The theology department at Benilde St. Margaret’s chooses a new scripture theme each year to help lead students to Christ. This tradition has been going on for the past ten years. This year, the scripture theme resides in the book of Jeremiah, 19:11-14. It says, “Seek me with your heart, I will let you find me.” Many of Father Tim’s homilies revolve around the scripture theme and how we should seek, help, and support each other at BSM.
You might wonder who picks the scripture theme each year. There’s a lot that happens behind the scenes in the theology department. The theology department chooses a core theme and a couple of scriptures to go with the theme. Then, the theme is passed by the administration, after students are given the opportunity to give their input on scriptures that reside in them. This year, it was Becca Meagher who helped pick the overall theme. “Mr. J. and I worked together mostly this year on the Scripture theme and then with the help of Ms. Hermanny, our president,” Meagher said.
Similar to the homilies at mass, teachers are asked to incorporate the scripture theme into their classes. Some might think it’s hard to relate a scripture theme to let’s say Algebra, Physics, or other subjects, but being at a Catholic school, our teachers find very creative ways to emphasize the importance of truly living through Jesus. One of BSM’s Theology teachers, Katrina Garcia-Eveloff, teaches discipleship and enjoys teaching the students about the scripture theme. In discipleship, students are asked to serve an organization outside of school and learn the importance of giving back to the less fortunate. “We are talking about how we can use teachings and practices to orient ourselves towards helping the most marginalized and vulnerable in our society,” Garcia-Eveloff said.
Students look forward to hearing about the new scripture theme each year. Senior Adam Backman thinks it’s very exciting to see how teachers will incorporate the theme into classes, “I really look forward to seeing the Scripture theme for the year because I feel like it sets a good set of values for the following school year,” Backman said.
Although some teachers are incorporating the theme, senior Shale Hornig thinks it should be more consistent. “They do pretty good, but I feel like they aren’t super consistent at [incorporating the theme]. I would like to see more representation of our scripture theme within the BSM classrooms,” Hornig said.
Theology teacher Becca Meagher incorporates the scripture theme with her ninth-grade classes. She uses the scripture theme to teach students about a technique of studying scripture called Think Like a Theologian or TLT. “We use the scripture theme as a way for our students to learn how to navigate the Bible and then apply it to their life,” Meagher said.