Give What You Have

Last weekend's first reading mirrored the Gospel. The first reading showcased a widow who offered the remainder of her flour and oil to the prophet Elijah. The Gospel also showcased a widow who offered all that she had - two coins - into the temple treasury.

In both cases, the widows give God what they have. 

In return, Elijah informs the widow and her son that they will have an abundance of flour and oil: "the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry" (1 Kings 17:16). 

Similarly, Jesus praises not those who gave from their abundance, but the widow who, "from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood" (Mark 12:44).

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Widow%27s_Mite_(Le_denier_de_la_veuve)_-_James_Tissot.jpg

Give God what you have. 

As you consider your efforts as Catholic school leaders to be missionary, visionary, strategic, collaborative, analytical, and professional, how might you hold back on offering what you have to God?

Maybe we hold back because of a feeling of inadequacy - we aren't smart enough, skilled enough, we don't have enough time, or enough financial, structural, or personnel resources. Blessed with a poverty of time, experience, and/or resources, how often do we let perfect be the enemy of done? 

Or, blessed with an abundance of any of the above, we can fall into the trap of only giving God our extras. How often do we keep God and His influence on our ministries relegated to just the moments where it feels safe and easy?

Given 15 minutes in between meetings, give God what you have. Get out to a classroom. Write a thank you note. Read an article that you bookmarked. Visit the Blessed Sacrament.

Of course, don't do all of these in 15 minutes. Instead, pick one and give God what you have.

Similarly, don't wait until you're perfect at something before you start to do it. As you're learning how to conduct observations and coaching sessions, do them anyways. Instead of waiting to begin work on a project until you have the perfect plan devised, take an initial step. 

It's apostolic to build the plane while it's in the air. 

Magnify God's greatness by giving Him what you have. In turn, He will magnify your efforts.

Don't worry about what you don't have or what you can't do. Instead, thank God for what you do possess and have the courage - like the women from last weekend's readings - to give all of it, even if it seems insignificant, back to Him.

______________________________________

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

- this poem was found written on the wall in St. Teresa of Kolkata's home for children in Calcutta 

Get Small

Over and over again throughout the past year, God has reminded me to get small. 

Far from a statement about God's assessment of my worth - I am wonderfully made; wonderful are God's works (Psalm 139:14) - this message brings me great encouragement and hope. 

I often feel overwhelmed with the volume of work on my desk. I frequently find myself frustrated with having a lot of responsibility but limited power. I routinely doubt that anything I have or can do will have any sort of impact on the world. 

Thankfully, in these moments I have heard God whisper to my heart: Get small. 

Minister to the people that God has put in my life right now. Love and serve and lead and encourage and support and guide those in front of me right now. Like St. Teresa of Kolkata exhorted in her 1979 Nobel Prize acceptance speech, "And if we really believe, we will begin to love. And if we love, naturally, we will try to do something. First in our own home, our next door neighbor, in the country we live, in the whole world." 

Use the resources that I have - gifts and talents, positional authority, experiences - and allow the God of the universe to use them for His glory. He can feed thousands with five loaves and two fish. He can surely use my feeble efforts and assets to accomplish His work. Similarly, regardless of the amount of power I can wield, I have the ability to thoughtfully communicate and purposefully inform those in decision-making positions, influencing them in life-giving and mission-advancing ways. 

"Given the smallest things / It’s wild what God can do" (https://youtu.be/-soTNi3XZbM?si=MvR26JESwDmc1PWe).  

Do the work that God has entrusted me to do to the best of my abilities. God has called me to be the best Associate Superintendent for Secondary Schools that I can be. As such, I am called to lead and serve schools in the Diocese of Cleveland by designing systems and developing leaders. God hasn't called me to be the presidents or principals of our schools. I'm not called to evangelize the entire diocese. I'm not being called to cure cancer or ease our country's political tensions. 

Get small and watch what God can do. 

This isn't defeatist. It's apostolic. 

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible" (St. Francis of Assisi).

Of One Accord

One of my weekly faith formation activities includes listening to the weekly sermon from Levi Lusko. A Protestant preacher at a church in Montana, I appreciate Levi's gift of connecting scripture with history and culture. In my estimation, he masterfully intertwines relevance with orthodoxy. 

This past week, being a few episodes behind, I providentially listened to his message entitled "There's No 'I' in Awesome." The main takeaway follows: "There's no 'I' in awesome, but there is a 'we'."

There is a "we" in awesome. In fact, the only way for us to be truly awesome necessitates unity with God and others.

Focusing on Psalm 133 (see below), Levi exhorts us to recognize the incredible power of communion.

How good and how pleasant it is, when brethren dwell together as one! Like fine oil on the head, running down upon the beard, upon the beard of Aaron, upon the collar of his robe. Like dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion. There the LORD has decreed a blessing, life for evermore! (Psalm 133)

When we come together in collaboration, uniting around God's mission for our schools, amazing things result: oil - a sign of anointing - overflows in abundance; dew travels over 100 miles of desert conditions to bring "life for evermore!"

Mount Hermon in the north down to Mount Zion, about 120 miles. 

This type of unity takes effort. Levi encourages us to fight to stay tight with the right people.

This type of unity isn't easy, but it is worth it. 

Anchor and commit to communal prayer. 

Communicate your mission, beliefs, and values. 

Communicate them again. 

And again. 

With great clarity in both your words and the actions of both you and your organization. Operationalize your mission, beliefs, and values in your school's policies, procedures, and programs. Allow people to know what you believe by watching and listening to what you do and say.  

Like the apostles huddled in the upper room, waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit, remain united in prayer to the great call - the Great Commission - we have received through Christ. "All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer" (Acts 1:14). "When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together" (Acts 2:1).

And, like the apostles filled with the Holy Spirit, let us go out and "accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20).

United. Of one accord. To Christ's mission. For the glory of God.

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. 

It's Yours, God

I had the blessing of being formed by Fr. Ron Nuzzi during my time as a student in the University of Notre Dame's Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program.

