And

My kids love the word and.

Can we have ice cream and candy? Can we stay up late and watch a movie? Can we go out to eat and get dessert? 

My five-year old son has a particular affinity for it. His imagination creates combinations of characters and settings and plot twists and props and dialogue and more plot twists to string playtime out for what seems like hours. “And then…and then…and then…” 

If I’m honest with myself, I love the word and too. 

And opens up possibilities. It creates connections between and among things, people, and places. 

The word and includes. It builds bridges. It invites. It imagines. It elevates. It increases. 

And acknowledges. It affirms. 

Put simply, within our ministries as transformational Catholic school leaders we need to strive for more ands and fewer buts, periods, eithers, neithers, or ors. 

I think this is especially true when it comes to our understanding of purpose. Organizationally, our shared purpose functions as our mission, the group’s main goal. Purpose serves as a key ingredient in a recipe for success. We also recognize purpose as a vital disposition of Catholic school leaders.

Purpose involves planning. Purpose requires intentionality. Purpose provides conviction. 

And, this isn’t necessarily enough. We need purpose and vision. We need purpose and persistence. We need purpose and pliability. When it comes to purpose, we need and.

In a study of what makes strong organizational cultures, John Kotter and James Heskett (1992) found that groups needed both a strong sense of purpose and a willingness to adapt. Having just one and not the other leads to either stubbornly refusing to evolve or aimlessly following the ever-changing winds of popular trends. 

Purpose and pliability allowed Catholic schools to shift from in-person to virtual learning practically overnight in March of 2020. Purpose and pliability enabled many Catholic schools to reopen and remain open throughout the majority of the past two school years.  

We did this because we needed to keep kids safe and we needed to preference in-person instruction. With purpose and pliability, we have found ways to continue with our ministries and compassionately acknowledge that the pandemic continues to affect our world, especially those suffering from poverty and/or vulnerability. 

With focus and flexibility, we innovate, invent, and inspire, discovering methods to more authentically combine relevance and orthodoxy, charity and justice, the mind and the heart, college/career readiness and heaven. 

Being purposeful and pliable liberates us to hold fast to the most essential aspects of who we are as individuals and institutions while simultaneously embracing opportunities to more fully become who we were created to be: changing the mascot; reimagining discipline to create disciples; recalibrating the standards and methods by which we assess our students, schools, and selves; pursuing radical inclusivity and aggressive collaboration; promoting participation through subsidiarity; and seeking new partnerships, funding strategies, and organizational models.

Purposeful and pliable. Intentional and innovative. Committed and called. 

This is the posture and work of a disciple with hope to bring, living with one foot firmly planted in the purpose of Jesus Christ and the other one raised, pliably ready to take the next step in faith to wherever He will lead. 

Reference:

Kotter, J. P., & Heskett, J. L. (1992). Corporate Culture and Performance. New York: Free Press.

Stewards of the Mission

Newsflash: "The National Catholic Educational Association said nationwide enrollment increased by 62,000 to about 1.68 million students, marking the first increase in two decades and the largest jump it has recorded in at least five decades" (Henao, 2022).

This spark of hope must inspire Catholic school leaders, teachers, families, students, and stakeholders everywhere to ensure that this trend continues. As stewards who stand on the shoulders of the apostles that came before us, we must tend to this growth and cultivate it. Like the stewards in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), we need to take what we've been given, put it to use, and offer the Lord and our world a return on His investment.

"Sunflower Plant Shoot" by sameold2010 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In order to turn this blip into a wave of evangelization and integral formation, we must (re)focus on our mission - Christ's mission.

“Thus, the (Catholic) school does not have a mission; the mission has schools” (Nuzzi and Hunt, 2012, p. 4). This quote should serve as an anchor for all that happens within Catholic schools, helping those who minister there understand they advance the work of Jesus. 

When our mission in Catholic schools aligns with the salvific mission of Christ, every decision - whether focused on academics, extracurricular activities, admissions, budgeting and/or funding - should be filtered through the lens of whether or not a particular action advances Christ’s mandate to “(g)o, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). 

Ensuring that all members of a Catholic school’s personnel, including its business officers, understand and actively support the school’s true purpose is essential to its operations. Having clarity of mission from a financial perspective allows for innovative approaches to tuition models, sharing resources such as counselors and fine and performing arts teachers across schools, centralizing purchasing, and seeking business partnerships and funding strategies. As Catholic schools strive to offer even stronger academic and faith-based programming, compensate teachers and staff members more competitively, update facilities and technology, and also keep tuition from prohibiting families from choosing Catholic education for their children, business personnel who are committed to Christ’s mission and inspired by the Holy Spirit will find ways to creatively sustain and enhance our schools.

