Homemade by Hand

A few years ago, I stumbled upon an Irish Christian band called Rend Collective Experiment. My first experience with this Experiment was through Spirit FM, our local Catholic radio station. I liked the song and so decided to Google it. A YouTube video popped up.

They were eccentric. Upbeat. Fun. Quirky. Funny. Authentic. Just check the out the video. My favorite part was around the 1 minute mark. After hitting repeat multiple times, I went ahead and took a chance on downloading the entire album. I wasn't disappointed.

It wasn't until this past summer, though, that my passion for the band intensified and I got hooked. Again, I stumbled upon their latest album, Campfire, and was blown away by the message: break down barriers, everyone is welcome, God is with us through both trials and victories and so should our Church. Once again, their point, their lifestyle, their music all resonated with me because of their seeming authenticity.

I dug deeper into this band and found their second album named, Homemade Worship by Handmade People. Above all, I heard these words:

Some of the other messages: He gave us both a heart and a home. We can find both in Him. He is our vision, the king of our hearts. He is our best thought. He is worth the cost, whatever that cost may be. His cross changes everything. Second chances are heaven's heart. He is the reason that our hearts beat. He sets our hearts ablaze with hope. We are His Church. We need His power in us. He makes us whole. He is exactly what we need. He guides our hearts. He is our Rescuer. He is our Shining Star, guiding our hearts.

The reason for the album name: they produced all of the music themselves in their homes. Something that's homemade, according to RCE and agreed upon by me, is always better than a factory copy. Think of ourselves. God made us by hand; we are handmade. We are at home in his embrace, where we were made. We were not constructed in some factory with sterile walls and fluorescent lights, mass produced in a very impersonal way. We were crafted in His house by Him with His hands. We are homemade.

From scratch.

One of my favorite television shows is "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives". In it, the restaurants that are featured usually cook all or most of their food in house and from scratch. There is something more authentic about making something at home and by hand. Somehow food tastes better when we know all of the ingredients. Fresher truly is better. Going out to eat, if the food isn't made from scratch, is mostly enjoyable because of the service. Many of us can't prepare the meal we would select while dining out and all of us appreciate only having to eat and do nothing else.

Give me a home cooked, made by hand meal any day, though. Heck, give it to me every day and even let me prepare it. I'm a total snob when it comes to popcorn, pizza and granola. I prefer my homemade versions over any store bought, microwaved, boxed, processed, delivered versions. I like knowing what's in it and being able to pronounce any ingredient these items will contain. I like taking the time to prepare them, tweaking and perfecting my craft.

Somehow over the course of time we have become less authentic as humans. Mass production. Airbrushing. Preservatives. Hormones. Chemicals. Plastic surgery. Artificial sweeteners. Time-outs for commercial breaks. DVR. Texting. Whitening. Coloring. Lebroning.

The same God that made the universe and all of creation also made us. He fashioned us with the care of a skilled artist. Lovingly, He labored and labored over our every detail while tweaking and perfecting His craft. The Psalmist tells us that God formed our innermost beings. We were knit, by God, in our mothers' wombs (Psalm 139: 13).  There was no programming, no 3D printer, no assembly line. God made us.

We are handmade. We are homemade.

Perhaps that's why simple authenticity is so enchanting, so appealing. Pope Francis I. The joy expressed by and found in children. Sunsets. Sunrises. Playing tag. Being creative, spontaneous, unafraid. Altruism. Not only is experiencing authenticity such an anomaly but it also harkens us back to something within us that is primordial, something much deeper than even our bones. It reminds us of our Maker. Simple. Authentic. Loving. It reminds us of Home.

As Catholic educators, we could benefit from a lesson in authenticity. Instead of being consumed by Common Core, tablets, bullying, standardized testing and any other buzzword issue in education, we should focus on our Catholicity. Be unabashedly and authentically Catholic. Celebrate the Eucharist. Pray the Rosary. Adore the Blessed Sacrament. Offer frequent opportunities for Reconciliation. Catechize and evangelize.

