In this webinar, Peter Crawford, Dean of Academics at the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education, reflects on the deeper purpose of Catholic teaching as a vocation. Drawing on John Paul II’s concept of the “diaconia of truth,” Crawford argues that the greatest service educators can offer children is not career preparation but freedom—specifically, freedom for Christ and sanctity. He explains that Catholic liberal arts education is not a model or curriculum to adopt, but an ancient tradition that understands education as the art of creating freedom in another person’s life, freeing students from the bondage of a fallen world to pursue truth, meaning, and ultimately union with God.

Crawford outlines five essential characteristics of an authentic Catholic liberal arts education: being in constant dialogue with the tradition, making learning personal and relevant to students’ lives, teaching dialectically through conversation rather than mere information transfer, providing moral formation that shapes the heart and imagination, and instilling sacred memories that serve as a compass throughout life. He emphasizes that the school itself must be a genuine community—a “leisurely being together to pursue the truth”—where students learn primarily by participating in relationships with faculty who model the Christian life. The ultimate goal is wonder: helping students develop a sacramental imagination that sees God’s presence and beauty throughout all of creation.