Fr. Nuzzi filled our hearts with conviction for the mission of our Church and her Catholic schools, our minds with the knowledge and skill to be competent Catholic school leaders, and our notebooks with one-liners, zingers, and compelling messages.

One such line, "It's not about you!" still echoes in my heart more than 15 years after this line boomed in my ears. Speaking about his frustration with faculty members who wanted to grade papers during Mass, Fr. Nuzzi recalled exclaiming these words in an attempt to get us to recognize that our efforts as school leaders must account for the following:

• Everything the adults in our buildings do makes a statement about what we deem important.
• When our ministries become more about us than our students' formation, we have - or eventually will - become ineffective.

Our Gospel from this past weekend reminded me of these words, "It's not about you!" In response to the disciples' arguments about who was the greatest among them, Jesus explains how to receive honor in His kingdom: "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." Jesus then goes deeper by putting a child (imagine our students) in the middle of the group, embracing this young person, and declaring, "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me."

It's not about you.

Go to the lowest among us, lower yourself to meet them at their level, and embrace them in the name of Christ and His commission to us, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt. 28:19-20).

Put another way: be humble enough to serve. It's not about you. It's about our students and families who have entrusted themselves to our care and education. It's about the missions of our schools that we have been commissioned to carry out. It's about the Holy Spirit-inspired dreams that God aches for us to make a reality. It's about the details needed to carry out our missions and bring to life our visions. It's about collaborating with others across our boards, our faculties and staffs, our network and our diocesan offices to achieve God's plans for His schools. It's about vulnerably looking at the data and analyzing our effectiveness in doing what we've been called to do. It's about pursuing excellence in all things for God's glory, not ours.

It's not about me. It's not about you.

It's about Him and His children and His schools.

God, it's about You: it's Yours. 

All Yours. 

Alignment

The following line from this past weekend's Gospel spoke to my heart and convicted me, "You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do" (Mark 8:33).

Jesus's message to Peter and the disciples encourages all of us to ensure our thoughts align with the mind and will of God.

As I heard that line from Christ proclaimed last weekend, my heart stirred. 

How often do I think that my efforts depend entirely on me? How many times do I get discouraged unnecessarily? How often do I harbor a grudge instead of offering forgiveness? How frequently do I default to hatred as opposed to love? Despair instead of hope? A dead-end instead of endless possibilities? Death instead of life?

As branches aligned to the true Vine, we must become ever more aware of the presence, promptings, and power of the Holy Spirit within and around us. We must fight to believe our beliefs and doubt our doubts. Too often we doubt our beliefs - does that make them doubts? - instead of holding fast to them in moments of stress and despair.  

We must think as God does. 

We must remember, "God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:7).

In addition to aligning our minds and hearts and wills to those of God, we must also consider the coherence between and among our schools' missions, values, words and actions. What parts of our schools align to these sources of life and which ones are disconnected? What components of our schools fail the celery test?

Which ones, unfortunately, have survived as Monkey Paradigms, vestiges of days gone by, antiquated and stale traditions, practices performed by those with perceived power? 

As we check our own thoughts and behaviors so that they align with God, we must also check the philosophies and practices of our organizations so that they align with our missions, beliefs, and values. 

Alignment signals that all of the parts of ourselves and our organizations experience proper positioning in relation to each other so that everything moves in the same direction. A misaligned vehicle veers off from its intended direction. Misaligned people and organizations will likewise miss their marks as well. 

Instead of straying off course, tighten your alignment to God, to the mission of His schools, and to the beliefs, values, and behaviors of organizations who think and act and love as God does. 

Get Small

Last week, our Church celebrated the feast day of a modern day saint: Mother Teresa of Kolkata (September 5). Known for her radical charity and courageous service to those afflicted by poverty and disease, she consistently offered messages of love and service. The following stand as two of my favorites:

• Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor… Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.

• Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.

In light of my own messages the past two weeks about culture, strategy, and mission, I want to scale back using St. Teresa's words and encourage all of us to get small. We must embrace the fact that the most beautiful mission statements, the most comprehensive cultural frameworks, and the most detailed strategies are only as strong as the individual and intimate relationships between and among members of our communities.

If we want to accomplish amazing things - Holy Spirit-inspired accomplishments - we will do so, paradoxically, by getting small.

Efforts to help teachers grow will fall flat if we do not prioritize the smallest of interactions with each other: returning emails, smiling, greeting them by name, following up regarding questions or concerns or problems, checking in with them, asking for feedback (and listening!).

We can't ensure dental health with a marathon brushing session the night before our teeth cleaning. We can't achieve physical health with a workout and salad the day before our annual physical examination. Both of these require ongoing - and small - maintenance efforts. Similarly, our spiritual lives, while they can be ignited by mountaintop experiences, are sustained and enhanced by daily habits of prayer. Over time, the cumulative effect of brushing our teeth every day, staying active, eating healthy, committing to habits of prayer - anything in which we want to improve - can yield huge payoffs.

Daniel Coyle, in his 2018 text The Culture Code, lifts up starlings and their murmurations as a microcosm of strong cultures built upon a series of small, intimate, and relationship-building interactions. 

The birds move as one unit because they exist in close and safe proximity to each other, vulnerably respond to each others signals, and purposefully unite to appear much larger and more powerful than any one bird by itself. 

Simply put, Coyle (2018) posits strong cultures across sectors rely on three key strategies, all of which intertwine and impact each other: 

1. Build safety
2. Share vulnerably
3. Establish purpose

Additionally, strong cultures, fool-proof strategies, and momentum generating mission statements can be enhanced by our love. Start with our families. Extend that to our friends. Amplify this love out to our coworkers and students and families and those within our communities. Love the person that God has put in front of you right now.

Keep getting small.

Keep loving big.

Missionary

Last week I wrote about the interconnectedness of strategies and culture. As I've reflected on that message and contemplated one for this week, it dawned on me that I, uncharacteristically, did not draw any lines between culture/strategy and our faith.

