Commit fully. Be creative. Orient the details.

I spent the  first half of Saturday scouring my house for the GFCI outlet that would allow me to reset the outlets in the master and guest bathrooms as well as the outlets outside of my house. Why these outlets would be wired together is beyond me. The bathrooms are on the opposite sides of the house. They are linked to all of the outlets on the outside of the house. And, the GFCI switch that would allow me to reset that circuit was not in any of those locations. 

For those who don't know, GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, and they are used on electrical outlets that are close to water - kitchens, bathrooms, garages, outside, etc. Many homes now have GFCI outlets on all fixtures. In my house there are two. 

The first was an easy find. It is in the kitchen and the black and red switches stand out clearly against the white outlet cover. It controls the outlets in the kitchen. 

The other, though, lay hidden for the better part of the day. I searched everywhere. I checked places twice. I looked in cabinets, closets, the attic, outside, everywhere. The geographical distance between and among the interconnected outlets clouded any logical answer.  

Finally, I decided to move my car out of the garage and give my search one last ditch effort. The old college try. Plugs that I knew of in the garage were working fine so despite my skepticism I started moving things so that I could see all of the walls exposed. Luckily, I wasn't into my search for long before I found it: a random GFCI switch outlet in the middle of the wall. 

I pressed the reset button. I went running into the house. I plugged a nightlight into an outlet in the master bathroom. Success. I cheered! I ran to the guest bathroom and did the same thing. Operational. Finally, I ran outside and turned on the fan on the lanai. Three for three. My daughters thought something really exciting was happening and wanted to see the switch I had found in the garage. Even their disappointment in seeing nothing more than an electrical outlet didn't dampen my happiness (although it did add to their belief that their daddy is crazy).

I share this story for four reasons:

1. I do not intend to quit my day job anytime soon. Even though I have two of them, I am not handy.

2. I found success only after I fully committed to the task. Moving my car so that I could actually relocate the boxes in the garage and not just step around them and half-heartedly tip and contort them allowed me to find this electrical needle in a haystack. There were multiple times that I was on the verge of quitting and just calling an electrician. But, I persevered. 

3. My perseverance paid off because I approached this challenge from multiple angles - looking online for tips, getting creative with where I would look, and increasing my level of intensity with each round of searches allowed me to find the switch. We can't just work harder; we must couple this intense effort with a constantly improving approach. 

4. I had to be meticulous in my efforts. I had to look into the minutiae of the circuitry of my house in order to get results. I had to get dirty to remove the junk that stood in my way. I had to search everywhere with precision. No stone could be left unturned. 

This quarter, let's get gritty in our approach to being the best versions of ourselves. Let's focus in on what we're doing with a laser-like scrutiny to find the reset buttons that we need to press in order to find even more success with our students. Let's creatively approach solutions to those obstacles that at first glance and even after three quarters have seemed beyond our grasp. 

Commit fully. Be creative. Orient the details. 

This quarter, let's be the best versions of ourselves and in turn pump out the best quarter ICS has ever seen. 

I'm ready.

Are you in? 

Shameless Audacity

Excellence in anything spurs excellence in everything. 

There's a beautiful moment in the movie Cars when the townsfolk of Radiator Springs focus on sprucing up their respective establishments as Lightning McQueen finally starts to fix the road he destroyed. They clean, paint, polish and refresh their tired town and restore it to a glimpse of its former glory.

Over the past few weeks, the following two posts merited a full read after appearing in my inbox and reminded me of the scene above from Cars. 

The first, a blog post from Dr. Christian Dallavis, zeroed in on the zeal needed to be an effective leader within Catholic education:

http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=5999fc41ff424155ced84575a&id=57238c7449&e=ad6d26cc49

The second came from Jared Dees, the man behind The Religion Teacher, an on-line religious education resource. In it, Jared shares his vision for how teachers, catechists, youth ministers, and anyone involved in Catholic education can be effective:

http://www.thereligionteacher.com/new-vision/ 

In both cases, the pursuit of excellence was a common theme. To merit the term "Catholic" in the names of our organizations, our schools must intensely strive after excellence in education in the Catholic faith.  