These Holy Spirit-infused entrepreneurs need to help our schools and Church tend this enrollment growth - concentrated mostly in Kindergarten and PreK - so that it can blossom for years to come.   

This mission-minded approach is the heart of stewardship. Church personnel such as clerics, parish and diocesan staff, and parishioners of Catholic churches need to see Catholic schools as treasures of the Church worthy of cultivation, celebration, and commitment. 

More fully recognizing Catholic schools as an integral arm of the mission of the Catholic Church could bolster financial support from parishes and dioceses to Catholic schools. Instead of subsidies, these monies could be seen as investments in the future of our Church, and the building up of the Kingdom of God on earth. 

Stewarding our Catholic schools, and in turn the mission of Christ, also demands appropriate checks and balances to responsibly use the resources entrusted to us. Catholic school leaders play an important role in partnering with business officers toward this end. While Catholic school leaders do not need to be an expert in financial matters, they need to actively participate in overseeing the finances of the school. From checking the payroll of the school periodically to looking at balance sheets and profit and loss statements at least quarterly to empowering a team of people to know how to perform various business related tasks, the school leader must assist the business officer in the school’s stewardship efforts to “(receive) God’s gifts gratefully, (cherish) and tend them in a responsible and accountable manner, (share) them in justice and love with others, and (return) them with increase to the Lord” (USCCB, 2002, p. 9).

A seed has been planted, has taken root, and is starting to burst forth from the soil into the light of day.

May our efforts to steward the mission of Christ allow this new life to blossom and produce a bountiful, wonderful, and beautiful harvest for today, tomorrow, and into eternity.

References:

Henao, L. A. (2022, February 14). Enrollment in US Catholic schools rebounds after sharp drop. AP NEWS. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-religion-education-united-states-8bea1bef885e2d4180a2f5dca5110c9a  

Nuzzi, R., & Hunt, T. (Eds). (2012). At the Heart of the Church: Selected documents of Catholic education. Notre Dame, IN: Alliance for Catholic Education Press.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2002). Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response: A pastoral letter on stewardship (10th anniversary ed.).

Speak Life

Words carry power. 

I could have written that sentence in the following way: "Words are important." Whereas this conveys a similar message, the English teacher in me would offer two critiques. One, use the active instead of the passive voice. Two, why do words have importance? Use the answer to that question as a substitute for important. 

Words carry power. 

Therefore, speak life. Write hope. Script love. Construct joy. Convey truth. Message compassion. Inscribe empathy. 

God spoke the world into existence (Genesis 1). Jesus's words healed, forgave, transformed, and resurrected. John's Gospel refers to Jesus Himself as the Word that brought forth all things (John 1:1-5). 

God made us in His image and likeness. Therefore, our words also create. They create life, hope, love, joy, truth, compassion, and empathy. 

They also, unfortunately, create "unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly" (Mark 7:21-22). 

Words carry the power to create or destroy, to heal or hurt, to educate or fool, to love or hate. The stories that we tell ourselves and others, the ones that we listen to and repeat create our world. 

Think about the words you proclaimed to yourself the last time you made a mistake. 

"I'm so stupid/lazy/forgetful/bad," or "I'll never be able to do it" works on us and our world so much differently than something like, "I know what not to do now," or "I'll get it right next time when I try it this way," or "I can do hard things" or "I just can't do it yet."

Levi Lusko, founder and lead pastor of a Christian church in Montana, encourages us to be our own best coaches and cheerleaders as opposed to our own worst critics. 

Speak life to yourself because words carry power. 

God also calls us to speak life into the lives of others. St. Paul exhorts us, "Finally, brothers (and sisters), whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4:8). 

In a world bent on cancelling, destroying, and defeating, figure out ways to build others up (1 Thessalonians 5:11).  

"In the time of your life, live — so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches. Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding-place and let it be free and unashamed" (Sayoran, 1939).

Words carry power. 

As such, and in any and every way possible, speak life - bringing the good, pure, noble, just, lovely, joyful out from its hiding place into existence. 

Speak life. 

To yourself. 

To others. 

And to the world, the one which we can create with our words.