Foundationally, our work within Catholic schools - culture and strategy - must stand tall upon the pillars of our faith: Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium.

Operationally, our work must advance the mission of Christ: making disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Trinity, and teaching others to observe all that Jesus commanded us (Matthew 26:19-20).

So, when we consider how culture informs our strategies and how our strategies reveal our culture, Christ compels us as Catholic educators to root all that we say and do in Him. If the pursuits in our schools don't lead to Christ, they need pruned, uprooted, and dismantled. Similarly, we need to nurture the fruits of our labors that stem from the Vine and graft new ones onto Him that will allow us to bear an even more abundant harvest.

The Gospel from this past weekend reminded me that we need to vulnerably look at our schools and analyze how we might "cling to human tradition" while disregarding "God's commandments."

What are those practices within our schools that distract us from our true purpose? What policies, procedures, and practices undermine our beliefs, values, and mission? How often are we "keeping the tradition of our elders" instead of focusing on the true, the good, and the beautiful?

If we could reengineer our schools and build them back up, how closely would they resemble our current landscapes? If we started to passionately operate on behalf of the missions of our schools, how might we better prioritize our work, anchor decisions regarding complex situations in our beliefs and values, and point our communities to what's truly important and worthy of our time, talent, treasure, and prayers? If we courageously committed to our convictions and clearly communicated the connections between our behaviors and our beliefs, how much more energy, momentum, and enthusiasm might we generate about our schools?

Cling to God's commandments.

Hold fast to the messages of our schools' missions, beliefs, values, pillars, charisms, and philosophies.

As a missionary for Christ and His schools, "go and make disciples" through irresistibly Catholic, academically excellent, operationally vibrant, and zealously lead Catholic schools.

Culture is a Strategy

You may have heard the following oft repeated quote regarding culture, misattributed to Peter Drucker, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." I don't use it here to perpetuate this deception. I'm also not the biggest fan of it, as if a ping pong table in the faculty lounge will enhance the productivity of a school. Its aggressive and convicted tone also cause me to pause.

I definitely get its essence: the best laid plans will go awry unless they align with our mission, beliefs, values, and unscripted behaviors. For example, the manner in which we convey a message also conveys a message. If we desire our teachers to communicate professionally yet inform them of this in an email with misspelled words, or at a meeting in a demeaning tone, or by revealing a particular teacher's snafu along these lines, our culture just ate our strategy. Similarly, we might have lots of strong policies and procedures and clear expectations yet not attend to the human needs of our community members for belonging, rest, and purpose. It won't be long before burnout ensues and productivity suffers.

The positive connotation of the quote posits the power of culture, suggesting that a strong culture can compensate for a subpar strategy. Get the culture right and you'll be on your way to higher job satisfaction, greater productivity, and operational viability.

But, I think we can also understand the quote in nuanced way: many believe breakfast to be the most important meal of the day. As such, culture's beginning of the day meal choice strategically provides the energy and strength needed to sustain the culture. We might promote parents and families as the primary educators of our students yet only communicate with them when a problem has arrived at its last resort. In this scenario, lacking a more specific strategy for communicating with parents and families causes the culture to grow weaker.

Culture eats strategy for breakfast because culture needs strategies in order to thrive. In fact, to mix aphorisms, if we are what we eat, then culture is a strategy. Aligning our strategies to our culturally foundational statements (mission, beliefs, values, pillars, philosophy, and/or charisms) strengthens both. Striving for this type of coherence between and among the various aspects of our schools anchors what we do in who we are, and operationalizes the pithy language that adorns our walls, email signatures, and handbooks.

As we continue to emphasize our schools' mission statements, consider the ways in which we can create strategies as leaders to accomplish it.

Likewise, what parts of our communities need pruned because of their disconnection from or opposition to our mission? The monkey paradigms in our schools dim the parts that shine brightly.

How might we build shared understanding about our shared language so that we can ensure shared experiences? Be explicit about what the various words and phrases in our foundational statements mean: how does the school community collectively define values like "hope", "tradition", or "change"?

What behaviors need checked because they misalign with who we say we are as an organization?

Since culture is a strategy and our strategies reveal our cultures, let's be intentional about what we're eating and feeding others for breakfast or any meal. As we become what we consume, may we grow into the strong, vibrant, and life-giving schools we hope to be.

The Inspiration of the Holy Spirit

The following reading from the prophet Ezekiel has surfaced in my prayer routines in a few different contexts over the past few weeks. As a new academic year takes flight, this passage from Sacred Scripture has inspired some reflections about the work that lies ahead for teachers, leaders, and staff members of our Catholic schools. 

Ezekiel recounts one of his divinely inspired visions of both the return of the Jewish people to Israel and Christ's resurrection from the dead. He sees a valley of dry bones over which God commands him to tell bones to "hear the word of the Lord" (37:4) because Ezekiel will "make breath enter you so you may come to life" (37:5) so that "you shall know that I am the Lord" (37:6): 

...I prophesied as I had been commanded. A sound started up, as I was prophesying, rattling like thunder. The bones came together, bone joining to bone. As I watched, sinews appeared on them, flesh grew over them, skin covered them on top, but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me: Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man! Say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: From the four winds come, O breath, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.

I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath entered them; they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army. 

(for the full passage, go here: Ezekiel 37:1-14)

I pray that this reading from the prophet Ezekiel will inspire our efforts as Catholic school educators:

...I prophesied as I had been commanded...

Ezekiel, even though he stood over a valley of dry bones, did as the Lord commanded him. He prophesized for the breath of the Holy Spirit to come upon the dry bones and bring them back to life. Two quick scientific insights to drive home what God has commanded Ezekiel to do: bones aren't dry unless they have been out of a body for a long time, and dry bones are dead bones.

Takeaways: 

• In the moments where your ministry mirrors a minefield, call upon the Holy Spirit to fill you with His gifts: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
• When what God has requested of you seems impossible and trying to accomplish it seems foolish, act anyways. G.K. Chesterton described a prophet as someone who stands on his/her head to see the world aright. Let Christ use you as He sees fit for His greater glory. 