Imagine a school that unabashedly puts Christ first. Imagine a school that focuses on excellence in Catholic education - ministry, faith development, service opportunities, retreats, catechesis, witness, evangelization - and how excellence in every other aspect would follow. 

Imagine a school that had the shameless audacity to truly inspire disciples of Christ. Imagine a school where the ministers of Catholic education had the reckless abandon to sing at Mass, attend prayer every morning, witness to one another about their "why", and rally around a common mission of being Incarnational to our students, families, each other and our community.

It's a school that would, very simply, change the world. 

Continue to become the best versions of yourselves. Continue to fight against the temptation to believe that you're not good enough, you're all alone, and that no one cares. 

Strive for excellence in all that you do, but especially your faith. 

Be blessed. 

Be unabashedly, shamelessly and recklessly bold for Him. Get fierce in your battle of prayer. 

Fight for joy.

Signs and Symbols

I hate this shirt.

Makes sense, right? It's hideous. 

I've had it for about 5 years. What's more is that I even actually wear it. Made of moisture-wicking material, I don it for workouts when I'm less than excited about working out. I hate the shirt more than I'll hate the workout, no matter what the workout will be. In fact, I get so upset about putting on the shirt that it typically inspires a great burn. 

As such, this shirt has taken on new meaning. I still despise it; however, it has become a symbol of the grit needed to remain disciplined to a program of exercise. What was once something despicable, this shirt has turned into something life-giving. When I'm in need of a pick-me-up to workout (or more appropriately a kick-in-the-butt) I opt for this shirt. 

It is a sign and symbol of something very different now than when I first received it. I wouldn't wear it out (I workout in my lanai), but I appreciate the lift that it provides to my time of exercise. 

This shirt has undergone a transformation similar to the extreme makeover received by the cross used for crucifixions. As Bishop Robert Barron states in the video below, the cross / crucifixion was "state sponsored terrorism" and was "meant to terrify people and it did terrify people in the ancient world." Crucifixion was used as a sign and symbol to discourage any type of behavior that crossed those who employed it as a punishment. 

Crucifixions were public affairs. The crucified were exposed as public deterrents to rebellion, or any behavior in opposition to the state. This is precisely why the disciples are seen running from the cross and hiding in obscurity immediately following his Passion. Crucifixion was the worst form of death; it was to be avoided at all costs. 

Enter the Resurrection. 

What was once a symbol of terror is now held up as one of hope.

What was once a sign of death is now proclaimed as the only path to life. 

St. Paul throughout his letters and teachings claims that he preaches one thing: Christ crucified. 

To the early Church, this message would have been hard to accept. How could this instrument of death be so boldly mocked?

In the words of St. John Chrysostom:

O Death, where is your sting? 

O Hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen, and you are overthrown.

Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen.

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice.

Christ is risen, and life reigns.

Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave.

For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. 

Amen. 

How could people follow? How could people believe? How could we, 2000 years later, use the cross as the central symbol of our faith in Jesus Christ?

Quite simply, because it's true.

While the endorphin-making atmosphere that my shirt initiates will most likely fade away over time, the power of the cross to remind believers of hope, peace, joy and love has endured for over 2000 years. 

If it was a lie, if Christ didn't conquer sin and death by submitting to it, would the apostles have come out of the upper room? Would the early Church have actually spread if the Resurrection was nothing more than a clever conspiracy? Wouldn't a cult have just died with its zealously crazy core group? 

Peter, John and the apostles didn't just encounter an empty tomb; they encountered the risen Christ. They saw Him. They touched His wounds. They knew that He had risen and lived their lives in such a transformative way from that day on that they were able to establish His one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church.

Let us lift high His holy Cross today and every day. 

Christ is risen! 

Hope Will Rise! 

Stones

Stones

On his way to defeat Goliath, David stopped by the river and collected five stones to use in battle. We have used this concept throughout Lent to focus on five spiritual practices aimed at helping us defeat the giants in our lives - sin, suffering, weakness, doubt, sadness, death. 

The Liturgy planning committee has done a phenomenal job in presenting Works of Mercy, Prayer and Scripture, the first three of our five stones. Reconciliation and Eucharist remain. 