Unified Not Uniform

Over the past few weeks, I have had the blessing to speak with transformational Catholic school leaders from across our country about their ministries in Catholic schools. Their individual and collective commitment to the mission of Catholic education inspires me and breathes hope into my ministry to form more of these types of transformational leaders for our Catholic schools. 

It strikes me that while similarities exist across these leaders and their specific school contexts, all of these leaders lead in uniquely specific ways and contexts. 

Considering their efforts as part of the saving mission of Christ, these leaders are unified not uniform. 

Uniform means one form. Unified means that we come with our individual identities and bring them into coordination with others' uniqueness. 

St. Paul writes powerfully about the unification of the many members into the one Body of Christ in his first letter to the Corinthians:

Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it. Some people God has designated in the church to be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then, gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:27-28)

St. John Paul II affirms this: 

The unity of the Church is not uniformity, but an organic blending of legitimate diversities. It is the reality of many members joined in a single body, the one Body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 12:12). (2001, #46)

In this way, Catholic schools should consider embracing, enhancing, and celebrating their unique contexts, communities, and charisms. 

For example, two of the school leaders interviewed, Dr. Martine Romero and Mrs. Jessica Patterson, minister at St. Madeleine Sophie Catholic School in Bellevue, WA. Their school community courageously and joyfully embraces a radically inclusive approach to education, allowing for students who may have historically been denied acceptance into Catholic schools - a compelling argument against the Catholic school effect - to participate in a general Catholic education program. And, while their ministry hopefully inspires more school leaders and communities to adopt a similar approach, taking the St. Madeleine tactics off of a shelf and applying them to another school community would be foolish. 

It would be similar to putting a foosball table in the faculty lounge and expecting morale to increase. This may be a signature aspect of another organization's culture but that doesn't mean it will transfer to your unique community. 

Instead, a key takeaway from time spent with another leader and/or community should invite broader and more thematic reflections. For this experience with St. Madeleine Sophie, we should consider questions like these: 

• 

  One of the south tapestries, Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

  How does my school welcome and embrace students and families? 
• What obstacles stand in the way of students accessing my school and/or flourishing there? 
• In what ways is my school community called to be more radically inclusive by breaking down barriers like finances, prior academic performance and behavior, background, and faith? 
• How might my school shift from inclusivity to belonging, emphasizing the ideals of solidarity, ubuntu - I am because we are, participation, and subsidiarity. 

As we do this, as we celebrate the many and varied ways that each Catholic school community is united in Christ yet diversified in its local ministry, we live out our true Catholicity - aligned to the Church established by Christ - and catholicity - spreading throughout the whole. 

Our ministry and our world don't need another St. Madeleine Sophie Catholic School, despite the amazing work of that entire school community. What we need is for each of our school communities to so what St. Madeleine Sophie Catholic School has done: recognize, embrace, enhance, and celebrate its local contexts, its specific communities, and its unique charisms.

As St. Catherine of Siena stated, "Be who God meant you to be and you will set the whole world on fire." 

If we do this on both the individual and communal levels, becoming the best versions of ourselves so that our Catholic schools can become the best versions of themselves, uniting the various gifts of teachers within a school while also uniting the particular gifts across Catholic school communities, we can and will set the world on fire. 

If we do this, Catholic schools, unified with each other and Christ, can and will change the world.    

Reference: 

• St. John Paul II. (2001). Novo Millennio Ineunte. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/2001/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20010106_novo-millennio-ineunte.html

The Gift of Transformation

Over the past few weeks, I have thought deeply about my relationship with God. Prompted by the Baptism of the Lord celebrated at the end of the Christmas season, the opening unit for a course I'm teaching about Ministry in Catholic Schools, and the movie Encanto (what is Maribel's gift?, Bruno seems to be a prophet who is not accepted in his native place, everyone's gifts need to work together and work for the good of others) my reflections have centered on my own baptism, my gifts (or charisms), and my ministry. 

Christ grafts us onto His Mystical Body at our Baptisms. We become new creations, imbued with the Holy Spirit in a way that sets us apart for a particular purpose. Blessed with unique and supernatural gifts - charisms - Christ transforms us.

