Why I love Catholic Schools #2

Michelle at her first teaching job, 

Lourdes Central Catholic in Nebraska City, 

with her good friend Sally. 

As we celebrate

National Catholic Schools Week 2013

I'm proud to say that this year two of our daughters are teaching Middle School at Catholic schools! 

After two wonderful years at Lourdes Central Catholic in Nebraska City, Michelle is at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School in Oklahoma City, and Anamaría is at Michelle's alma mater, All Saints Catholic School in Norman. 

I have always been surrounded by teachers, all levels, all types of schools -- mother, father, brother, husband, father and mother in-law -- and now daughters and daughter in law! 

Coach Michelle praying with her volleyball team

Lourdes Central Catholic

Seeing first hand the hard work, energy, time-commitment and faithfulness of these family members who are teachers, I've always had a special place in my prayers for all teachers. 

Often underpaid, those who have made teaching their vocation do so because they're answering a special call to serve, and to spread the Gospel through their lives. This goes doubly so for Catholic school teachers, who  work extremely hard, often get paid less, and still go the extra mile for their students.

What does a Catholic School teacher look like? 

well, here's Michelle on "Superhero day"

Catholic Schools Week 2013

I love Catholic schools because of their teachers! 

Two fun videos:

one minute video of a typical day at a Catholic school

Diocese of St. Petersburg

And this one, a 6-minute video on Catholic schools

Diocese of Austin

To be human is to be beautifully flawed

This past weekend Michael and I watched the movie "October Baby" (2011).

Without giving away any spoilers, there's a scene where a minor character makes a statement that has stuck with me. Officer Mitchell, tells 19-year-old Hannah:

"To be human is to be beautifully flawed"

The movie deals with many heavy themes: adoption, abortion, coming-of-age, chronic illness, family. Just the word "abortion" made many reviewers dismiss the movie. Others criticized the acting or the uneven storyline. I'm not a movie critic, so I'll post two differing views at the bottom to help you decide.

What I enjoyed about the movie was its focus on forgiveness, healing and, ultimately, redemption.  While genuine healing and forgiveness require grace, it is up to me to make the first move, to take even the smallest action to get there. And perhaps the journey truly begins by embracing that we are, indeed, all beautifully flawed. For me, that was the heart of the movie.

Official trailer, October Baby

Here's a reviewer who enjoyed the film, even with its flaws.

SPOILER ALERT: If you don't want to know too much about what happens in October Baby, don't watch this movie review by my good friend, Sr. Rose Pacatte, who found the movie too preachy.

The winner of CRAVINGS is...

We have a winner!

When I hosted the drawing for Mary DeTurris Poust's Cravings, I drew a name -- but have not been able to connect with that person. So, I will try again.

We have a winner… again... 

I am pleased to announce that Matthew Schiller has won a copy of Cravings. Matt, send me an address to receive your copy!

Why I love Catholic schools -- #1

Choosing the best schooling option for your children and their education is one of the hardest decisions a parent can make. At least, it was for us! It was also one that we revisited at various points in our family's journey.

Rebekah at St. James

Where should they start school? What about moving into a new city, a new state? What about high school? And finally, what should we encourage for college? At every one of these points, Michael and I stopped, re-assessed, discerned--and finally re-committed to sending our awesome foursome to a Catholic school.

Because it's a difficult and important decision, I'm not trying to convince anyone one way or the other. But I do want to share with you my top three reasons why I love Catholic schools, and why I'm grateful that we committed to Catholic schools.

First of all, I love Catholic schools because they offered us, as parents, the opportunity of sending our children into an educational environment that provided a wholistic approach to learning, one where faith is not a separate topic, but an integral part of EVERY other subject. 

When our oldest was ready to enter Kindergarten, we had no Catholic school in our vicinity. More than anything I desired an educational setting for Christopher that was Christ-centered and founded on the Gospels. One where, whether learning history and mathematics or going on a field trip, I knew that every subject, topic, event or activity centered on living out our Christian faith. So our first school experience, in fact, was a small Lutheran school in Cedar Park, Texas.

When we moved to Oklahoma, Christopher was headed to 5th grade, and our youngest to Kindergarten. Again, we discerned and found a Catholic school in nearby Oklahoma City. As beautiful as our experience was at Good Shepherd Lutheran, being able to incorporate our Catholic faith and tradition to their academic experience was the ultimate goal for us. 

Michelle serving at a school Mass

Clearly, we -- and the schools -- don't always get it right. But the fact that incorporating our Catholic faith was the mission and vision of their school provided our family continuity. This was and is the life code and cornerstone that we deliberately profess(ed) and present(ed) at home.

To put it another way, I knew that we needed all the help we could get to inculcate in our children the Catholic faith that I love and profess.

That's why I love -- and am eternally grateful -- that the schools and the teachers that were a part of my children's lives were my partners in this primary endeavor.

