Edwardian Core Values
We are called to be “fishers of men” (“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Mt. 4:19) and the fish we catch are students and mold them according to the Edwardian ideals until we release them back to the ocean (the real world) as “men and women of confident character and servant-leaders”.
Fish is the symbol of early Christians, in Greek it has a symbolic meaning. ΙΧΘΥΣ (ichthys), or also ΙΧΘΥϹ with a lunate sigma, is an acronym or acrostic for “jēsous Christos, Theou Yios; contemporary Koine [ie̝ˈsus kʰrisˈtos], which translates into English as ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour’. Jesus is the one who called us to be “fishers of men”.
FAITH
FAITH – Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because He is truth itself. By faith “man freely commits his entire self to God.”78 (CCC 1814). By his Revelation, “the invisible God, from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company.”1 The adequate response to this invitation is faith. By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God.2 (CCC 142-143).
INTEGRITY
INTEGRITY – Integrity stems from the Latin word ‘integer’ which means whole and complete. So integrity requires an inner sense of ‘wholeness’ and consistency of character. When you are in integrity, people should be able to visibly see it through your actions, words, decisions, methods, and outcomes. When you are ‘whole’ and consistent, there is only one you. You bring that same you wherever you are, regardless of the circumstance. You don’t leave parts of yourself behind. You don’t have a ‘work you,’ a ‘family you,’ and a ‘social you.’ You are YOU all the time.
STEWARDSHIP
STEWARDSHIP – Stewardship simply means “the responsible use of resources in the service of God.” It is also the recognition that God owns everything, we are simply managers or administrators acting on his behalf. In the Parable of the Talents, the master rewarded the man who multiplied the talents with “greater responsibilities” but punished the one who just “buried” the talents (Mt.25:14-30). Stewardship is about responsibility, accountability, and co-ownership.
HARD WORK
HARD WORK is one of the ways we can achieve our goals. Hard work includes the drive – this is the motivation, the inspiration, the entire reason you work hard. This is the fuel that pushes one’s efforts forward. The plan – If the drive is the heart of hard work, then the plan is the skeleton. The plan maps out the course of action and helps plot the progress and keep on track. The labor – is the point when working hard stops being fun and exciting and starts becoming tedious, stressful and perhaps even discouraging. The sacrifice – is the core of hard work, and the one thing that makes hard work truly hard. Enduring the strain and comfort level is the real test. The payoff – in order for hard work to be worthwhile, one has to define a number of goals and milestones and recognize once it is achieved.
We are called to be “fishers of men” (“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Mt. 4:19) and the fish we catch are students and mold them according to the Edwardian ideals until we release them back to the ocean (the real world) as “men and women of confident character and servant-leaders”.
Fish is the symbol of early Christians, in Greek it has a symbolic meaning. ΙΧΘΥΣ (ichthys), or also ΙΧΘΥϹ with a lunate sigma, is an acronym or acrostic for “jēsous Christos, Theou Yios; contemporary Koine [ie̝ˈsus kʰrisˈtos], which translates into English as ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour’. Jesus is the one who called us to be “fishers of men”.
FAITH
Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because He is truth itself. By faith “man freely commits his entire self to God.”78 (CCC 1814). By his Revelation, “the invisible God, from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company.”1 The adequate response to this invitation is faith. By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God.2 (CCC 142-143).
INTEGRITY
Integrity stems from the Latin word ‘integer’ which means whole and complete. So integrity requires an inner sense of ‘wholeness’ and consistency of character. When you are in integrity, people should be able to visibly see it through your actions, words, decisions, methods, and outcomes. When you are ‘whole’ and consistent, there is only one you. You bring that same you wherever you are, regardless of the circumstance. You don’t leave parts of yourself behind. You don’t have a ‘work you,’ a ‘family you,’ and a ‘social you.’ You are YOU all the time.
STEWARDSHIP
Stewardship simply means “the responsible use of resources in the service of God.” It is also the recognition that God owns everything, we are simply managers or administrators acting on his behalf. In the Parable of the Talents, the master rewarded the man who multiplied the talents with “greater responsibilities” but punished the one who just “buried” the talents (Mt.25:14-30). Stewardship is about responsibility, accountability, and co-ownership.
HARDWORK
HARD WORK is one of the ways we can achieve our goals. Hard work includes the drive – this is the motivation, the inspiration, the entire reason you work hard. This is the fuel that pushes one’s efforts forward. The plan – If the drive is the heart of hard work, then the plan is the skeleton. The plan maps out the course of action and helps plot the progress and keep on track. The labor – is the point when working hard stops being fun and exciting and starts becoming tedious, stressful and perhaps even discouraging. The sacrifice – is the core of hard work, and the one thing that makes hard work truly hard. Enduring the strain and comfort level is the real test. The payoff – in order for hard work to be worthwhile, one has to define a number of goals and milestones and recognize once it is achieved.
