Our Mission and Core Virtues

To serve God and His children by laying the foundation

for lasting happiness through education in virtue.
 

To serve God and his children…
   The nobility of the mission of Bishop Ryan Catholic School follows directly
from our first and most important objective: to serve God.
Faithful and loving service of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
is the fullest expression of human freedom
and the highest activity to which a person or institution may be dedicated.
From this place of piety and love of God, we accept the serious responsibility
to cooperate with parents, the first educators of their children,
in the provision of a Catholic education. 

…by laying the foundation…
   Our Lord exhorts us to imitate the wise man who “built his house on rock” (Mt. 7:24)
by building our lives on the solid foundation of heeding the Word of God.
Primary and secondary education act as the foundation for one’s entire adult life.
In both thought and deed, how we act shapes what kind of person we become.
Aristotle went so far as to assert that the habits that we form in childhood
make not just an enormous difference, but “rather all the difference.”
(Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics Bk II, Ch. 1, lines 20-22.)
The virtues and knowledge that one acquires in these formative years at school and at home
ought to provide strength, stability, and direction for decades to come.
The fruits of a proper Catholic education are only fully seen and appreciated
in the mature and joyful living of one’s God-given vocation as an adult. 

…for lasting happiness…
   “Our hearts are restless, O Lord, until they rest in you!”
(St. Augustine, Confessions Bk I.)
These perennially poignant words of St. Augustine express the profound truth
that God alone is the object of lasting happiness for which we all strive.
Even the greatest experiences of human happiness in this life are temporary and imperfect
in light of our supernatural destiny to participate in the divine nature.
( Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1721.)
As a result, our educational mission aims not only to achieve common educational outcomes
such as academic proficiency and vibrant student life opportunities,
but above and beyond these ends, we aim to assist our students in the task
of directing their lives toward God by knowing, loving, and serving Him,
so that they may enjoy the lasting happiness to which He has called them.

…through education in virtue.
   “Virtue is the utmost of what a man can be.”
(Josef Pieper, Christian Idea of Man, p. 11.)
Ultimately, the goal of the virtuous life is to become like God.
( Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1803.)
The likeness of God, distorted by sin, is restored by grace and virtue.
When seen in their harmonious and interdependent relationship to each other,
the virtues display the pattern of the good person who, in every aspect of his or her life,
acts honorably and adheres to the truth.
The intellectual virtues perfect one’s intellect; moral virtues, one's will and emotions;
theological virtues, one’s relationship with God.
An education in virtue is an education for the fullness of life. 

 

 

BISHOP RYAN CORE VIRTUES

1. I prefer nothing to the love of Christ.

    • I do not put others, material objects, or events before Christ.
    • The world does not bring ultimate fulfillment and eternal happiness.
    • By charity, we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God.

2. I live by faith, seeking to know God and do his will.  (cf. CCC, 1814)
    • I prayerfully discern God’s will in my life and the vocation to which He is calling me. 
    • I share Christ with those I encounter. 
    • Since man is wholly dependent on God as his Creator and Lord, and since created reason is completely
          subject to uncreated truth, we are bound by faith to give full obedience of intellect and will to God who
          reveals. (Dei Filius)

3. I hope in God. The good in myself I credit to God and I take responsibility for my sins.
    • I give credit and praise to God for my successes and ask Him to guide my every thought and deed.
    • I do not make excuses for my actions, rather I accept the consequences.
    • By hope we desire, and with steadfast trust await from God, eternal life and the graces to merit it.
          (CCC, 1843)

4. I act justly by giving to others what is due to them.
    • I speak the truth with my heart and mouth.
    • Is it true? Is it kind? Is it thoughtful? (Socrates)
    • Justice consists in the firm and constant will to give God and neighbor their due. (CCC, 1836)

5. I act courageously by enduring all difficulties for the sake of the good. 
    • If I have a quarrel, I promptly make peace. 
    • I defend my faith. 
    • Fortitude ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. (CCC, 1837)

6. I make prudent choices by being mindful of myself and my surroundings, thinking ahead,
     taking counsel, and never doing evil for a good purpose. 
    • After prayerful, thoughtful deliberation, I generate sound judgements which consider all circumstances.
    • Prudence disposes the practical reason to discern, in every circumstance, our true good and to choose
          the right means for achieving it. (CCC, 1835)

7. I act temperately by moderating my emotions and my desire for pleasures
     in order to act honorably. 
    • I resist desires for pleasures that are destructive and dishonest toward others and myself; including
          gossip, manipulation, wasting time and resources, gluttony, lust, anger, and pride.
    • I do not claim benefits for myself that are not justly due to me. 

    • Temperance moderates the attraction of the pleasures of the senses and provides balance in the use of
          created goods. (CCC, 1838)

*CCC denotes the associated reference from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.