Our Mission: "St. Michael Catholic High School, a college preparatory school of the Archdiocese of Mobile, aspires for its students to become scholars, leaders and disciples of Jesus Christ."
Recently Pope Francis spoke to young people, and encouraged them to strive for "magnanimity," which he defined as " having a great heart, having greatness of mind; and having great ideals; the wish to do great things in response to what God asks of us."
In his explanation of the virtue of magnanimity in the Summa, St. Thomas Aquinas reflects on its opposite, "pusillanimity," which means, literally, "small mindedness." The reason people are small minded, Aquinas says, is they don't believe they have the "qualifications" to do great things--that they are incapable, as if magnanimity were a virtue only possible for saints. And in fact, we live in a culture that too often thinks this way about teenagers, that tells them they are incapable of chastity (so we advocate for 'safe sex'), or true scholarship (so we inflate grades) or handling disappointment (so we give everyone a trophy). And the sad thing about this consistent messaging is that our children begin to believe these things about themselves.
That's not our view! We are children of God, temples of the Holy Spirit, and infused with the grace of Christ, "who strengthens us, and through whom we can do all things." (Philippians 4:13). We are called to holiness! We are called to be saints! We want students to "go for it," to extend themselves beyond their comfort zones, to delve deeper into their studies, to try out for teams (even if they're not selected), to join new clubs, to serve others in new ways, and to strive for excellence. In so doing, we believe students will grow into young men and women who are happy, confident in their futures, and ready to make a difference in this world.
We believe teens are hungry, deep down, to be challenged. They are utterly bored and uninspired by an accommodating, "lowest common denominator" approach to life. They want their lives to matter; they want to be challenged by the gospel, to believe that such a life is possible, and they are powerfully attracted to people who are living as if it is.
Infused with optimism, immersed in a culture of excellence, blessed by teachers who care about kids and lift them up when they stumble, and elevated by a dynamic faith, Catholic high schools can change students' lives!May St. Michael truly be a place that calls students to become scholars, leaders and disciples of Jesus Christ!