...A sound started up, as I was prophesying, rattling like thunder. The bones came together, bone joining to bone. As I watched, sinews appeared on them, flesh grew over them, skin covered them on top, but there was no breath in them.

Ezekiel's first prophetic attempt to bring the bones back to life had some, but not complete, success. 

Takeaway:

• Keep grinding. Keep improving. Keep working. Stay encouraged. As you work really hard to bring students to fullness of life in Jesus Christ and experience disproportionately small success, DO NOT GIVE UP. A prophet acknowledges dire circumstances, recognizes the need for God's truth and goodness, and breathes HOPE into the situation so that it can and will improve.   

 

...Then he said to me: Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man! Say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: From the four winds come, O breath, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.

I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath entered them; they came to life and stood on their feet, a vast army. 

Ezekiel's obedience pays off in the end. The bones come back to life and a "vast army" assembles. 

Takeaways: 

• Remain faithful to the call you have received 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).
• Trust that our efforts to educate in the Catholic faith and intellectual traditions will create a "vast army" for God's Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. Remember that "(t)he vocation of every Catholic educator includes the work of ongoing social development: to form men and women who will be ready to take their place in society, preparing them in such a way that they will make the kind of social commitment which will enable them to work 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). 
• The word "inspired" means "God breathed" in Greek. As such, those of us inspired by the Holy Spirit must breathe new life into others. Allow the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to resurrect the dry bones inside of you so that you can, in turn, breathe His life into others. 

Come, Holy Spirit, come!  

Worthy of the Call

Ephesians 4:1-6

Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:

one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call;

one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

I have been reflecting on this passage from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians for the past week or so. I used it for a retreat with new principals in the Diocese of Cleveland last week and in a letter to my nephew on his senior retreat. Then, during this past Sunday's celebration of the Eucharist, this excerpt from St. Paul was the second reading. 

I've acknowledged before how much I benefit from repetition in my learning and coming across these words in yet another context in a relatively short amount of time leads me to believe that God wants me to hear these words and take them to heart.  

Moved and inspired by the Holy Spirit, these three messages emerged through my many recent touchpoints with these words from St. Paul:

First, when Paul encourages the Church at Ephesus to “live in a manner worthy of the call you have received” I am reminded of that Christ’s call has echoed throughout the ages and has come to me and you: “Follow me.” Like the first disciples - Andrew and Peter, James and John - Christ has called us to lay down our nets and follow Him. There are many ways in which we forget this call and cling to the nets of our lives - claiming our identities in our talents, abilities, status, possessions, interests instead of His love for us; growing discouraged that we’re not qualified instead of trusting that He will qualify those He has called; or just being too busy, distracted, and self-centered instead of intentional, prayerful, and focused on others. 

In many ways, we have to fight to remember that Christ has called us to discipleship and that this call demands us to act like it! 

Let us remember that God has called us and that He has an important part for each of us to play in His story.

Second, St. Paul reminds the Ephesians that we can live in a manner worthy of the call we have received through our humility, gentleness, patience, and love. At first glance, this could sound a bit like being passive or quiet. But, our Lord was anything but passive. 

He drove out demons, He overturned tables in the temple, He healed the wounded, cured the sick, loved the outcast, challenged the religious and political leaders of His time, and selflessly allowed Himself to be sacrificed for us. 

Living in a manner worthy of His call means that we must live like Him! 

So, instead of gentleness in a way that might be considered weak, I interpret this part of Paul’s message to mean meek. Meek means that you have immense power and strength and that you can control both in productive, beautiful, and life-giving ways. 

May each of us continue to harness our strength so that we can put it to use for God’s glory and building up His Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. 

Third and finally, the passage ends with a great urge for unity with God and with others. I often like to think about the difference between unity (connected together) and uniformity (all the same) prioritizing the first instead of the second. This call for unity means that we strive to stay connected to God through prayer - reading scripture, conversing with God, silently listening to Him, and offering Him our worship and praise. This will look different for you and me and every other person. The way that we unite ourselves to Him will be personal and unique to each person (again, unity not uniformity). 

May we keep developing our relationships with Him and know that healthy relationships will evolve over time. In this way, let us stay anchored in our habits of prayer and remain open to new ways of uniting with Christ. 

Similarly, Paul reminds Ephesus that staying united to Christ requires that we also unite with each other. Acts of service, especially to those closest to us, honor our divine heritage. Just like God - three persons in one God - we were made for each other and we thrive when we unite together. As such, be a person who connects. Do the hard work of uniting with others in your relationships as Christ did. Whether it was turning water into wine, multiplying the loaves and fish, or raising Lazarus from the dead, Christ constantly united with others in His ministry. 

Do the same: invite, unite, and ignite a flame in the hearts of all who come to know you.

Let us live in a manner worthy of the call that we have received for God's glory and honor and praise. 

Be in the Light and Be the Light

Cleveland has experienced a heat wave over the past few days. Right in time for the beginning of summer and the day with the longest amount of daylight in the year, the extreme temperatures have caused power outages and the resulting anxiety about how the blackout will last - should we try to go somewhere with power (and air conditioning), what should we do about the food in our refrigerator, how much charge does my cellphone have, should we gather candles and flashlights.

Thankfully, given the longer days and shorter nights during this time of year, that last worry about gathering handheld and small scale lights decreases. The sun won't set tonight until after 9:00 p.m. in Northeast Ohio, meaning that it will stay light until almost 10:00 p.m.

Growing up as a child and through my teenage years, I loved the longer periods of light and the many other ways in which light is associated with summer. 

Lightning bugs/fire flies.

Sparklers and fireworks. 

Bonfires/grills and smores. 

In the summer, especially in Northeast Ohio where it can otherwise be pretty cloudy, I just want to be in the light. 

But, there are consequences. 

Too much sun damages our skin.  

The summer sun brings with it intense heat.

At times, the light can be blinding, especially while driving.

