February is mighty in its content for Catholics

February is, as we all know, the shortest month in number of days in our calendar year.  While that is true, for our Catholic Church it is a month of great importance spiritually, liturgically and educationally.

Spiritually, February this year presents us with 28 days of time to continue to do what we had been doing during Advent in preparation for the beautiful solemnity of Christmas. Often, we seem to forget that how we prepared ourselves to celebrate the birth of Jesus is supposed to remain a part of our daily lives beyond Christmas and the Christmas season. Our resolve to pray daily, to perform the corporal and spiritual works of mercy as we are able and to deny ourselves those luxuries which we not only don’t need but which distract us from our imitation of Christ need to continue. February is not just the month of Valentine’s Day.

Liturgically, February always is the month when we celebrate important feasts which highlight our faith and its daily living. The Presentation of the Lord, the feast of St. Blaise, the feast of St. Agatha, the feast of St. Scholastica, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the feast of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, the feast of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, the feast of St. Peter Damien, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter and the feast of St. Polycarp give us much to rejoice over and even more to imitate. In other words, February can be a month for us to read the lives of the saints and make that a commitment for every day.

Educationally, February is the month when we observe Catholic Schools Week in the United States. This annual observance usually concludes in the very beginning of February and is an excellent reminder to all that this is an essential apostolate and work of the Catholic Church. There is no real substitute for a Catholic school education especially when it comes to learning about our faith, the Church and Catholic daily living. The benefits of Catholic education go far beyond the classroom and remain very much a part of us throughout the course of our lives. I wish to thank the parents, teachers and administrators and their staffs for all that they do to foster the spiritual, physical, moral and intellectual growth and development of our children and young people. Our Catholic schools in the diocese are excellent in every way and work daily to assist parents in the education of their children. While our Catholic schools cannot replace parents as the first and best teachers and formators of their children, they are the best helps to them in this holy and lifelong responsibility.

As you can see, February while being the shortest month in days, is mighty in its content for Catholics.