Through the eyes of the cross: PVNC Catholic schools reflect on the meaning of the Resurrection Cross

PVNC Catholic students and staff have been taking time to consider the meaning of the Board’s Resurrection Cross.

In the new year, school tech shops crafted replicas of the cross, an integral part of the Board’s branding and logo, and the crosses have been making a unique journey at each school and at the Catholic Education Centre.

During Lent, school communities were asked to take a moment and look through Christ’s cut-out and see themselves in the actions of the Lord.

Each school has welcomed their new cross into each of their classrooms accompanied by a journal, which invites students from kindergarten to Grade 12 to meditate on the cross, to see through its “lens,” every aspect of their lives and the community of their schools, explains Board Chaplain and Faith Animator Fr. Paul Massel.

“I am so proud of our construction classes for making these beautiful crosses,” he said. “I am proud of our secondary school chaplaincy leaders who have travelled with me to each of our schools offering support and encouragement to Faith Ambassadors in each school. I am proud of our principals and vice-principals who have so eagerly taken on these challenges despite ever busy days and challenges. Most of all, I am proud of our schools. To walk into any one of them, is to feel the powerful presence of Christ, rooted firmly, despite the ever-challenging culture, which surrounds them. Our schools are our future.”

Through poems, writings, and drawings inserted in their journals, students have been describing how they have seen Christ in each other and in all the subjects of study.

The cross initiative supports the PVNC Catholic three-year Pastoral Plan – IGNITE: Faith, Hope and Love through Conversation, Celebration and Community.

The first chapter in the life of these school crosses will culminate during Catholic Education Week. All crosses and their accompanying journals will be prominently displayed during the Catholic Leadership Awards Celebration on May 3 at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School.