Shrewd Simplicity

"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves."

-Matthew 10:16

“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike."

-Matthew 11:25

Countless distractions clamor for our attention. From vendors hoping for our business; to independent contractors vying for us to use their expertise; to members of our communities jockeying for time on our calendars to push a particular agenda; to interruptions due to issues with personnel, students, facilities, finances, boards, families, programs, policies, websites, field trips...; to algorithms pinging, ringing, flashing, and hoodwinking us to stay connected (how did YouTube know that my kitchen needs new window coverings?!); we overcome our environments and our own natures when we focus on something for longer than 47 seconds. 

47 seconds. This number represents the average attention span of adults. 

With so much knocking our doors of our minds and hearts, we owe it to ourselves and our communities to provide clarity on our areas of emphasis, while also designing systems and strategies to achieve and ensure success. 

Simplicity and Shrewdness. 

Shrewd simplicity. 

As Catholic school leaders, we create simplicity when we clarify the main objective(s) of our communities. Reinforce the mission. Anchor in the school's beliefs, values, charisms. Say no to lots of things so that you can say yes to the most important things. Point others - and remind ourselves - to our purpose and do this over and over and over and over and over again. 

Moving beyond catchy slogans, we employ shrewdness when we orchestrate programs, policies, and procedures that consistently allow us to attain success. Bringing order out of chaos, the shrewd leader can see a way forward in complex and complicated situations - oftentimes by returning to the simplicity of the school's purpose and staying close to its values and rooted in its beliefs. Shrewdness allows us to coordinate the many and various personnel and stakeholders in our communities, differentiating and integrating roles, responsibilities, and personalities in effective and efficient ways. Whether having meetings before the meeting or losing a battle to win the overall war (i.e. advance the mission) or collecting/constructing the right data to inspire change or maintenance, the shrewd leader engineers systems aligned to significance. 

While Jesus refers to those able to thread the needle of shrewd simplicity as "childlike" or serpentine doves, we live up to this high calling when we return to the foundations of teaching and learning - learning objectives, student engagement, and checks for understanding. 

We attain Christ's ideals when we remember the origins of our ministries and schools and allow these beginnings to guide us into our futures. 

We become the people and organizations worthy of the title Catholic when we courageously focus on the priorities of our schools - faith, academics, service - and dump the distractions that imprison us and create burnout instead of flourishing in students, teachers, staff, families, and benefactors.

As Catholic school leaders, let us have shrewd simplicity in all that we do, leading, guiding, and serving our school communities to that which is true, good, and beautiful, bringing them into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Anything else is just a distraction.   

One of the Most Powerful Means for Good in this Country

Last week on July 2, I had the honor of composing a reflection for FaithND, a daily email sent by the University of Notre Dame that features the gospel reading for the day, a reflection by a community member, and a prayer from a Holy Cross priest. 

Given the close proximity to the Fourth of July and our country's 250th anniversary of its declaration of independence from Great Britain, the story of Fr. Corby's Absolution Under Fire came to mind (see below). 

Fr. Corby's involvement in the Civil War as a chaplain stands as only one of the many ways in which the University of Notre Dame is "one of the most powerful means for good in this country" (Fr. Sorin, C.S.C., 1842).

Fr. Edward Sorin, the founder of the University of Notre Dame, famously penned those words to Bl. Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross and the Superior of the order at the time. Over 180 years later, Fr. Sorin's prophetic words ring profoundly true.

From the Navy training almost 12,000 officers on Notre Dame's campus during World War II, to Fr. Ted Hesburgh serving on the Civil Rights Commission for 15 years, to the Alliance for Catholic Education forming over 3,000 teachers and leaders that serve more than a quarter of a million students each year, to many, many, many more examples, the University of Notre Dame - in my opinion - has lived up to its founder's vision. 

May the Fighting Irish continue to be a force for good in the United States and beyond. Fight on. 

And my heart forever, loves thee, Notre Dame. 

Gospel from July 2, 2026

After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town. And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."

At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming."

Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, "Why do you harbor evil thoughts? Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"–he then said to the paralytic, "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."

He rose and went home. When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

-Matthew 9:1-8

Reflection

On July 2, 1863, Fr. William Corby, C.S.C., offered Absolution Under Fire (the title of Paul Wood’s painting) to all of the troops during the Civil War’s Battle of Gettysburg. In the words of Fr. Corby, “That general absolution was intended for all—in quantum possum—not only for our brigade, but for all, North or South, who were susceptible of it and who were about to appear before their Judge.” Survivors who witnessed this powerful moment of prayer were struck with awe and glorified God, so much so that it has been memorialized on Notre Dame’s campus as well as the fields of Gettysburg. 

In today’s gospel, Jesus offers absolution to the person suffering from paralysis. This spiritual healing stands as the objective of Christ’s mission—to reconcile humanity to God. St. Paul echoes this focus on reconciliation, “(A)ll this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation…entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

Jesus commissions his disciples to convey this message of reconciliation, to be agents of healing, to be peacemakers committed to building up the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. Though only priests can offer absolution, all of us can bring reconciliation to those in our homes, churches, schools, workplaces, and communities. 

Inspired by Fr. Corby’s example, which took place during one of the darkest moments of America’s history, let us speak words of reconciliation on the battlefields of today, create civil discourse in places of discord, and repair relationships between and among people and God, seeking what unites rather than what divides.

Reconciliation carries immense power. It heals, evokes awe, glorifies God, and is the heart of our ministry as Christians.