The Lukewarm Go Elsewhere

 “It is necessary for us to undergo hardships...” (Acts 14:22).

We are an Easter people and alleluia is our song!

Once of my favorite parts of the Easter season includes hearing the stories from the Acts of the Apostles. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the apostles work to establish the Church by being Jesus to others in word and action. From huge conversions to miraculous healings to living in community to prison breaks to earth shaking prayers, listening to these pioneers of our faith fills me with zeal and conviction.

This Easter, one theme has resonated with me in new and compelling ways: ministry entails hardships.

Put another way: Good Friday precedes Easter Sunday. This is the Paschal Mystery. 

The apostles "rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name (of Jesus)" (Acts 5:41).

They encourage each other to "continue in the faith, saying 'It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God'" (Acts 14:22).

In his second letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul boasts of the following: "Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure. And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches" (2 Corinthians 11:24-28).

This reminds me of a line from Fr. Ron Nuzzi, who served as the Director of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program when I joined in 2007. As a way to recruit aspiring Catholic school leaders to this graduate-level course of studies, he quipped, "The lukewarm go elsewhere."

*jump to the 7:27 minute-mark:

In so many ways, we are conditioned to avoid hardships and difficulties - and for good reason. Air conditioning/heat keeps us comfortable. Snacking staves off "hanger." Online shopping saves time. Frequent communication with teachers, families, and students can prevent all sorts of problems. Detailed plans for events such as assemblies, standardized testing, open house can mitigate real-time mishaps and errors. Building systems - enrollment management, moves management, observation cycles - and aligning our efforts to mission should improve efficiency and effectiveness across our organizations.

But, the tales of these early Church ministers should remind us that we work in enemy occupied territory. Therefore, expect difficulties, embrace opposition and rejoice in toiling for Christ's kingdom here on earth.

The work is hard but we can do hard things. 

We should reframe challenges as opportunities for us to grow and minister, literally replacing the words challenges, hardships, difficulties, etc. with opportunity or even blessing!

Let us find encouragement from the apostles as we work in the vineyard of Catholic education. Let us support each other in the efforts expended to advance the Church's vision for Catholic education - to form students who will go out into the world and make it more aligned to the principles of the Gospel.

And, let us rejoice - I say it again, rejoice - for being found worthy to endure whatever comes our way in Catholic education for the Holy Name of Jesus.

The lukewarm go elsewhere. 

Built to Last

The election of Pope Leo XIV filled me with wonder and awe over the longevity of the Catholic Church. As the 266th successor of St. Peter, the first Pope, Pope Leo XIV stands solidly upon the foundations of our faith, firmly established by Jesus when He declared, "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). 

Standing in front of the center of paganism at the time, Caesarea Philippi, Jesus planted the seeds of the Church that more than 2,000 years later continues to flourish. 

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The longevity of our Church fills me with great conviction and inspiration to ensure that the Church's various structures, including and especially Her Catholic schools, can similarly withstand the test of time. 

Recently, I have been rereading the book, Cultures Built to Last: Systemic PLCs at Work (DuFour and Fullan, 2013), and a few messages from this text have resonated with me in new ways. My previous interactions with this book were prior to working as an associate superintendent.

First, the authors site research that reinforces the impact that a strong central office can have on student learning. Candidly, this has reinforced and galvanized my conviction surrounding the work that I have been entrusted with doing in the Diocese of Cleveland:

Numerous other studies have now affirmed that an effective central office can play a major role in improving schools throughout the system. When Robert Marzano and Tim Waters (2009) conducted one of the largest-ever quantitative research studies on superintendents, they found a statistically significant relationship between district leadership and student achievement. (DuFour and Fullan, 2013, p. 5)

Second, the text centers on the importance of both people and systems. In fact, the authors encourage readers and practitioners to recognize that systems are built and implemented by people. Without this human element - sweat equity, input, buy-in, tweaking - systems and the success they can bring won't last.

Third, the text provides a framework to create and facilitate systems within schools. These components should sound familiar: a clear purpose, a shared vision, detailed action steps, and defined criteria of success. 