Allow your instruction to be authentic. Make tests from scratch so that tests can be authentic representations of the progress of students. What textbook publisher knows your class or your teaching style and preferences better than you? How can a chapter test capture all that was covered in class by an authentic teacher?

Be authentic in your interactions with students and fellow teachers. Young people have an innate ability to search out, detect and name inconsistencies. Treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve as a child of God. Cherish them as we do the homemade cards and gifts given to us by students, children, relatives and friends. Respect them as we would the handiwork of a world renowned artist.

Something homemade is always better than a factory copy.

Always.  

A Few Good Humans

The Gospel stories throughout Advent speak of three main characters that help to prepare the way for Christ. Mary and Joseph, Jesus's biological and earthly parents, respectively, literally prepare for Christ's entrance into the world. John the Baptist, the other main figure over the past four weeks, prepared people for Christ's entry into public ministry. St. John the Baptist gathered believers to himself before pointing them to Jesus. All three set the stage for Christ to come into the world.

All three prepared Him room.

Let every heart follow suit.

Mary's yes and humble obedience is well discussed and documented and even debated. Her central role in bringing Christ into the world is starkly obvious. Christ came into the world as all humans do - through His mother. Beautiful and miraculous, all births take place because of the strength, love and care of women. Mary's importance is undeniable. Her special favor only surpassed in Christ Himself. Her simple "yes" has resoundingly echoed in the world ever since.

"Let it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).

Mary's model of saying yes to God, preparing for His coming and nurturing that relationship has no rival. However, Joseph's and John's roles have an incredibly powerful message as well. Radically say "yes" to God. Submit to His will. Decrease so He can increase (John 3:30). Point others to Christ. Be humble and generous of spirit. Defend Him. Protect Him. Trust and accept that accepting, embracing and following Christ can bring joy greater than your heart's most burning desire.

Joy. Singing. Resounding joy! Wonders of His love!

Say yes. Let it be done to us according to His word.

The counter-cultural slant of these messages are not new to the 21st Century. Submit. Obey. Be humble. Put God first, others second and yourself last. Don't worry about ridicule or rumor. Be indifferent - not in a way that doesn't care, but in a way that doesn't care who gets credit. Society's emphasis on power, greed, fame, money, status, sex, and pride did not result at the dawn of the Renaissance, Industrial Revolution, printing press, aviation, sliced bread or even the internet. These emphases / ailments have been around for as long as humans have.

But, Jesus, in an earthly sense, hasn't. His birth was a mere 2,000 years ago, about 1% of the total time that humans have been on the planet. His birth was foretold by prophets. His coming was anticipated for centuries. Angels visited good people to tell them about the coming of the Lord. God started a relationship with Abraham and led His people according to His plan. But, even Abraham lived only about 2,000 years before Christ. Undoubtedly, there were good people prior to even God's covenant with Abraham. Undoubtedly, there were good people before the coming of Christ.

There should be even more good people after. Blessed are they who do not see and yet still believe (John 20:29). But, foolish are we who know of Christ and yet still don't believe. As I reflect on the past year, I think of all of the good people that have gone home to the Lord - my dad, my wife's grandmother, my sister's father in-law, my brother's father in-law, a colleague's father, the patriarch of a close family friend, a humanitarian from my hometown, Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, and countless other good people that left this world. I think of all of the pain, hurt, violence, war, hunger, illiteracy, and abuse in our world and I think that there aren't enough good people in the world. People who hold the door. People who let you in front of them in traffic. People who give up their seats so that families can sit together on planes. People who want to give more than they want to receive, love more than they want to be loved. Good people.

And then I think of Christmas. I think of the magnitude of God taking on our earthly state. God was a good human. Mary was a good human. Joseph was a good human. John the Baptist was, too. Countless people have been good. Countless people are good. God is doing something about all of the pain, hurt and sadness. He has done something and will continue to do something. All is not lost. Hope comes into the world in the same way that every child comes into the world - by being born. Be good. Be so good that other people want to imitate your good. Be good when you don't have to be. Be good when no one is watching. Do good. Be good. For God. For others. For yourself. Be good for goodness and for Goodness's sake.