Thanks to sunscreen, shelter, moisture wicking clothing, air conditioning, fans, and sunglasses we can enjoy the good parts of the sun while mitigating its negative effects. 

While today I will embrace the length of daylight and try in vain to keep the extra time with the sun throughout the year, I'm reminded of another kind of light that never fades or harms: the light of Christ. 

His light doesn't go out. It never burns or even gets too hot. 

It illuminates the true, good, and beautiful. It provides comfort, healing, relief, clarity.

Obviously, we can soak up the light of Christ through the Celebration of the Eucharist. 

Adoration offers another opportunity to bask in His glorious light. 

Similarly, the other Sacraments, especially penance, provide us with His light. Christ's light shines through the reading of Sacred Scripture. We experience His light when we look outside of ourselves and perform service to others. Christ's light glows when two or more are gathered in solidarity with Him and each other. The light of Christ chases away the darkness of ignorance through study in all forms, but especially about our faith.

And, the more time that we spend in Christ's light, the more that we, in turn, start to shine. 

Similar to something that glows in the dark only after exposure to light, we become a light for others only after our encounters and relationship with Jesus. 

This summer and always, be in the Light and be the light. 

Let it shine!  

Father Time

I've written about the concept of time multiple, err, times. 

My current reflection on it stems from a recent experience I had with one of my children. Despite the many demands on my time, I intentionally made the choice to "waste" time by engaging in imaginative play. What started off as a chance to use a seldom chosen toy turned into a multi-hour and multi-prop session. 

This recent experience replicated similar ones throughout my time as a father "wasting" time with my kids: coloring, playing, dancing, singing, building, cooking, imagining, snuggling, laughing. 

The thing is, though, these moments are anything but wasted. 

Think about the various ways that we describe how we use time: 

• Waste time. 
• Make time.
• Take time.
• Spend time. 
• Invest time. 

Time is fixed, finite, limited. So, it makes sense that we consider it much like a commodity or resource such as money or food or oil or wood. 

And it is possible to do all of the above. I've definitely wasted too many hours, days, weeks, months and years throughout my life. 

When it comes to the time that goes toward our relationships, though, perhaps we need another way to capture our intentions. 

How about "cherish"?

Instead of saying that I was wasting time with my kids, might it be better thematized by saying I was cherishing time with my kids? 

Now, I admit that I don't always feel like I'm cherishing this time. Like Bandit, the father in the show Bluey, I often lament when my kids suggest certain activities - like ones that require me to move a lot when I'm really tired.

But, despite any of my hesitations, I have never regretted cherishing time with them. 

I pray that, despite my human limitations and failings, that they know of my deep and abiding love for them. In addition to saying it, I hope to tell my kids that I love them through my actions. 

Ever since becoming a father, I have had many moments of prayer when I have reflected on the Father's love for me in relation to my love for my children. 

Whether time spent in adoration, at weekday mass, in the confessional, in quiet prayer when I first wake up, or pausing to ask Him to bless my food before eating, I know that our Father cherishes time with me. His perfect love delights in my efforts to connect with Him. Much like how I appreciate when my kids just want to be close to me, I know that God rejoices in my efforts to be in His presence.  

As the old hymn sings, "How deep the Father's love for us! How vast beyond all measure!" 

Time, while it can be wasted or taken or spent, should be cherished. Instead of an exchanged commodity, we should view time as a gift. 

In accepting it, I can then cherish it, and offer it back to God and my kids and my wife and my family and my friends and my co-workers and everyone as a gift. 

Accept. Cherish. Offer. 

Your time. 

Your self. 

Re-creation

For educators, the next few days and weeks will mark the completion of graduation events, final exams, grading, teacher meetings, end-of-the-year picnics and the welcomed shift to the behind-the-scenes vision-casting, strategy-forging, program-building, policy-revising, and breath-catching time of summer.

Make the most of it. I don't offer this in a harsh way, but rather with encouragement and compassion. Bl. Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, recommended those within his order follow this advice during periods of downtime:

How many things we have to learn! We have only to recall the duties of the priest or the teacher to understand how frightful would be our responsibility to religion, parents, and ourselves were we to neglect to acquire or preserve the knowledge proper to our vocation. Let us make good use of all our leisure time, so as to increase the fund of information that will make us more useful to the congregation and build up the reputation of its members. Above all, let us not only study, but let us observe the liturgy and ceremonies of the Church, the rubrics, the sacred chant, and let us be faithful to our rules and constitutions.

As you take time to replenish, restore, and rejuvenate, stay anchored in prayer and continue to enhance your knowledge and skills in Catholic school education and leadership.

The God of the universe built the seasons into the rhythm of creation to allow for this regeneration each year. This same God inspired His Church to mimic this wisdom and do the same with the liturgical calendar to foster new growth. Similarly, one of His commandments invites us to set aside time each week for worship, community, and rest. 

The same is true for how we have been created as humans: taking periodic breaks can provide more productivity, moving can reset our ability to concentrate, and God hard-wired us to need sleep each day.

While there is much about education that we can and should change, having periods of recreation can garner greater gains during our times of intense focus. 

The key in any of these seasons, but especially in those of recreation, is to be intentional about what, how, and why we do it. 

Plans guard against binge watching and mindless scrolling. Plans encourage us to look back at periods of break with satisfaction - I finally read that book, I finally took that trip, I finally made that phone call, I finally cleaned that room, I finally tried that recipe, I finally got back into exercising, I finally took up that new hobby, I finally spent quality time with friends/family. Plans keep us from overindulging in these needed moments of pleasure, leisure, and entertainment. 

While this nudge toward intentionality isn't meant to be harsh, it also isn't meant to script out and control every moment of our lives. Too much rigidity, especially in seasons of recreation, can illicit a negative effect. 

Spontaneity, whimsicality, improvisation, and flexibility play key roles in allowing the Holy Spirit to mold, fill, and use us in ways beyond our limited imaginings. 

So, create a plan for this upcoming season of summer. And, allow God to re-create both it and you in the process. 

He's making all things new.

Including you.   