This type of transformation entails more than just a change of habits, routines, and/or lifestyle. To loosely use a scientific connection, we undergo a chemical change instead of a mere physical one. We don't just change states, like when liquid water freezes to become ice. Our transformation occurs in our very being; our substance changes from a mere human being into a beloved child of God with whom God is well pleased (cf. Luke 3:22). 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baptism-of-Christ.jpg#filelinks

As a part of God's royal bloodline, He calls us to take part in the family business. "All of the baptized are called to work toward the transformation of the world" (USCCB, 2005, p. 8). We are invited by the "Risen Lord" to "labor in his vineyard, that is, in a world that must be transformed in a view of the final coming of the Reign of God; and the Holy Spirit empowers all with the various gifts and ministries for the building up of the Body of Christ" (USCCB, 2005, p. 7). Our ministry as baptized Christians participates "in the threefold ministry of Christ, who is priest, prophet, and king" (USCCB, 2005, p. 7). 

As members of the Body of Christ, we form Christ's hands, feet, voice, and ongoing ministry in the world today. 

And, as members of God's family, we all have unique purposes and gifts that, when united with each other and with Christ, carry out the work of salvation. This unity does not mean "uniformity, but an organic blending of legitimate diversities" (St. John Paul II, 2001, #46). As St. Paul writes to the Corinthians:

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit...To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another, the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another, faith by the same Spirit; to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another, mighty deeds; to another, prophecy; to another, discernment of spirits; to another, varieties of tongues; to another, interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes. (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)

To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. 

You have unique gifts that Christ needs you to develop, harness, and share with the world. We all do, even if our gifts don't seem to be as flashy or powerful as others'. 

As we take up the mantle of Christ's mission of salvation, we will come to see our need to coordinate with others. This work requires diversity in ministry and unity in mission. “(C)ommunion and mission are profoundly connected with each other, they interpenetrate and mutually imply each other…communion represents both the source and fruit of mission: communion gives rise to mission and mission is accomplished in communion” (St. John Paul II, 1998, #32).

May the Holy Spirit burst into our lives, burn within our hearts, and propel us to offer our gifts of transformation.  

References:

• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2005). Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A resource for guiding the development of lay ecclesial ministry. https://www.usccb.org/upload/co-workers-vineyard-lay-ecclesial-ministry-2005.pdf
• St. John Paul II. (1998). Christifideles Laici. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_30121988_christifideles-laici.html
• St. John Paul II. (2001). Novo Millennio Ineunte. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/2001/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20010106_novo-millennio-ineunte.html

Keep Fighting for Joy

Almost seven years ago, I penned this blog on fighting for joy. 

Here are the highlights: 

• Joy isn't a reaction to circumstances; it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. In this way, it should be considered a virtue instead of an emotion. It is a tendency, or disposition, toward the good. According to Peter Kreeft, "Pleasure is in the body. Happiness is in the mind and feelings. Joy is deep in the heart, the spirit, the center of the self."
• We can foster more joy in our lives through prayer, sacrifice, and curiosity - wonder - born out of gratitude.
• The enemy will come to kill and steal and destroy our joy (John 10:10). Therefore, we have to fight for it - finding joy, keeping it, giving it to others. 

If seven additional years of living have taught me anything, it is that I underestimated just how much this fight for joy would be the fight of my life. 

Life is really hard and filled with suffering; it is good, though, and also filled with blessings. 

Finding, keeping, and giving joy requires vigilance in prayer, self-care, and being aware. 

This fight for joy will necessitate faith and demand hope. Faith in a God who promises that the best is always yet to come, if not in this life then assuredly in the next. This fight for joy demands hope that this promised future will come to fruition.

And, faith and hope depend on love. Not on our love, thankfully; our love is fickle and fleeting. Our faith and hope rely on God's perfect love. This love - willing the good of another - is what makes our faith in Him and our hope in a better future more than fantasy. 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life" (John 3:16). 

God's deep, abiding, abounding love for us compelled Him to take on our human flesh, enter creation, and teach us "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6) in order to reunite us to Himself. 

He testifies to His love for us by taking on the punishment for our sins on the cross. And, His love for us was so powerful that not even sin and death could overcome it. He rose from the dead and lives again and promises those who believe in Him this same partaking in eternal life. 

Jesus is who He says He is. He keeps His promises. He loves us - you, me, everyone. 

As we enter these final few days of Advent, enter into the mysteries of the Incarnation and the Nativity.  The prophecies of the Old Testament were all fulfilled - perfectly, entirely, unexpectedly. God comes to us in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, not as a warrior king, but behind enemy lines, as a baby, on the outskirts of the Roman Empire, into a family of low status. 

As C.S. Lewis wrote, “Enemy-occupied territory - that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage” (Mere Christianity, 1952).

