St. Rose of Lima, Mt. Vernon, PSR growing

By Fr. Dan Duling
I am a very proud graduate of four different Catholic institutions, two within our diocese, which provided me with some of the finest Catholic education our country has to offer. I know and I realize I do not show that all the time, but my siblings are quick to remind me of that often.

Catholic education is a privilege and an honor often taken for granted in our diocese. I can attest I did not realize at a young age what a gift I was given by my parents and my home parish. However, Catholic education is not always available to everyone. Regardless of the case, this leads parishes to aid parents in helping to provide a formation in the faith. In most parishes, this is a program known as the Parish School of Religion, or PSR.

At St. Rose of Lima in Mt. Vernon we have seen continuous growth in our PSR program. Currently, we have over 230 families in our parish, as that number grows so does our PSR. Under the direction of Tammie Hopper, who has been running the program for well over 20 years we went this year from having two grades per class to now having a class for every grade level from pre-K to the 12th grade – including Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

Less than 10 years ago we had around 80 students, as of today we will be well over 135 students, 30 of whom are part of our Catholic Youth Ministry, the CYM. Several aren’t’ Catholic, but come because their friends have invited them and are now learning more about the faith. (We might even bring some of them into the church this Easter).

Mrs. Hopper recently said, “Oh how God has blessed us! To say we are overflowing with his love is an understatement…. Oh, how we love the children!”

Our children are certainly the future of our church. And while our PSR continues to grow, our biggest problem is of course the space, but with God’s grace, our parish family, and our donors and benefactors we will hopefully be able to remedy that situation in the upcoming years.

Most parishes funding primarily supports Catholic education, and rightfully so. Catholic education can be expensive. We are very proud to support eight of our students in Catholic Schools in our parish of St. Rose of Lima in Mt. Vernon. W we spend about 95% more on these students than we do on our entire PSR program because all of our PSR faculty, director, and staff are volunteers who make the program possible by practicing the Stewardship Way of Life.

Our volunteers know and realize the importance of forming these students in the faith. Some are teachers, and some are Catholic school teachers, who go from teaching all day to taking on another class in the evening. These programs would not be possible without these great volunteers, they embody the definition of disciple.

Our church continues to find herself in a unique situation, going from maintenance to Apostolic Mission – nothing new to us within our diocese. While we recognize we are blessed within our diocese, in many places throughout the country Mass attendance is down, and fewer people are taking part in faith formation opportunities. Either way, we are all called to grow in discipleship because we are at a new place within our Church.

Yet, for the majority of our youth within the diocese who find themselves in situations like St. Rose of Lima in Mt. Vernon with a growing PSR, we have to recognize and support these youth who are living out a discipleship in a way that cannot be found anywhere else.

So many of the students go to their PSR schools for one hour a week, nine to ten months a year, to learn about their faith. Then these students go back to their schools, where the Catholic faith is foreign to so many and where at times their own teachers bash the Catholic faith while the student and their families are living it proudly. Sometimes being witnesses of the faith by what they say and do during class, what they wear, or praying before a meal prayer in the cafeteria can be a challenge.

As a product of Catholic education and I can attest to this, living out your faith within the walls of a Catholic school is never frowned upon, it is what is expected. But the times I have witnessed and the conversations I have had with several PSR students in the various parishes I have served, this simply is not the case, rather at times to even have a crucifix or cross around their neck or mention their faith they are ridiculed or mocked, sometimes by an adult.

As a priest, I look up to these students and admire them. They truly are my role models and are living heroic virtue right before our eyes. When the Apostles and Jesus’ closest disciples went out to preach the message, they did it in a very similar way. The youth in the PSR program are living with an Apostolic zeal that many people long to have. Take a chance and observe them. They have made me proud.

On a side note, if you want a true witness of this come out to a Cheney football game, and after the game is over, watch what these students do, you will find one of the students leading a prayer of Thanksgiving with their opponent’s entire team, players, coaches, and staff – win or lose! Discipleship in the midst of an athletic competition! They were never told they had to do this, never forced into it, one student asked if he could and it has now become a tradition.

I was in shock when I first saw it, it almost brought me to tears I was so proud and overjoyed. God rest his soul, my former pastor when I was in seminary, Fr. Andy Kuykendall, once told me, that while the parents are the first teachers and are one leg of the stool, Catholic Schools are another, and PSR is another. All three legs are important in holding up the church, but one leg can never be shorter or longer than the other, otherwise the church will fall.

Our greatest strength and biggest blessing at St. Rose of Lima in Mt. Vernon is our PSR. I look forward to Wednesday nights when our campus becomes alive, and students are in every building. Hearing them laugh, learn, and build community in our parish is truly a blessing. Our PSR has become the mortar of the bricks that makes up our parish. The future is looking bright and promising.

Lastly and perhaps most importantly, I would be remiss if I did not give a huge thank you to all those parents who make the great sacrifice to bring your students to a PSR program, while I know it is not easy for you now, God gives you the graces and you and your children will be rewarded greatly. You may not see the fruits now, but currently, we have one missionary serving in another country, one seminarian studying for the diocese, and many disciples who have been products of our PSR in the last eight years. Trust in God.