Anything is Possible With God

One of the many poignant aspects of yesterday's Gospel included the reminder that: "All things are possible for God" (Mark 10:27).

At the risk of making too strong of a connection between our faith and sports, our Cleveland Guardians reinforced this message this past Saturday and have been doing so all season long. In fact, the Cleveland baseball organization has defied the odds for quite some time. Despite having the 28th largest payroll out of 30 teams in Major League Baseball, the Guardians fought their way into baseball's final four. It's worth noting that the other three teams remaining in the MLB playoffs boast the top three payrolls, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd out of 30 teams.

Riches, as we witnessed yesterday when the wealthy young man walked away sad from Christ because he had many possessions, do not lead to success. Money can't buy eternal life and it doesn't guarantee victories on the baseball diamond.

Instead, the Guardians stand as one of baseball's elite because of a solid work ethic, a disciplined commitment to strong fundamentals, and outstanding selection and formation programs for coaches and players.

Known as Guards Ball, the Guardians' approach to winning stresses sound pitching and fielding, aggressive baserunning, and hitting for contact. Fold in an investment in developing players in these key areas and you have a recipe for success that goes beyond the sum of the ingredients.

Put more simply and disconnected from the world of sports: the Guardians selflessly commit to the fundamentals of the game of baseball.

As we proudly cheer on the Guardians through the American League Championship Series, may we embrace our own Catholic School Leadership version of Guards Ball.

Focus on the fundamentals of formation, of teaching and learning, and of leadership:

• Faith Formation: Disciples create disciples. In this way, do small things that demonstrate discipleship and invite others into these practices: pray, celebrate the Eucharist, read scripture, learn about your faith, perform acts of stewardship for the Church and others, keep the Sabbath.
• Teaching and Learning: We are made in the image and likeness of an omniscient (rational), omnipotent (creative), and all-loving (collaborative) God. Endowed with the gift of curiosity, we all seek to better understand and interact with the world around us. Our wonder-full minds take us outside of ourselves and into relationship with our surroundings and other people. Foundationally, classrooms should have clear purpose and relevance, methods for learners to collaboratively interact with content and test skills, and frequent checks for understanding with feedback to gauge progress in knowledge and abilities.
• Leadership: Invest time and energy into the recruitment, selection, onboarding, development, and performance management of our employees. Follow strong HR practices, ensure our employees and volunteers meet our standards of conduct, set goals, monitor performance, and provide feedback.

Work hard. Stay committed to the fundamentals of our ministries. Develop others.

Apostolically, we only need five loaves and two fish to feed thousands. Regardless of our resources, we - like our beloved Guardians - are capable of amazing things.

Remember, with God anything is possible.

It's a Process, Not an Event

Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Pope Francis has invited the faithful to pray and fast today, the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, for peace.

Until today, I did not know the original name of today's feast: Our Lady of Victory. In 1571 Pope Pius V called upon all Christians to pray the Rosary to invoke Mother Mary's aid for the European navy in the Battle of Lepanto. Against all odds, the European navy emerged victorious and Pope Pius V instituted a feast day to commemorate Our Lady's intercession. After three years, the name of the feast changed to Our Lady of the Rosary to shift the focus of the celebration from victory to the power of this prayer.

Since 2015, I have had a devotion to Our Lady and asking for her intercession through the Rosary. She has helped me untangle many knots. She has assisted me in various victories. She has brought me closer to her Son. I carry a Rosary with me wherever I go. I pray the Rosary every day...or at least I try to - some days I fall asleep in the middle of decade in the arms of the Blessed Mother.

This prayer centers on Christ. The Hail Mary's fulcrum is Christ: ...blessed is the fruity of thy womb, Jesus...

All of the mysteries - Annunciation, Visitation, Incarnation, Presentation, Finding, Agony, Scourging, Crowning, Carrying, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, Descent, Assumption, Coronation, Baptism, Water into Wine, Proclamation of the Kingdom, Transfiguration, Eucharist - anchor in Christ's life and ministry.