Depending on which set of readings your particular Church decided to use for today, you heard either of the following two readings: 

Isaiah 43: 18 - 19

Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;
see, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the desert I make a way,
in the wasteland, rivers.

John 11: 39 - 44

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, 
“Lord, by now there will be a stench; 
he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe 
you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me; 
but because of the crowd here I have said this, 
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice, 
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands, 
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
“Untie him and let him go.”

We used the reading from Isaiah for prayer during our Faculty Meeting this past week. I had mentioned its selection stemmed from its reoccurrences in my life over the past few weeks. It sprung forth again - not only for me, but all of you as well! God is making something new. It is springing up in our midst. He is bringing water to the wasteland, a way to the wilderness.

Similarly, the Gospel for the Year A Scrutinies (for use with RCIA candidates), told the story of Lazarus. This miracle story, a moment of foreshadowing in the Gospels, speaks of new life as well. Jesus tells the disciples to roll away the stone. He calls out to Lazarus, "Come out!" Jesus ends in ordering, "Untie him and let him go." Jesus speaks these words to us as well:

"Come out of your grave of sin, suffering, weakness, doubt, sadness, death! Find new life in me! I am the Way. I am the Bread of Life. I am the Resurrection!

Untie the bands that hold you back. Come out of the darkness and into the light!" 

Be bold during these final two weeks of Lent. Put your rally caps on and get ready for a comeback for the ages. A true Cinderella story during March Madness! Your story. HIStory. 

http://bulldogcatholic.org/rally-into-holy-week/ 

Rally into Holy Week - Bulldog Catholic bulldogcatholic.org With Holy Week just around the corner, it's time to finish strong. UMD student Matt Muhich gives a game plan for winning.

Pick up your stones and fight - for joy, for life, for Him!

He is doing something AMAZING...perceive it and believe it!

 

Bear Fruit

Today's Gospel is a story that highlights the contradictions within our faith - cut something off so that it can grow back better, stronger, fuller, more purposeful. Pare down so that abundance can issue forth from our simplicity. Be made strong in our weakness. Find joy in pain, hope in suffering and life in death. Receive mercy even though we are wholly underserving. 

Jesus tells the parable of the fig tree that bears no fruit. The master, seeing that it is barren, tells the gardener to cut it down. In a last ditch effort, the gardener pleads for just one more chance to prune it, tend its soil, nurture it and see if then it may bear fruit. If after one year the tree remains fruitless, the gardener begs, then it can be removed.

While not to further a centuries old debate about the hierarchy between faith and works, Jesus clearly states in today's Gospel that our faith must produce fruit. Our works must clearly mark our faith. Faith without works is dead ("So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead." -James 2:17).

During this Lenten season let us take advantage of the Master affording us one more chance at rebirth, one more chance for pruning to spur growth.

This Lent, let us become who we were created to be. Let us, like the fig tree, bring the fruit into the world that only we can bring. Each of us has been made for a specific purpose, a fruit that is unique to our tree. May our efforts to prune so as to produce more fruit not be in vain - let our fasting not lead to a slimmer physique but a transformed spirit. May our prayer fill not us with righteousness but to the recognition of our need for a Savior. May our almsgiving not give us earthly accolades but a more generous heart. 

The pruning is only a worthwhile horticultural technique only if it brings new life. Similarly, our prayer, fasting and almsgiving create nothing more than a spiny branch if they fail to make the world a little better through our actions. For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead (James 2:26).

To paraphrase Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, our past is dead and gone. Our future is still being forged. We have only today. Let's get to work, work that bears fruit.  

The Mountaintop

I've used the term "mountaintop" in faculty meetings to describe those moments, specifically while on retreat and/or during high points of our year, that fill us with energy, passion, conviction and inspiration. Basking in the light while on the mountain fills us with hope and joy. Like the apostles in today's Gospel, we would like to stay there forever. 

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/022116.cfm 

We've seen His glory. We've experienced His transforming power. But, we've also realized that we do not, and in this world cannot, stay on the mountain. 

We have not been called to stay there; those deemed worthy to ascend to the heights are simultaneously called to descend to the pits and valleys and point, lead, guide and assist others to the mountaintop.

