In the Gospel, Jesus fed 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish. After the crowd was satisfied, there were 12 wicker baskets left over. God provides the abundance. In each episode of this podcast, we will explore, with pastoral leaders and development professionals, all the many ways God meets the spiritual and temporal needs of our parish communities, our Catholic schools and the diocesan church. And not only meets those needs but provides in abundance.
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THE LATEST EPISODE
EPISODE 31: Educating in Dialogue with Reality
Sister Ernestine Velarde, ODN, President, Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac Catholic School
With a history over 400 years, the religious sisters who belong to the Order of the Company of Mary Our Lady have a rich tradition of Catholic education inspired by the charism and vision of the community’s foundress, St. Jeanne de Lestonnac. St. Jeanne’s own familial and vocation experiences helped form her practical application of education in a time when education meant largely memorization of facts and was open only to boys.
St. Jeanne de Lestonnac school, of which Sister Ernestine Velarde, serves as President, carries on the universal mission of the religious order but in the practical context of California to educate students in dialogue with reality, which is to say to educate students to live practically in the circumstances and conditions of the world, to discern the needs around them and apply what they’ve learned in service to others, and to live in joyful witness to the faith. “We educate by our attitudes,” Sister Ernestine said. “We don’t see education just when we’re in front of the classroom, but also by how we respond to things.” Forming each student, not just for himself or herself, but for communal, social and global good is at the heart of authentic education in the tradition of St. Jeanne de Lestonnac. Personal development with socialization, freedom with responsibility, and personal autonomy with collaboration are the aims of the Company of Mary our Lady in educating the young.
Sister Ernestine’s leadership of St. Jeanne de Lestonnac’s capital campaign led to a beautiful new building for their upper school, which continues to grow, building on the long tradition of grade school education. The beauty of the building itself educates, Sister Ernestine noted, in that contemplating beauty draws us into mystery and makes us more human.
Guest: Sr. Ernestine Velarde, ODN
Title: President, Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac School, Temecula, CA
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ABOUT THE HOST, CHRISTOPHER BEAUDET
President of Diocesan Engagement for the Steier Group
Twelve Wicker Baskets host Christopher Beaudet hails from Massena, New York. He obtained a B.A. in History and Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame; a Master of Divinity and an M.A. in Dogmatic Theology from the University of Saint Thomas (Saint Paul, MN); a License (J.C.L.) and Doctorate in Canon Law (J.C.D.) from the Catholic University of America; and an M.A. in History from Boston College. Previously, Christopher served as Vice Rector for Administration at the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity of the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Chiefly responsible for engaging the hierarchy and diocesan leaders across the United States and Canada to address fundraising needs, Christopher gains familiarity with the unique pastoral context of each diocesan Church, assists in identifying and defining their funding needs, and then orchestrates the Steier Group’s design and implementation of planning studies and capital campaigns to address them.
