Our Lady of Lourdes eighth grader Madison Rada looks forward to adoration time as a chance to connect with God, she said.

“When the monstrance is here, He’s actually present, and I can physically see Him,” she said.

“You can just have your own time to spend with Him and have your own conversation with Him, about stuff you’re struggling with,” classmate Owen Voss added.

Another favorite Catholic Schools Week activity was an ongoing scavenger hunt for tiny Jesus figurines hidden throughout the building, Owen said. “It’s saying Jesus is everywhere — you’re going to see Him everywhere if you ask for Him.”

Madison and Owen both plan to attend St. Francis Borgia High School in Washington next year, continuing their Catholic education.

“Getting to learn about God is really good,” Madison said. “And we have good teachers that can teach us things that we don’t understand yet, and we’re getting to have a good faith.”