Oftentimes, we find this work arduous. Challenges abound. Setbacks occur. The ascent is fraught with difficult footing, conditions, and passages. Discouragement mounts. Doubt clouds our perspective, making it seem as though making it back to top is not only impossible but also pointless. 

As His disciples we must keep the memory of our mountaintop experiences at the forefront of our minds. We must guard these moments within our hearts and not allow anything or anyone to steal them from us. Using applied optimism, we must recollect the energy, passion, conviction and inspiration found on the mountaintop and tap into it in moments of darkness and despair. The hope of restoration should propel us back to the peak. 

We were not made for comfort; we were made for greatness. Greatness isn't easy. It involves hard work, hard work that we can do. 

There is a line from the second part of the Eucharistic prayer that states, "giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you." As ministers of Catholic education, God has held us worthy to be in His presence and minister to Him through our work at Incarnation Catholic School. He has deemed us worthy to join in His Passion. Let us always give Him thanks for this, no matter how long the journey, no matter how heavy the cross. 

For if He has found us worthy to join in carrying His cross, we are also worthy of participating in His death and Resurrection. 

Both the Transfiguration and the Crucifixion take place on the top of a mountain. We can't have one without the other. So, let us not count the cost. Let us not worry. Let us not doubt. 

Let us ascend with hope. Let us rise...to the mountaintop!

Work

Recently, I listened to a podcast on work by Fr. Mike Schmitz: http://bulldogcatholic.org/everybodys-working/

In it, Fr. Mike cited some statistics about work within our country.

First, we will work over 90,000 hours in our lives.

Second, only about 10% of the workforce feel engaged by their work. About 60% are not engaged by work. The final 30% are not only not engaged but they are openly hostile toward their work. 

Third, Fr. Mike presented a Catholic, biblical theology of work and how we were made for labor. In order for this labor to be a gift from God, though, a few criteria must be met:

1. Our work is connected to a goal. 

2. Our work has a meaningful purpose. 

3. Our work involves some sort of creative autonomy.

In light of these three criteria, I considered whether or not our work environment at ICS meets those three requirements in order for work to be worthwhile. Furthermore,  I reflected on how many of us would fall into the top tier of the breakdown of how employees view their work. 

While I don't doubt the accuracy of the study, I would imagine it inherently difficult to isolate the factors contributing to our self-assessment of our view of work. In some cases, we may lower our appreciation of work because of factors outside of the atmosphere of the working environment. 

But, in reflecting on these aspects of Catholic, biblical work, I would argue that ICS meets all three. Our mission is in the forefront of all that we do - keep with our tradition, inspire disciples of Christ, challenge life-long learners, and strive to serve. Furthermore, our goals of educating, catechizing and evangelizing could not be more noble or simple. Finally, opportunities to create within our work - lesson plans, activities, assessments, after school activities, extracurricular events - abound. 

So, if we meet these criteria, why might we fall into either the 60% or 30% of people in America that are either unengaged or hostile toward their work? Part of what I feel may hold one back is an unwillingness and/or inability to articulate an answer to the WHY do they do what they do to themselves and to their coworkers. Additionally and similarly, we may become righteous and bitter in feeling that not everyone is ascribing to the same motivations, purposes, and opportunities. We can fall into the trap of allowing our human weaknesses and frailty to distract us from our goals, mission, and freedom to create. "I'm not appreciated", "No one notices how hard I work", "I'm the only one who cares" are feelings that create bitterness, resentment and despair. These, in turn, can lead to hostility. 

Figure out your why and your how will be filled with new energy, passion and conviction.  

We have the awesome opportunity at ICS to not only co-create with God through our ministries but to also co-redeem. 

Our work is sacred because our Creator is a Worker. When we work in the way that He does - with others, for others and autonomously - we, too, become sacred. 

Our work is holy because our Savior desires for us to bring ourselves, our students, our families and each other closer to Him. 

Our work is redemptive because our Redeemer is establishing His kingdom on earth because of what we do at ICS.

Be inspired. Be blessed. Be bold. Be Catholic.

Fight for joy and for your work.

The time is now. 

Let us begin.