“We need to be like St. Bartholomew… because he lit the fire of faith underneath the people,” Monsignor Wallace said, referring to the fact that the Mass was held on the Feast Day of St. Bartholomew. “That’s what we need to do in our Catholic schools. We need to light the fire of faith underneath our children, their parents, in the community so that all may come and know the love of Christ.”
Music for the Mass was provided by a special choir assembled with members of Our Lady of the Assumption parish and school in San Bernardino, Sacred Heart Academy in Redlands and Holy Rosary Academy in San Bernardino.
Patricia Vesely, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, shared her wish that the schools make a greater effort to deepen the spirituality of its students, faculty and staff, especially during the Year of Faith beginning in October.
“Each of us has been gifted by God with some special and unique talents,” Vesely said. “God has called us here at this time, in the school in which you minister, to use those gifts.”
Following the Mass, faculty and staff were led through a period of faith sharing and instruction on how to best promote the importance of Catholic education in their communities.