Not surprisingly, the authors repeatedly point everything back to doing what is best for students.

As I reflect on the collective work of the Diocese of Cleveland's Catholic high schools this year, our year-long theme has been alignment - to the bishop's vision for Catholic secondary education and to the mission of the school. We spent much time and energy on constructing data that we can analyze in order to improve - aligning our efforts to get better with concrete indicators of whether or not we have been successful. All of our schools have taken steps to reclaim, boldly proclaim, and explain the schools' mission, respectively. From ensuring that Advisory Boards know the mission to including it in Newsletters, much good work has been done to align school communities to the school's mission.

We have tried to provide clarity to processes on the diocesan level. Additionally, we have worked to offer expectations for teachers as it pertains to teaching, planning, assessment, and classroom management, aligning their work to form our students with best practices and standards of excellence worthy of the name Catholic. Similarly, we have brushed the dust from our schools' performance management systems, and taken many good steps toward providing evaluative feedback and support to all who have a part to play in advancing the mission of our schools.

As we move toward the finish line of the 2024–2025 academic year, celebrate the progress that has been made to design structures within Catholic schools that will allow us to ascend to new heights of academic achievement, faith formation, and operational vitality. Celebrate the many ways that you have made improvements so that any success achieved will be sustained and enhanced, regardless of who has our, or any, role within our schools. Finally, as we reflect on the successes of this year, let us set our sights on the creation and implementation of even more systemness within our Catholic schools next year and beyond.

As we do this, we will ensure that all Catholic schools - like the Catholic Church - are built to last.

Good News

“A humanity reawakened by Christ can generate new protagonists in the history of the world – new witnesses able to make judgments, able to discern right from wrong, good from evil, true good from passing pleasure.” 

-Archbishop Christophe Pierre, 2018

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

As ministers of Catholic education, our Church recognizes that we form an apostolate - meaning that like the apostles we have been sent on mission by Jesus Christ. As we share the story of our personal encounter with Jesus Christ, may we also consider the impact of stories in our broader leadership as well.

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Stories have the power to move us. God hardwired our brains to connect with stories. While listening to a story, the activation in our brains mirrors that of the storyteller (Stephens, Silbertc, & Hasson, 2010). We have the ability to predict the next parts of stories and some of the best stories are those that surprise us or twist what was anticipated. We tell stories naturally, seeing our lives in the context of settings, characters, themes and plot.

Stories possess incredible cultural weight. The stories that communities tell over and over convey that which the group values and holds as important (Hammond, 2015). These stories tell the tales of the heroes and protagonists of our organizations and inspire listeners to emulate the actions of the giants upon whose shoulders we stand.

As storytellers, we have the ability to choose the heroes that get honored, the actions that we value, the metrics by which we judge success, and the ways in which we expect the community to behave. Everything tells the stories of our schools: from the news that we share in our newsletters to the data that we decide to collect/construct to the words that we use during graduation ceremonies, welcome nights, and faculty meetings. All of it contributes to the overall narrative of our schools (Deal and Petersen, 2016).

Marshall Ganz (2009) frames stories within the context of leadership in three movements: the story of self, the story of us, and the story of now.

As you tell people your story - why have you said yes to leading at your school at this time in this capacity - you start to rally others to craft, share, and repeat a story of us - why they have similarly answered the call to serve in this place, at this time, in this way. As we build this collective tale of us - who we are as a school, what we value and hold as sacred - we can inspire people to tell the story of now: the motivating account that shows the gap between our aspirations and reality, providing the necessary spark for change.

Tell your story. 

Share the story of your school. 

Inspire action, creating even more good news.

Many United as One

One of the podcasts I listen to weekly is from Fr. John Ricardo. The leader of an organization called "Acts XXIX" (to signify that we are meant to live in the 29th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles) this past week Fr. John discussed the concept of "communio".

Providentially, Pope Leo XIV's episcopal motto mirrors this message: in illo uno unum - "although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one."

Simply, communio means many united as one while still being many. Rooted in the mystery of the Trinity - three Persons in one God - communio should also inspire our work as Catholic educators connected to the local traditions of our schools, the bishop of our respective dioceses, and the universal Church.