Tinker

Due to many various factors - lags in repair shop timelines (May is apparently a busy month for lawn mower maintenance) to name the most impactful one - I have been trying to bring an old lawn mower back to life.

I am far from handy. Most DIY projects in the Zelenka household require going back a few steps and redoing something correctly.

I also know nothing about engines big or small or in-between.

But, there are many outstanding resources online - tips from experts, PDFs of manufacturer manuals, and step-by-step videos from people who have navigated similar problems in the past. So, I have cleaned out the fuel tank, replaced the sparkplug and filters, changed the oil, and disassembled and de-clogged the carburetor (multiple times).

Two weeks ago, I successfully got the mower to start and cut about 1/2 of our yard before it sputtered out. After a series of starts and stops, and new internet searches diagnosing this new problem, I borrowed a friend's machine and finished the job for that weekend. 

Throughout the week, I reassessed what I had already done (was the carburetor only clean enough, was the sparkplug not as sparky as it needed to be, was the fuel filter dirty, did I not put the choke back together correctly...), and I scoured the internet for more insights, especially considering the mower was now only mostly dead.

Since the machine had started the sparkplug had to have been okay. A quick check on it found it to be sparkling clean. 

Since it had run for a bit and then died, there must be something happening with the gas. The filter checked out as clear. The gas tank was free from debris. The carburetor took an overnight bath in cleaner and emerged almost like new.  

It turned out that the final ailment was a clogged fuel line.

It had new oil, fresh gas, a sparking sparkplug, and a completely cleaned out carburetor, but because of the buildup in the fuel line, the engine didn't have enough gas to keep running. Over time enough gas would trickle into the carburetor so that it would start and run, but it wasn't able to tap into a steady supply of fuel.

It wasn't that it didn't have enough gas. The tank was full.

The engine couldn't access it.

I am proud to report that I successfully cut my lawn with my rejuvenated lawnmower on Friday of last week thanks to a new fuel line - and the other maintenance procedures that were performed. 

To prove it wasn't a fluke, the grass got cut again last night with my restored machine. 

I share this saga to inspire your own efforts to determine the root causes to some of the aspects of your schools that you would like to change:

• Dig into the data.
• Study up to enhance your own understanding of the situation.
• Make an informed tweak and try again.
• Dig into the data and start the cycle for improvement over again.

Our academic year - much like the seasons - provides us with a natural cadence to affect positive changes and the summer is a wonderful time to dig into the data, study up, and craft a tweak for improvement.

As we move to the end of the 23-24 school year, set the table for some data analysis, study, and tinkering. Consider the areas on which you would like to focus and plan out your approach to breathe new life into them.

Come next fall, if these changes don't yield the intended harvest, the process can begin again...and again...and again...and again...

Also, as we finish the 2023-24 academic year with teachers and students and look ahead to a summer of diagnoses and tweaks to our organizational machines, let us also take the time to ensure that our spiritual engines are getting enough gas. 

Take time to clean out the fuel lines of your ministry and vocation to ensure that the Holy Spirit has access to the engine of your heart. Remove the buildup of the past year by establishing new routines of prayer, reclaiming those that fell away, and reflecting on the tests, trials, and triumphs of your prayer, professional, and personal lives.

Keep striving to become the best people, ministers, leaders, and organizations that we can be. 

Tinker. Over and over and over again with data analysis and ongoing study.

Improve. 

His Train is Bound For Glory

My grandfather, John Homa, passed into eternal just a few weeks shy of his 100th birthday. Over the past two years, I had the immense blessing to spend time with him. During one of my many visits to see him, he and I talked for almost two hours, covering everything from his greatest fear to his happiest memory to his favorite vacation spot to his advice to me in my marriage to his favorite sport...

I asked him so many questions that towards the end of our conversation I thanked him for talking so much to me and I apologized for grilling him with so many questions. 

He chuckled before responding, "John Homa's Life by Mike."

I told him that it would be the book on how to live until 99 and 11/12 and be happy and healthy.

Those of us on the earlier side of 99 years of age could learn a few lessons from someone who:

• survived the Great Depression
• served in the Army during World War II
• worked the same job - a railroad engineer - for 35 years, rising out of poverty and retiring at the age of 55 with great financial stability
• remained married to the same woman for 56 years, faithfully caring for her throughout the final two years of her life
• traveled across the continental United States
• circumnavigated the globe, beginning and ending his life's journey in Berea, Ohio.

While there are countless lessons that could be included in this how-to on almost becoming a centenarian, my grandfather's passion for trains offers a wonderful vehicle by which we can take a trip toward a happy and healthy life. As I've reflected on the legacy of his life, I can see how trains marked just about every part of it.

Engineering trains was the job that he said he would have done even if he didn't get paid. It was what allowed him to stay out of active combat during World War II. Trains gave him the chance to travel across the country and accumulate enough wealth to have a winter - and eventually a permanent home - in Florida. 

For a kid whose widowed mother asked him to go into the neighbor's farm to pick up potatoes that had been unfit for harvest just so his family could eat, working on the railroad afforded my Grandpa a ticket to a new life. Even his signature on cards bore the sign of the railroad: underneath his name he always included "xoxo."

So, as a way to celebrate the life of my grandfather, John Homa, I invite us to board the train of his life and learn three lessons so that we, too, might travel as far as he did on this earth. 

• Stay on track. Trains can't deviate from their tracks and my Grandpa didn't either. He was a creature of habit and his routines ruled supreme. But, he didn't just stay on track. He stayed on the right tracks:
• Keep moving: Upon his retirement, he would play golf every day. He did this until my Grandma needed extra care and moved into a nursing home. From that moment on, he would go to visit her instead of golf. Once she passed away, this routine morphed into daily morning walks. A key part of this movement included his novel eating habits: he would typically only eat one meal a day, fasting well before it became fashionable. 
• Keep on schedule: He was always on time. Just like a train that kept on schedule, my Grandpa would get to appointments or meet-ups well in advance of the agreed upon time - if you merely showed up on time, he would tell you that you were late. 
• Connect with others: Trains connect people, cities, and industries. The web or railways that cross our country appear as the veins supplying blood to the body of America (see below). After the passing of my Father, Grandpa would call my Mom every morning at 5:30 a.m. (another nod to his schedule) proudly serenading her awake on his way to meet his Baloney Club members. He was the most consistent card giver I have ever met, sending specific cards for every occasion (I never knew there were so many "To Grandson and His Family" cards to choose from!). 