The Rosary's rootedness in repetition acts as a tug, pulling us ever closer and closer to the heart of Christ.

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In this way, the power of the Rosary stands in the process of praying. More than a singular mountaintop event, praying the Rosary provides multiple opportunities for us to grow in faith. Working out daily provides better health benefits than just being a weekend warrior. A daily dental detail of brushing and flossing determines oral hygiene more than a deep clean. Relationships require regular relations - communication and shared experiences. Getting better at anything - running, throwing, reading, cooking, driving, writing, singing, dancing, drawing, speaking in public, sewing, playing an instrument - requires repeated practice.

As it is with prayer and our lives, so it is with our leadership efforts. Communicating our mission, vision, values and beliefs is a process, not an event. Reinforcing our policies and procedures and their connections to who we are as organizations entails more than just a fresh kick-off. Leading demands consistency and constant clear communication.

More than just a moment, our leadership, like the Rosary, must act like a movement. With each decision, with every communication, with all of our actions may we pull our communities ever closer to Christ's heart and to the victory of fullness of life on earth as it is in heaven.

Faith and Works; Believe and Act

This past weekend, I completed a home improvement project that I had dreaded for about a month: hanging our television on our wall.

I know that successfully mounting our TV does not qualify me as accomplished. Similarly, I realize that most people tackle this type of work in short order. Give the typical person an hour and it would be finished.

But, my hesitation stemmed from a belief of mine about my abilities to do just about anything with tools: I am not handy.

This hesitating belief, along with a series of other events from last week, got me thinking about something that I do think I'm good at: organizational culture and what it takes to build a successful one. 

First, at a recent meeting, an educational leader talked about a disciplinary situation involving a kid that "wasn't a bad kid". This comment made me bristle. Behaviors are good or bad; people are gifts from God.

Second, I read through and approved a posting for a faculty position that listed out the school's beliefs: "The ideal candidate for this position believes: Students are granted individual gifts and talents by God to do his work."

Third, my family and I watched Inside Out 2 (on our freshly attached TV) in which the main character, Riley, behaves in a manner consistent with her evolving beliefs: I am a good friend, I am brave, I am talented.

Fourth, the Gospels from both this past Sunday and Monday present Mark's and Luke's accounts, respectively, of these beliefs of Jesus:

• Whoever isn't against us is for us. 
• Be okay with shared leadership and others doing good work in the name of God. Their successes do not equate to your failures. 
• Children are gifts. 
• They should occupy a prime position in our lives. There have been a number of Gospel passages of late that remind us of the sanctity of childhood. 
  

Strong organizational cultures stand firmly upon a core set of principles/ideas/beliefs that provide both stability for the group and a compass for adaptation. Similarly, strong organizational cultures experience tight alignment between what they say (mission, beliefs, values, etc.) and what actually takes place across the organization (policies, programs, procedures, actions, words). 

As written in the Letter of James, "So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:17). 

Even the most beautifully written mission, belief, and/or value statements carry little significance or meaning if not coupled with action.

Conversely, our actions reveal what we truly believe. Sr. Helen Prejean famously quipped, "I watch what I do to see what I believe." 

Given the importance of aligning our works to our faith, consider the underlying beliefs that inspire your words and actions. Think about the number of times that you hesitate because of an underlying belief of inadequacy or act from a belief that limits yours, others, and/or God's potential.

As you recognize these principles that cause you to speak and act, think about the beliefs worthy of our God and therefore worthy of aspiring to: every person is a gift from God; excellence happens on purpose; collaboration is a force multiplier; leadership matters; I can try again.

Then, commit to believing your beliefs and act. Whereas you might end up with a TV on the floor, you might also end up with it ascending and adhering to new heights on your wall. 

Aligning your actions to your beliefs might also cause a group of students, teachers, and your entire school community to ascend to new heights as well and maybe even beyond anything that we could hope for or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Perform works that demonstrate your faith. 

Believe and act.