United and unique. Part of a system and autonomous. Together and individual.

Both/And.

Ideally, Catholic schools should benefit from being connected to centralized systems - parishes, orders, networks, dioceses - while remaining rooted in local charisms, traditions, and programs.

This duality requires strong balance and nimble flexibility. Much like differentiated instruction in a classroom, this dance between systemness and singularity demands that we create common structures while allowing for variance.

In my role as Associate Superintendent in the Diocese of Cleveland, much of my work has centered on alignment and the building of systems - hiring, temporal goods, budgeting, observations, board management, advancement, and data collection. This has been tempered with a respect for and consideration of the local realities of the schools here in the diocese. 

Like the early apostles who toiled to establish our Church throughout the world, much work remains in order for us to function in communio with each other while remaining unique. In a sense, this work always remains - we will always need to move and adapt in order to meet the needs of our current contexts while staying grounded in the beliefs of our faith.

For now, let us find inspiration in the zeal of the apostles for us to dialogue with and encourage each other through the various iterations of our systems. Let us mimic their hope that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us in this important work of designing structures, programs, and procedures that will more effectively and efficiently allow us to carry out the missions of our schools, respectively. And, may we imitate the bold faith of the apostles as we ensure our efforts always brings others into a relationship with Christ.

Hearts of Apostles

The Easter season features readings from the Acts of the Apostles. These tales of Jesus's disciples turned missionaries demonstrate the radical power of the Holy Spirit and the entrepreneurial approach to building the Church and extending the Kingdom of God on earth.

From healings to mass conversions to prison escapes to the ground shaking with the boldness of the apostles, these passages should encourage us as ministers and fellow missionary apostles.

In many ways, the work we have undertaken across Catholic education resembles the start-up mentality of these early Church heroes. Not to discount the hundreds of years of collective existence of our schools, we have been called to lead in times of transition and in ways that move from survival to thriving vitality.

These efforts require iterative drafts and models of policies, procedures, systems, and structures aimed at enhancing our work to live out the mission of our schools and carry out the vision for Catholic education of our Church

These starts and stops, revisions and edits, and successes and failures require apostolic leadership traits: missionary, visionary, strategic, collaborative, analytical, and professional.

We must balance and integrate origins and innovations. We must complement aspirational visions with concrete strategies. We must couple humble analysis with consistent professionalism. We must collaboratively bring others into these both-and approaches, inviting others into the important work of advancing the mission of Christ, His Catholic Church, and our schools.

Let us find inspiration in the acts of the apostles and boldly proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ so that the ground shakes. Let us imitate the first disciples and bring healing to a broken and wounded world so that the lame will rise up and dance. Let us walk in the footsteps of the giants that have gone before us - St. Mary, St. Peter, St. John the Evangelist, Pope Francis, and so many other holy women and men - so that others may come to know Christ through our words and actions.

“There must be nothing little among us; we must have the hearts of Apostles" (St. Julie Billiart). 

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Origins

Happy Easter! Christ is risen - Alleluia!

One of the most beautiful and impactful methods of our Church includes the opportunities each year to return to the heart of our faith. The liturgical seasons mimic the cyclical seasons of God's created world. We pass through times of penitence and preparation (Winter and Spring) into phases of celebration and harvest (Summer and Fall). 

The yearly celebrations of Lent and Easter - among other periods of the Church's liturgical calendar - provide many chances for disciples to return to the foundations of our faith: the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Paschal Mystery, and the Eucharist. 

Lest we grow numb out of familiarity or fall out of practice due to lifeless routines, the Church keeps us awake and alert and active with these moments to return to the origins of our faith. 

Because I definitely need more than one entry point into these types of formative messages, God has layered individualized instruction for me on top of the whole group lessons given to all. 

First, my son will soon receive Holy Communion for the first time. I recently witnessed him on retreat in preparation to receive Jesus's Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.  Part of the retreat experience included parents and family members writing letters of encouragement to the First Communicants. This provided rich soil for me to remember my First Communion and put into words the seed of faith in and devotion to the Eucharist that got planted in my heart that day. 

