Written by: Sonja Kudulis, 8th grade student

St. Scholastica School is a Catholic school in Woodridge. This year, our school participated in a project that directed all of the Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Joliet to focus on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As eighth graders, Connor Bickett and I were chosen to attend a meeting in which we learned about the Sacred Heart, as well as how to teach the other students in our school about Christ’s powerful love for us.

We told the kindergarteners through fifth graders a story about St. Margaret Mary of Alacoque. In the story, Jesus appeared to her in a vision and showed her His heart. Even though others didn’t believe her, she knew that the vision was real, and kept preaching about it. The main message taught was that Jesus is “all heart,” and that He loves us and wants us to love Him too. We showed the students a picture of the Sacred Heart and explained it to them. Jesus is holding His heart, which is bleeding, has thorns around it, and a cross on top. All of this symbolism reminds us that Christ was willing to suffer and die for us; it also is on fire to symbolize God’s light and Christ’s love for us. We asked these students questions to make sure they understood what we were teaching them, and answered their questions as well.

In the middle school classrooms, Connor and I handed out a poem and asked the sixth through eighth graders to read it. Aftewards, we discussed the poem, showed them the picture of the Sacred Heart, and explained the symbolism. After some additional discussion, we distributed a handout that directed the students to write down things they learned and found interesting, as well as additional questions they had about the Sacred Heart.

On December 16, St. Scholastica held a ceremony during which we consecrated our school to the Sacred Heart. Our pastor, Father Riva, blessed the pictures of the Sacred Heart that can be found in every classroom.

The school continues to learn about the Sacred Heart. Each week, the middle school students write one of the twelve promises that Christ gave to St. Margaret Mary. We explain how we can follow it in our lives. Students in the lower grades write about or color pictures that explain the twelve promises. At the start of every school day, we say the prayer to the Sacred Heart together.

This is a great project because it teaches us about church history and helps us to grow closer to God and stronger in faith.