• Stay young at heart. Trains are somewhat of a universal toy. Even as trains have fallen out of the day-to-day importance for most people, they have remained staples in our toy boxes, around our Christmas trees, and in our hearts as something that evokes excitement and fun. The sound of the whistle, counting cars at a crossing, racing trains on the highways. Trains bring out the kid in all of us. And, all the way up to the end of his life, my Grandpa stayed young at heart. My Grandpa loved telling and listening to jokes. His chuckle often replaced spoken responses. He loved playing and watching golf - quipping that Max Homa, who experienced decent success at this year's Masters, wasn't related to us because, in the words of my Grandpa, "I'm much better looking that him." He loved dessert and snacks - never overindulging but rather delighting in slices of pie, pieces of cake, cheese balls, popcorn, potato sticks, and finger foods like ribs and chicken wings. He played cards. He traveled. He read books. He listened to the radio. Like the soul of a train that stirs the kid in all of us, my Grandpa stayed young at heart. 
• Stay strong. Trains are strong. Cow Catchers effortlessly remove obstacles on a train's track. Superman's strength was compared to the power of a locomotive. The transcontinental railroad cut through and went under and climbed up and sped down mountains. Like a speeding train, my Grandpa was strong. As a teenager, he organized a strike of caddies, throwing a scab attempting to cross the line into a nearby pond. When asked by one of his great-granddaughters why he enlisted in the Army, he boldly responded, "So we could win the war." His love for my Grandmother exuded strength. He was chivalrous and loyal and sacrificial, and I was blessed to witness the strength of his love for her as he cared for my Grandma during the final stages of her life. He would remind me to open doors for my wife and to not forget how blessed I was to have her as my bride. His strength continued all the way - and perhaps most powerfully - until the end of his life. Sometimes strength requires submission. Despite being independent for 98 years of his life, he graciously accepted the care of others as his body declined. Even a train that's slowing down and pulling into its station can't easily be stopped by virtue of its strength. Like a train in motion or standing still, my Grandpa stayed strong his entire life.

Stay on (the right) track. Stay young at heart. Stay strong. 

Three simple lessons. 99 and 11/12 beautiful years. 

One train bound for glory. 

All aboard. 

The Patient and Painful Path of Progress

"We were created for greatness—for God himself; we were created to be filled by God. But our hearts are too small for the greatness to which they are destined. Our hearts must be stretched…”

-Pope Benedict XVI, 2007, Spe Salvi, para. 33

“No pain, no gain” stood as a popular weightlifting mantra during my teenage and young adult years.

“Championships are won in the off-season” was another oft-quoted phrase in the sporting world, encouraging players to work hard to develop skills and athleticism during the days, weeks, and months outside of the season of competition.

“Pain is temporary, pride is forever” also attempts to remind people going through the paces of any sort of training to endure through excruciation to enjoy the excitement of excellence.

Instability, confusion, doubt, and discomfort pave the pathways of progress.

Growth inevitability requires stretching, rebuilding, reinforcing, repairing, restoring.

Whether in sports, the arts, learning, relationships, fitness, or our faith, getting better, smarter, stronger, faster, kinder, more loving, more patient, more faithful, more forgiving, or more hopeful involves struggle.

The depths of defeat.

The soreness required to get stronger.

The frustration of fine tuning - practicing something over and over and over…

The heartache of losing someone you love.

The sacrifice of seeing others as more important than yourself.

The confusion caused by concepts just beyond our mental capacity.

The mystery of a God Who is closer to us than we are to ourselves yet so far beyond anything we can imagine.

In no way does this idolize pain. Nor does this invite ignoring abuse, neglect, irresponsibility, harm, or danger. There are many types of pain we should and must avoid and take action to keep ourselves and those we love safe from evil, harm, and illness.

But, if you find yourself in the in between stage, the passing through, the not yet, the middle - middle school, middle age, middle child, middle seat, middle just about anything - getting settled in a new job, new city, or new home or in the midst of graduate studies, or in one of the many stages of grief over the loss of a loved one, or battling a sickness, or trying to heal and restore a broken relationship, whatever your circumstances of being incomplete, trust in the slow work of God that is leading you to the greatness for which you were created.

Allow yourself to be stretched so that God can fill you with even more of Himself - more love, more strength, more compassion, more mercy, more justice, more forgiveness, more peace.

More of God, and less of me. Even when its painful. 

For His greatness, not mine.

Where It Happens

I’m in Cleveland, where those in the area will be able to witness the solar eclipse in its totality today. 

Cleveland, though, boasts the following stat: it ranks in the top ten cloudiest cities in the United States. As such, viewing this once in a lifetime event in Cleveland stands as probable at best.

For those of us who have heard about how awe-inspiring this occurrence promises to be, we must decide whether or not we travel to sunnier spots along the path of totality or if we just stay put.

Personally, I really want to be where it happens.

As I’ve reflected on the possibility that no matter what I decide to do - should I stay or should I go now? - that I might not witness this event, I’ve thought about why I so badly want to see a total eclipse of the heart…er, sun.

I want to witness the wonderful grandeur and incredible order of God’s creation. I want to observe the mysterious workings of His immense universe. 

But, do I need to be in a spot where the eclipse takes place to more fully believe in God? 

Will it add to my faith to see with my own eyes the creative God winks that I have heard described and documented - snake shadows, pinhole projections, altered animal behavior, the change in temperature, seeing the craters of the moon, and other joys? 

While it wouldn't hurt, I need to lean on the inspiration of my faith to be okay with whatever happens in a few hours.  