I hope and pray that my son's journey of faith and reception of Jesus in the form of the Eucharist will be an anchor of his relationship with Christ, a compass for him to deepen his connection to Jesus, and a map for him to use to find his way back to our Lord in times of doubt, darkness, and despair. Watching the wonder and excitement of my children's participation in the sacraments has provided many powerful reminders of the origins of my faith and a desire to stoke those initial sparks into even brighter flames. These moments have served as opportunities to return to the joy, wonder, excitement, and passion of my original seeds of faith.

Second, I also had the immense blessing to visit my alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, for the ACE Teaching Fellows retreat for ACE 32.

I owe so much to the University of Notre Dame and the Alliance for Catholic Education. Not only did my Holy Cross formation plant within me a desire to work in Catholic schools it provided me with the zeal to make God known, loved, and served. Providentially, one of the rooms that housed a breakout session I was "randomly" assigned to was the very room in which I had the inspiration to become a teacher - DeBartolo Hall, Room 117. Working with the Diocese of Cleveland's new ACE teachers and witnessing their motivation for joining ACE and teaching in Catholic schools added fuel to the fire of my faith and my ministry. Part of the retreat invited me to reflect on my early days as an ACE teacher harkening me back to teaching 9th grade English and Physical Science in a mobile classroom at St. Petersburg Catholic High School.

This moment to return to the joy, wonder, excitement, and passion of my original call to the ministry of Catholic education encouraged me to reclaim that initial spark and bring it to life in new ways. 

Considering the origins of our lives of faith, our ministries, and our schools can provide renewed vigor and energy for our ongoing growth, work, and efforts. Re-membering allows us to re-profess our vows, re-claim our faith, re-commit ourselves to our work - to once again become a "member" of God's family, our Church, our schools, and our ministry of Catholic education.

As we near the end of the Octave of Easter, may you take some time to return to the origins of your faith, your ministry, your invitation to serve in your respective schools, and even the origins of your school itself. As you retrace the steps that led you to these various moments of faith, ministry, and history, may you grow more convicted in your response to Christ's initial calls to follow Him.

The origin of the word origin is the Latin origo, which means "to rise, get up, or become visible". 

May returning once again to these origin stories - of our faith, of our ministries, of our schools - inspire us to rise up with the Resurrected Jesus and propel us into the future with renewed energy and conviction.   

Return to the origin and rise. 

Catholic Schools Change the World

Fr. Pedro Ribadeneira, a Jesuit priest, declared to King Phillip II of Spain, "All the well-being of Christianity and of the whole world depends upon the proper education of youth" (O'Malley, 1993, p. 209).

Similarly, Bl. Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, encouraged members of his order, “Hurry then, take up this work of resurrection, never forgetting that the special end of your institute is, before all, to sanctify youth” (Christian Education, 1856).

Our Church agrees. The Second Vatican Council Education declared, "So indeed the Catholic school, while it is open, as it must be, to the situation of the contemporary world, leads its students to promote efficaciously the good of the earthly city and also prepares them for service in the spread of the Kingdom of God, so that by leading an exemplary apostolic life they become, as it were, a saving leaven in the human community" (1965, para. 8).

The well-being of our faith and of the whole world, depends on our efforts to form students in the Catholic faith and intellectual traditions.

We participate in the work of the resurrection, transforming dead things into wellsprings of life, hope, and fullness.

We form students so that they can become leaven in the human community, preparing them in the spread of the Kingdom of God.

Today, as we celebrate the feast day of St. John Baptist de La Salle, the patron of teachers, may we experience renewed zeal for our vocation and deeper conviction for doing the work that God has entrusted us to do.

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Hurry.

Take up this work of resurrection. Make our students smarter and better so that they can form our world more closely to the principles of the Gospel, designing stronger systems of justice, creating more beautiful works of art, promoting more authentic statements of truth, and building more mechanisms for charity and healing.

The whole world, and more importantly each of our students, depends on our efforts.

Go change the world.

St. John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us!