Prepare Him room. Sing. Be good.

Be triumphant!

Emmanuel! God is with us!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Lovers of the Light

The days grow shorter; darkness increases. Cold grips the earth with a chilling embrace. Our world swells with violence, hunger, hatred, oppression, suffering, poverty, sickness, and death. Another year inches closer to its end. Reasons for despair abound.

But, the night is darkest right before the dawn. Even the deepest blackness is no match for even the smallest of lights. No matter how strong, no matter how pervasive, no matter how enduring the void, darkness always succumbs to light. Light a match and darkness is no match. It vanishes. Flip a switch and darkness runs away. 

This Friday we will celebrate the Feast of St. Lucy, patroness of the blind. Lucy literally means "light" and it is fitting that her feast day falls within the sacred season of Advent. We know Christ as the Light of the World. Lucy's own flame is a stirring model and example of letting your light shine for others. 

Lights abound in our homes, our neighborhoods and our Churches during this time of the year. We decorate our houses with lights. We put them on our Christmas trees. We light a series of four candles around our Advent wreaths. We light up our world during this secular season of winter to remind ourselves that Christ's light will conquer all, and that it is coming soon.

Yet, we so easily give into negative thoughts, feelings, emotions and tendencies. We hold onto anger, hurt, and jealousy. We so easily participate in gossip, lies, and deceit. We so easily give into sin. We vindicate ourselves by saying, "I deserve this. I am justified in feeling this way. Someone else deserves the blame. I have such bad luck. Someone up there must be against me. If God truly cared about me, he wouldn't have let this happen. I'm tired. I'm sick. I'm sick and tired. It's his/her fault. I'm right. They're wrong." 

What's more is that we don't keep this negativity to ourselves. Misery truly does love company. It needs it. Being the only person to be down in the dumps makes the dumps even dumpier. Having others wallow in our mud along with us validates our pessimism.

Everyone feels this way. I'm not the only person. Other people are upset, too. Lots of people are upset. A whole lot of them. The entire lot. Upset. The whole lot is very upset. 

Sound familiar? 

Why? Why do we give into negativity? Why do we complain so much (as opposed to venting like I am doing)? Why do we believe the lie that negativity can produce anything productive? 

In the words of The Christophers, "It is better to light one candle than curse the darkness." Author William Saroyan agrees, "Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding place and let it be free and unashamed." St. Paul encourages the Philippians, saying, 

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 (4:8). 

Be a lover of the light. Encourage each other. Build one another up. Be kinder than you think you should be. Be gentler. Give the benefit of the doubt even when you doubt someone deserves your benefit. Fight against the coming of the night. Rage against it. Light a candle. Share your flame with others. Lift. Elevate. Laugh. Give. Act. Love.  

Invite others up to the top of your mountain and help them ascend to your heights. Together enjoy the view and the fresh air. 

Stay positive. Stay awake. 

It may be dark for now, but soon and very soon...

And With Your Spirit

Peace, surprise, and gifts.

Advent preparation should afford us a sense of peace. Much like the calm of knowing that you have finished getting your house ready for a guest, or that a task was completed well in advance of a deadline or that you were ready to leave for an event before you had intended to depart. 

Usually, though, it doesn’t. We usually limp through to the end of Advent and exhaustedly celebrate Christmas. We do so much during these weeks. Parties. Shopping. Decorating. Wrapping. Cards. Events. Cooking. Cleaning. Worship. 

Advent should provide us with an opportunity to reconnect to our deepest needs and focus on our most fundamental relationships. It should afford us with an equal amount of reflection and activity, prayer and service, much like Lent. We should approach the Incarnation refreshed, ready and excited. We should be at peace with our level of preparation when Christmas finally arrives. Peace should be ours. Jesus tells us, “Peace I leave to you; my peace I give to you” (John 14:27). Let us accept it!