Thomas wasn’t initially in the room where it happened. It’s not clear whether any of the other disciples asked for the same proof of Jesus’s Resurrection but Jesus reminds Thomas and us, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed" (John 20:29).

Only Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb on Easter Sunday morning. I wonder if the other disciples regretted not accompanying them on this task to see and hear for themselves the empty tomb and the angel's testimony that "He has been raised; he is not here" (Mark 16:6). 

James didn’t accompany his running club mates of Peter and John on their sprint to see if the tomb really had been evacuated. Maybe James regretted his choice to skip this workout after discovering that he missed his chance to enter the vacant tomb and to see the burial clothes no longer serving their purpose (John 20:7). 

In all of these cases, those that didn't see or hear or touch or encounter had to rely on their faith to believe. Those that weren't in the room to watch Christ heal the person who had been paralyzed walk for the first time, had to trust in the accounts of others that what they had seen and heard was as they described (Mark 2:3-11). 

But, even those that aren't in the room where it happens still have exposure to the miraculous. 

The Resurrection proved that Jesus eclipsed sin and death.

While those in the path of totality (including me) will anxiously await four minutes of darkness, my baptism gave me the light of faith in Jesus Christ, a light which no amount of darkness can or ever will overcome. 

I can wonder and awe at the infinite fingerprints of God over all of His creation - from the beauty of a sunrise/sunset, to the intricacies of the heart, to the unknown ways in which the brain functions, to the aroma of flowers, to the exquisite taste of an orange, to the harmonies of a symphony, to the miraculous manifestation of God's love for me and my wife in the individuality of my three kids.

Each and every single day, God reveals to each of us His amazingness. 

Therefore, if I have the eyes, and ears, and heart of faith, I am always where it happens. 

Today is Ordinary

How many hallelujahs will it take for you get in line
When will you ever learn from your mistakes boy you gotta try
Deadlines and progress 
Just being honest 
You can do what you want with your time
I don’t wanna waste mine
No, I don’t wanna waste mine

- Needtobreathe, Wasting Time

Last week we concluded the Christmas season and have officially moved into Ordinary Time within the Church's liturgical calendar. Candidly, prior to last week I had assumed that this meant "non-special" times throughout the year.

Ordinary.

Average.

Meh.

However, our Church terms this time "ordinary" not because it isn't special, but because it is numbered in a sequential fashion. The Second Week in Ordinary Time. Thursday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time. The 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

This new understanding of Ordinary Time struck me: God has numbered our time. Instead of a feeling of discouragement, this left me encouraged. It inspired me. The time we have to do the work that God has called us to do has a limit.

Let's go.

In the high school environment, we only have our students for 4 years; even less with students who transfer after 9th grade. We only get 180 instructional days each year - actually even less when we factor in "non-instructional" days/moments with students - retreats, pictures, service projects, early dismissals, assemblies! There are only so many minutes in an instructional period, which also get squandered for announcement interruptions, classroom management issues, and a lack of preparedness.

Every moment matters. Each one is sacred, holy, incarnational and not just because they are limited but because they are the gifts from God. 

That's why we call right now the present. 

Let's make the most of our borrowed time (if you want to go deeper on this theme, you can check this post out: https://icscatholicedu.blogspot.com/2022/06/borrowed-time.html). 

St. Josemaria Escriva popularized the heroic minute as getting out of bed precisely after your alarm sounds. In St. Josemaria's own words, the heroic minute is “the time fixed for getting up. Without hesitation: a supernatural reflection and… up! The heroic minute: here you have a mortification that strengthens your will and does no harm to your body” (The Way, no. 206).

While I am infamous for snoozing, I have tried to extrapolate St. Josemaria's motto to include any moment of the day. 

Send the email/text. Make the phone call. Take the stairs. Sing. Pray. Hold the door. Pick up trash. Smile. Repent. Forgive. Hug. Try again. Put down your device. Pick up your head. Live from your heart. 

Respond to the whispers and promptings and urgings of the Holy Spirit and take action.

Up!

Today may be ordinary - numbered - but that is precisely why it is the perfect moment to be heroic. 

Deliver Me

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas! May the joyful hope and everlasting peace of the birth of Christ fill this new calendar year with renewed missionary purpose and visionary anticipation!

During prayer and reflection at the conclusion of Advent and throughout the Christmas season thus far, the message "deliver me" has surfaced over and over.

It really hit home when this song - one that I had never heard before - popped up on my feed. 

Deliver Him. To the world. To my family. To my friends. At my work. Throughout my life. 

Deliver the Gospel message.

Deliver Christ so that Emmanuel - God with us - truly comes.  

Especially now that Christmas for most is neatly sealed and put away until November 1, 2024, deliver Him. Like the theologian Howard Thurman notes in his poem, "The Work of Christmas" this is when the work of Christmas begins: 

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among others,

To make music in the heart. 

John the Baptist declared, "Make straight the way of the Lord." Mother Mary received the angel Gabriel's invitation, "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus." Angels sang glory to God declaring the birth of our Savior. The shepherds returned to their flocks glorifying and praising God. Mary and Joseph presented the infant Christ in the temple. Joseph, being warned in a dream, led the Holy Family to Egypt.

John delivered the news that the Messiah's coming was imminent. Mary delivered Christ into the world. The angels and shepherds delivered the Good News of Christ's birth beyond the stable. Mary and Joseph delivered Jesus to the temple, dedicating Him back to His Heavenly Father. Joseph delivered the Holy Family from the dangers of remaining in Israel.

These scriptural messages, coupled with the tasks of the season - delivering Christmas cards, delivering presents, delivering cookies, delivering lights and trees and ornaments and Christmas music and Christmas sweaters - have inspired me to take up this invitation from God this year:

"Deliver Me."

Let us deliver the hope, peace, joy and love of Christ's birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension to our communities, our cities, our states, our countries, and our world this year and always.

And, as we deliver Christ to a world in desperate need of rediscovering itself, may our Deliverer deliver us. 

May my Deliverer - Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God - deliver me.