Be on the lookout for God's surprises in paradoxical ways. We actually get more joy out of giving than receiving. Like Mary, we become who we were created to be in the measure that we both align ourselves to God's plan for us and freely give ourselves to others. Like Joseph, we may be called to our vocation in a way that is quite unlike what we had in mind. Like John the Baptist, we must decrease and point others to Christ so that He can increase. Like Elizabeth and Zechariah, we need to maintain faith that our God of love gives us reason, even when it seems to be beyond reason, for hope. 

Our Lord conspires - meaning that He breathes with us - for us to take part in His story of salvation. He  plans for us to play a key role, albeit a supporting and most likely conventional one, in HIStory.

Our Lord, Jesus Christ desires more joy for us than we could ask for or even imagine. 

Keep fighting for it...the best is yet to come!

Rise up!

Joseph Heagney (2016) argues that defining the problem is often the most important and overlooked part of a the work of a team, group, or organization.  Teams often jump into naming the solution or not going far enough in their definition of the problem. Heagney poses the situation of someone's car breaking down. 

A solution minded approach is that you overlook what the problem really is, and just jump to the solution, to fixing it, potentially neglecting underlying and undiagnosed conditions. 

A shallow definition of the problem is that the car is broken down. This, though, is not necessarily the problem. 

Heagney states that in digging deeper into the situation, the problem arises when the car is broken down AND you have somewhere to which you need to get by car. 

This clearer statement of the problem can then lead to actionable solutions: walking, riding a bike, taking a bus, Uber, calling a tow truck to get it fixed. 

Being aware of the situation - our car is broken down - is important. However, a deeper definition of what makes this a problem can lead to the right solution and the steps to get there. 

To make what might be a stretch of a connection to the first and second weeks of Advent, it is great that we wake up and become aware of our need for a Savior in Jesus Christ. This is important. Hearing a grinding noise, feeling rattling, seeing smoke - these are all important things to notice to know that your car isn't functioning properly. 

But, noticing these things doesn't mean that you will actually do anything about them. 

Many people saw Jesus - witnessed His miracles, listened to His preaching, knew Him personally, and acknowledged there was something special about Him - but failed to take the next steps to actually do anything about this awareness. 

From the rich young man who goes away sad after being told to sell all of his possessions and then follow Jesus  (Mt. 19:16–30; Mk. 10:17–3; Lk. 18:18–30), to the disciples that grumble and walk away from the Bread of Life discourse (John 6), to Judas (John 13:29) and Pontius Pilate (John 18:28-40) there are many examples of people who were aware of the situation of Jesus, but unwilling to take the next steps to do anything about it.

This week, let's turn our alert and oriented states into action.

Our messages this week focus on preparation (12/5, 12/9, 12/10, and 12/11), and finding a way to encounter and bring others to Christ (12/6 and 12/7). From St. John the Baptist's messages (12/5, 12/9, 12/10 and 12/11), to St. Nicholas's (12/6) social justice efforts, to St. Ambrose's (12/7) preaching and prophesying that converted St. Augustine and Emperor Theodosius, to Juan Diego's (12/9) humble service to Our Lady of Guadalupe, to the Immaculate Conception's (12/8) fiat to bring Christ into the world, the cloud of witnesses whose feasts we celebrate this week demonstrate discipleship in action. 

May any inspiration we find in these scriptures and stories spur us to imitation and ignition. 

This Advent, the Holy Spirit is prompting you to wake up. Through the sights and sounds of the season, He is striving to get your attention.  

He has placed some definite action on your heart and is leading you to more faithfully live out your call to follow Christ: read the daily Scripture; learn more about the saints celebrated throughout Advent; devote time to praying the Rosary; participate in reconciliation, the Eucharist, Adoration; spend less money on gifts and invest more time on relationships; connect with the lost and lonely; heal past hurts; forgive as we would like to be forgiven; turn off your phone, your device, your computer, your TV, and/or the lights to get more sleep; turn on sacred silence and take time in solitude; listen; pray.

You're awake. 

Don't stay where you are. 

Rise up. Take up your mat - whatever action you're being called to embrace.  

And go!

*In the spirit of last week's post, here is a soundtrack for Advent's Week 2. There are a few traditional hymns and carols this time around with some others that fit more with the scripture and saints. I hope they help you to rise up, take up your mat, and go: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6LhYy6ArZtpaqySboxpXms?si=fa0cf831c6984d3f.

Reference:

Heagney, Joseph. (2016). Fundamentals of Project Management (5th Edition). New York: 

    AMACOM – Book Division of American Management Association.