Catholic Schools Week 2013 is scheduled from January 27 to February 2. Its theme is “Catholic Schools Raise the Standards.” This theme highlights the launch of a new initiative to ensure consistent high standards at Catholic schools across the country. The logo designed for this week illustrates a chart of steady growth culminating in the highest achievement of all, a cross representing the faith that underscores all Catholic education.
The Catholic Church’s educational mission flows from Jesus’ life and teaching. The cross symbolizes the sacrificial love that Jesus teaches us to imitate. In the Dictionary of the Bible, Fr. John L. McKenzie wrote that Jesus spent more time teaching than anything else, including working miracles, signs, and wonders. Through education, the Church continues Jesus’ teaching by preparing her members to hear, live, and proclaim the Gospel. Good teachers are keys to successful Catholic schools.
Q: My mother is 88 and has lived independently all of her life. Now she is having some pretty serious health problems. She is in the hospital and will shortly be moved to a skilled facility for continued care. I know that Medicare does not cover the cost of such care for a long period of time. The problem is that I know she would like to go back home after the nursing home stay. I think it just might be time to think about living in the home permanently, as I know she cannot manage all of her care independently. I am not able to care for her and frankly, I don’t want to be her caregiver — I want to be her daughter. However, I feel bad that I am not offering to move her in with my family and me. Am I a bad daughter for not wanting to help? (Sun Prairie) 
In his January 1, 2013, World Day of Peace Message titled “Blessed are the Peacemakers,” Pope Benedict XVI immediately lays out for us the foundation upon which the Church’s ministry for world peace must be built.