Many of our readings during Advent focus on not only the birth of Jesus but also the second coming of Christ - the end of times. Our preparation for Christ’s coming should also direct our efforts toward being prepared for the end of the world as well. Advent should be a time when we strive for peace within our relationships and within ourselves, knowing that we do not know the hour or the day when Christ will come again. We should be awake and stay vigilant, but in a way that is filled and overwhelmed by peace. 

Peace He leaves to us; His peace He gives to us. During Advent, at Christmas and always. Let us accept it. 

Let us also have the courage to be surprised. We undoubtedly think that doing more will somehow make us feel fulfilled and happy. We fear that scaling back on the gifts or cards or decorations or food or guests or events will somehow leave us empty. If anything, doing less will allow more room for Christ to come and enter our lives this Christmas. Start with worship. Think of the Magi and how they brought gifts, wise gifts, to the Christ child out of love, homage and an understanding of Christ’s future status. They didn’t come to Jesus expecting presents, but came to Him expecting to be amazed by His presence. The “Little Drummer Boy” from the famous song approaches the Lord afraid that he doesn’t have a gift to give to his Savior. It is then that he decides to offer the only thing that he has, all that he has, his gift of playing the drum. Mary nods. Jesus smiles. And it was good. 

Slow down, focus on being a wise gift giver and be surprised by Jesus’s approval of your actions. Stay awake and present to noticing His message in the midst of all of our secular ones. Frosty doesn’t have a place at the Nativity. Avoid the snowball effect of getting so wrapped up in your to-do list and spend some time offering your gift to Jesus. Spend some time really connecting with family and friends. 

Advent is a time of preparation. It is a time of excitement. It is a time of expectant hope. My you feel abundant peace as you journey through Advent. May you be surprised at the wonders of His love as you spend time in reflection. 

Accept these gifts; accept Him. 

Find Christ. 

Find Peace.  

AMAZING Training Pillar #1: Improvement

Never stop improving.

Ever.

The Japanese call it "kaizen". Visualize a never-ending staircase and this concept may take on greater meaning (or more of a sense of despair!):

From a Christian perspective, St. Augustine said, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in God." While perfection is never completely attainable, one must continue to pursue it as if it were. We can always love more, help more, listen more, do more, be more. Life constantly throws twists and turns at us that stretch our character. With all of its ups and downs, triumphs and failures, challenges and successes, we can very easily get caught up in our human desires of greed, shame, vengeance, vanity, righteousness, lust, despair, and hopelessness. Even Bl. Pope John Paul II went to confession every day!

We must never stop improving...and there is always room for improvement. No matter the level of excellence, no matter how much compassion fills our hearts, no matter how high we ascend in any single area, there is always room for improvement.

People who are AMAZING understand this idea of the necessity of improvement and embrace it. People who are AMAZING recognize that being complacent with stagnancy is a road to perpetual mediocrity. In fact, the only way to be AMAZING at something is to push beyond the plateau of good enough by focusing on continuous improvement. AMAZINGness is only achieved through constant improvement.

Therefore, it should make sense that IMPROVEMENT is the first and most important of the AMAZING Training Pillars. There can be no AMAZING without improvement. Small, incremental, purposeful steps that enable one to breakthrough good enough into the realm of AMAZING.

The expert in how to become an expert at anything, K. Anders Ericsson, argues that improvement is the key to excellence in any area. Innate ability only plays a small part in excellence. Focused practice, the use of a mentor, heightened awareness and small, incremental steps are the hallmarks of becoming AMAZING at something. Practice is the key component - 10 years worth of practice is necessary to become an expert. But, also important is having a mentor who will push you beyond the stumbling blocks of being "good enough". This mentor can help to design training programs that are incremental in their progressive steps. This person must also supply feedback at each step of the way. Finally, once must move beyond arrested development of doing something with automaticity. One must arrive at a heightened awareness of what is happening in order to be AMAZING.

