By Addison DeFreece
Coordinator of Religious Education
St Michael Parish, Lincoln
One day, I encountered a man who complimented my shirt that read, “The light shines in the darkness. John 1:5.”
I continued the conversation and learned more about his story and background in Christianity. He grew up in a Christian family and continues to attend church because it’s what he knows, but he didn’t seem convinced of why he is Christian. He then asked if I grew up Christian, and I responded, “Yes, I’m actually Catholic and grew up going to a Catholic school.”
He continued by asking, “Would you be Catholic now if you didn’t grow up in a Catholic family or go to a Catholic school?”
I was raised as a Catholic and received a Catholic education at Lourdes Central Catholic in Nebraska City. My faith has always been the center of all that I do. Receiving a Catholic education is crucial to where I am now. Religion class taught by priests, daily Mass, monthly confession, daily morning prayers, class retreats, and a supportive community, all laid a firm foundation for me. Yet, I didn’t truly know why my faith was foundational until my senior year in 2020, when I was searching for peace, as were many others.
I then attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and became involved in the community of St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center. In these four years, many profound encounters with Jesus followed. I was accompanied by a strong community, loving mentors, and incredible friends. But would I have known to turn to the Catholic Church for comfort, peace, and community if the foundation hadn’t been laid in the 18 years prior to college by parents, family, teachers, and community members?
Now working at St. Michael Church and School in Lincoln, I’m even more convicted of the necessity of a Catholic foundation for students and families attending our school. St. Michael School’s mission is to “Learn, Serve, Lead, Succeed: Be His Disciples.” This is achieved by creating a house of formation for students, staff, and families in our parish and community.
We are called to learn truth through studying many subjects and to be rooted in Truth, which our Catholic faith teaches. We are called to serve classmates, staff members, and community members by imitating Christ’s actions of serving and loving others before ourselves. We lead by striving to live virtuously and standing for what is true, good, and beautiful.
Finally, we teach students to measure success by how they learned, served, and led others to God. A Catholic school is a house of formation to grow in discipleship and to be rooted in our universal call to holiness! There are countless ways I see St. Michael students and staff learning, serving, leading, and succeeding—ultimately becoming disciples of Jesus Christ.
In the Bible, Jesus speaks of his many disciples—those who followed him, learned from him, and imitated his way of life. In Mark 6:7, Jesus sends his disciples out two by two so that no one is left alone in the call to share the Gospel. Jesus knows our great need to be accompanied and our need for community, as the path of discipleship is never smooth or a straight shot but is one filled with many bumps in the road, twists, and turns. We need others to walk alongside us, encourage us, and pray with us. With our mission at St. Michael School to be his disciples, we empower teachers and staff to live out their call to discipleship, going out two by two at each grade level and leading students along the path of discipleship—creating encounters with Jesus, whom we imitate and follow.
“Would you be Catholic if you didn’t attend a Catholic school?” By the grace of God, I believe I would. But surely, being called to be his disciple from a young age at a small Catholic school and being accompanied while living out that call throughout college is a key part of my story, leading to where I am now. The path of discipleship never ends, and I’m continually grateful for the St. Michael community for living the life of discipleship alongside me. It reminds me again and again that we are sent two by two and are never alone.
