Manifesto: (noun) a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer
Ever since becoming a principal in 2010 and first coming across his work, I have tried to incorporate the ideas from Simon Sinek's Start With Why into my ministry. From my efforts to have Incarnation Catholic School focus intensely on its mission to my work at the University of Notre Dame to have emerging Catholic school leaders do the same, starting with WHY a person or organization does something provides greater commitment, inspiration, and direction to these efforts.
During my time as a principal, the Incarnation Catholic School community used the mission as the springboard and impetus for its programs and the measuring stick for its policies. We even revised its language to prioritize the faith formation, ordering it before learning and service.
Throughout my time as an instructor in the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, I worked with both colleagues and Remick Leaders to hone in on the mission of the program while also providing students with the opportunity to consider the mission and beliefs motivating their own work within Catholic schools. Throughout this time and into my current role in the Diocese of Cleveland, I have also helped school communities clarify and commit to their missions while also declaring the school's foundational beliefs inspiring its work.
Recently I had the opportunity to turn inward and consider my own mission and the theological and philosophical concepts and approaches propelling my ministry in Catholic education.
What follows is my manifesto - my declaration of the main purpose of my ministry.
My personal mission is for humans to flourish through Catholic education.
This entails both inward facing and externally focused components. Catholic education should bring about “the gradual development of every capability of every student” (Congregation for Catholic Education, 1988, para. 99). Catholic education must generate, form, and train students who possess incredible hearts and minds who will use their gifts, talents, knowledge, and skills for the “improvement of social structures, making these structures more conformed to the principles of the Gospel” (Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, 1982, para. 19). These enhanced social structures will make the world more peaceful, loving, just, and merciful, enabling even more people to flourish.
Grounded in Christ's great commission to "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt. 28:19-20), my mission strives to create disciples of Jesus Christ. This discipleship should generate people fully alive, for Jesus declared, "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Furthermore, joy will mark this abundance of life promised by our Savior, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete" (John 15:11). The other fruits of the Holy Spirit will also accompany this human flourishing: love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], 1997, para. 1832).
This human flourishing requires the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty. It also spans across the entire school community - administrators, faculty, staff, students, families, and community members. Through an integral formation, community members will find coherence between faith and life, synthesizing their beliefs with their actions through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Additionally, this flourishing will emanate outward from the walls of the school into the surrounding community, city, state, and world, "It is not merely a question of adaptation, but of missionary thrust, the fundamental duty to evangelize, to go towards men and women wherever they are, so that they may receive the gift of salvation" (Congregation for Catholic Education, 1997, para. 3). Through service performed by students, staff, and families, as well as through programs and services made available to the broader community, Catholic education will spur human flourishing in all who come into contact with members of the community.
Finally, based upon a redefinition of success, graduates of our Catholic schools will emerge ready to make the civilization of love dreamed about through Christ's proclamation of His Father's Kingdom "on earth as it is in heaven." Because of the flourishing they experience through their Catholic education, Catholic school graduates will be compelled to make systems and institutions of law, medicine, business, art, entertainment, education, ministry, and government more in alignment with the principles of the Gospel.
They will be better husbands, wives, parents, family members, friends, citizens, community members - they will be better humans - and help others flourish in turn.