Follow these four steps, according to Ericsson, and work your tail off and you can be AMAZING.

This concept is incredibly liberating for educators. Scaffold lessons so that information and skills are chunked in progressive sequences and sections. Challenge students to improve on areas in which they struggle instead of just allowing them to enhance their strengths. Provide opportunities for students to practice and then provide them with lots of formative feedback feedback. Embolden them by giving them not only the power of how but also the magic of why - get students to think about their thinking (metacognition) and become aware of the steps of a skill.

Do this and your students can be AMAZING.

This also applies to our walk as Christians. Never stop improving. Fight against the danger of thinking that our good enough is actually good enough. Find a spiritual mentor who can help to challenge you to move past who you are and toward who you need to be. Become aware of and be present to every area of your life. Stop just going through the motions and start to move with purpose. And never stop trying. No matter how hard the fall, no matter how dirty the landing get back up. Today. Tomorrow. Always.

Do this and you can be AMAZING.

Oscar Wilde claims, "The only difference between saints and sinners is that every saint has a past while every sinner has a future."

Never stop improving. Ever.

Do this and you will be AMAZING.

Be AMAZING.

At some point in May of 2013, I attended an in-service for administrators. While I typically try to make the most out of such events, I grew particularly frustrated with this training from the very beginning. Scheduled for a 9:00 a.m. start, the training didn’t begin until sometime after 9:30. I hate to waste time, so even though I plowed through emails and kept busy in my mobile office, I entered the training less than enthusiastic. 

Then, the topic centered around anti-bullying. A noble focus, but when we began to do a close-reading of the anti-bullying policy, my frustration swelled. I taught high school Language Arts. I’ve published articles and written research projects in graduate school. I can definitely read. In fact, I can read pretty well. So, to take time to do a close read of this document seemed like a further waste of my time. 

After going through each line and putting it into our own words and finding words that really strike us and asking questions of the interpretation of colleagues and only getting through 1/2 of the document, the morning ended. 

I am not calling the topic unworthy of an administrator’s time. I’m not making a statement about the importance of an administrator knowing what and how to do a close read of a piece of text. Both of these areas of focus have immense merit. The afternoon, though, did not bring with it the promise of a game changer. More of the same, or so I thought, littered the afternoon’s agenda.

Lunch was provided. It was free. It was pretty good. At least I had a full stomach going back for more line by line analysis of this policy.

God has a wicked way of getting people’s attention. The afternoon proved to be one of the most productive trainings I’ve ever attended. He had played on my emotions, almost as if to set me up for a dramatic AH HA! moment, throughout a dismal morning. I was unprepared for the thoughts and ideas that were generated, germinated and developed over the course of our afternoon. 

It was, very simply, AMAZING.

The speaker, Dr. Randall Woodard from St. Leo University, was dynamic. He was entertaining. He was polished. He was risky and even challenging in his address. The tenor of the room shifted during his portion of the training. Focusing on the work of Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, the leading expert on how to become an expert, Dr. Woodard outlined the steps for anyone to become an expert at anything. And, anyone can become an expert at just about anything. Talent, innate ability and genes are not as valuable as training. 

EXPERT TRAINING:
1. Focus on incremental improvements. The larger task of becoming an expert _________________, must be broken into the most fundamental, incremental steps.

2. Use training tasks that take the performer outside of current capacities. We tend to focus on the things we already do well instead of working on the areas of our performance in need of improvement. 

3. Our attention to our practice must be so focused that we eliminate all facets of automaticity. We have a tendency to settle for good enough in just about all that we do. We reach a plateau and most of us settle to live on that plain as opposed to ascending to even greater heights. 

4. Rely on coaches / mentors to: set goals, design domain specific training tasks, and provide meaningful feedback that allows for growth. Without outside help, we often remain in the secure confines of the plateau-topped heights of good enough. 

Then, Dr. Woodard applied this line of thinking to moral development: is it possible to design a training program, based on expert training, that focuses on moral development? Can we provide the opportunities, the mentoring, the incremental steps to have students become morally excellent?

What if we went back to our schools, Dr. Woodard challenged us, and said, "We are going to develop a training program where people are going to be amazing."

My pen couldn't keep up with the ideas. 

Non-academic character traits needed to become a focus in our school - organization, responsibility, pride, manners, improvement. 

We need to provide students with opportunities to work closely with mentors. 

In alignment with our theme (HOME) for the upcoming school year, my mind jumped after hearing this quote from Blessed Pope John Paul II, "The Christian family is the school of love." What if we included into our school households in addition to homerooms? Students would be divided into multi-aged houses headed by a faculty member. Time would be etched out throughout the year for these relationships to be forged and fostered.

And so, the inception of two initiatives occurred:

AMAZING Training Pillars and Households.

The summer would allow for the growth and maturation of each.

12 Pillars ensued:

1. IMPROVEMENT
2. PRIDE
3. MANNERS
4. MOVEMENT
5. RESPONSIBILITY
6. ORGANIZATION
7. COMMUNITY
8. KINDNESS
9. STRENGTH
10. COURAGE
11. AWARENESS
12. MOTIVATION

In meeting with ICS's Mr. Brett Woodward, our School Counselor, Households, Priories and the Irish Cup started to take on a life and momentum of their own throughout the months of June and July. A cup was purchased. Banners were made. Priories formed. A chant was concocted.

An AMAZING year began...and continues.

Be AMAZING. 

Hide It Under a Bushel?

On Tuesday September 24, I was fortunate, blessed and honored to visit our state capital, Tallahassee, to receive one of 15 Shine Awards given to educators from across our state in recognition of their efforts in education. In honor of Incarnation Catholic School's work to partner with parents and families for the better of the children of ICS, Incarnation was selected to receive this prestigious award. I not only had the distinction to receive the award on behalf of ICS, I was also afforded the chance to address Governor Rick Scott and the members of his cabinet at Tuesday's meeting. The following is a copy of the address:

One of the main tenants of Catholic Social Teaching is to provide options for the poor and the vulnerable. Furthermore, the teachings of the Catholic Church promote that parents are the primary educators of children and that parents should be afforded the ability and opportunity to make the best educational choice possible for their children. Thanks to the grace of the state of Florida, and many of you here today, Incarnation Catholic School is able to serve over 70 Step Up for Students scholarship recipients who would otherwise be unable to afford the cost of education at our school. These students, and the 60,000 other scholarship students in Florida, wouldn’t have the opportunity to experience programs like the one at Incarnation and the other outstanding schools represented and recognized here today if it wasn’t for these scholarships.

As Americans we believe that all people are created equal and that everyone is guaranteed the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Offering children and families the chance to participate in the outstanding education offered at private schools throughout our state allows students the opportunity to pursue, with greater chances of success, these rights that make our nation so amazing.

Governor Scott, members of the cabinet and other distinguished leaders gathered here today, on behalf of my fellow educators and Shine Award recipients, I thank you for affording us the opportunity to give all children, regardless of race, regardless of religion, and regardless of economic status the education they so rightly deserve and the education our state and nation so desperately need its children to receive.

We, as educators, give our students roots to stand firm in the face of adversity and the courage to fight for peace and justice in our world. As educators, we give our students wings to reach new heights and to accomplish those things that right now remain nothing more than a distant dream.

As educators, we give our nation hope.

But today, we, as educators, give you, state officials, our thanks. Thank you for your work, thank you for your support for education and for Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship. May God bless you. May God bless the State of Florida. May God bless our children. And may God always bless America.

As educators, it is incumbent upon us to teach in such a way that the divine spark inside each of our students may receive the breath of God and be a source of light and warmth to the world. As educators, we must allow our light to shine so that our students are liberated to do so as well.

Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it SHINE!