Thank you, Good Shepherd Lutheran School -- Cedar Park, TX

Thank you, St. James Catholic School -- Oklahoma City

Thank you, All Saints Catholic School -- Norman, OK

Thank you, University of Notre Dame -- South Bend, IN

Thank you, Marquette University -- Milwaukee

Thank you, Creighton University -- Omaha

the people of The Way

Caravaggio's THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL, 1601

On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,

a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

He said, “Who are you, sir?”

The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.” 

The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,

for they heard the voice but could see no one.

Saul got up from the ground,

but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;

so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.

For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,

and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias.”

He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight

and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul. 

He is there praying,

and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias

come in and lay his hands on him,

that he may regain his sight.”

~Acts of the Apostles, chapter 9

A few days ago we celebrated the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, and I’ve been pondering that striking story.

Earlier in the book of Acts, we hear that the early Christians called themselves the people of “The Way.” Am I the only one amused that when Saul is blinded by a vision from God he is sent to a street in Damascus called Straight where he is to wait for the Lord’s messenger. How about that for godly directions--Go Straight and wait for the Way!

I think it's downright merciful that God’s messages are not always that blunt.

Scene from the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage

In Spanish, the word “camino” is both a noun and a verb. 

The noun translates as “the way”—and the verb tense literally means, “I walk.”

I do believe that following God’s will comes down to taking a step and waiting for the vision to become clearer. It may feel like crossing a bridge in deep fog, but I commit to walking that way until the fog clears--and then I pray that it becomes self-evident whether I am to continue or change directions.

As a follower of and member of  the people of The Way, that is my task, to continue to walk towards God.

the way of Love

“The intimacy that exists between soul and body is a marvel of creation and a mystery of human existence. Yet we do wrong to think, because the soul will be judged after death while the body crumbles to the grave, that this mortal handful of dust is any less a gift of God, any less noble or beautiful than the immortal soul. It is in the body that we exist and work out our salvation. It is in the body that we see and take delight in the beauties of God’s created universe, and in the body that we ourselves bear the marks of Christ’s passion… We are constantly, day in and day out, hour after hour, under the influence of these mysterious workings of soul on body and body on soul.” 

~Fr. Walter J. Ciszek, S.J., in He Leadeth Me 

[Note: more on Ciszek and the body here] 

“Sing, my tongue; sing, my hand; sing, my feet, my knee, my loins, my whole body. Indeed I am His choir,” wrote Saint Thomas Aquinas, one of the great teachers of the medieval Catholic Church, honored with the titles Doctor of the Church and Angelic Doctor. 

Although I am doing well overall, I feel physically zapped today. So reading Aquinas' dramatic, passionate statement recognizing his body as God's masterful creation, frankly overwhelms me more than inspires me!

Yet when God proclaims, 

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you”  [Jer 1:5]

 God means this creaky and tender body of mine, as it is today.

Elenita, looking at herself in mirror

My friend Pat, who is undergoing treatment for brain cancer, recently reminded me that spiritual maturity requires that we not only merely accept, but to look in the mirror and downright acknowledge just how beautiful we are, physically.

I have a ways to go in learning, believing that I am God’s work of art, that I am God’s choir. It’s that different level of “understanding” that St. Ignatius of Loyola termed “knowing.”

I do want to “know” that all that I am, as I am, God created with specific and deliberate purpose and love so that I may claim my place in God’s choir in this world. This is the “more excellent way,” the way of Love that gives God glory and praise through my life.

There is not greater reality—and in truth, there is no greater challenge.

Cecilia, one month old

“You formed my inmost being;

you knit me in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, because I am wonderfully made;

wonderful are your works!

My very self you know.

My bones are not hidden from you,

When I was being made in secret,

fashioned in the depths of the earth.”

~Psalm 139:13-15

This arrived for you today:

dear friend,

With the single exception of sin, anxiety is the greatest evil that can happen to a soul. Just as sedition and internal disorders bring total ruin to a nation and leave it unable to resist the enemy, so also if our heart is inwardly troubled and disturbed, it loses both the strength necessary to hold on to the virtues it has acquired and the means to resist the temptations of the enemy. We then use up our energies fishing in troubled waters, as they say. 

The present life is given to us only to earn eternal life. If we forget this, we tend to concentrate all our affections on the things of this world, where we are but birds of passage. So it happens that when we have to leave this world we become frightened and upset. Believe me, if we want to live as happy pilgrims, we must always have in our hearts the hope of finally reaching that country where we will settle down forever. But at the same time we must believe, and believe with all our hearts (this is a most sacred truth!), that God keeps a loving eye on us as we walk toward Him, and never lets anything happen to us that is not for our greater good.

Try to nourish within yourself the spirit of gentleness, of holy joy and humility, which is the most apt path toward union with God. Do not get upset about this or that but walk in the way of union with great confidence in the mercy of God, Who will lead you by the hand right to your heavenly home. In the meantime, keep well clear of arguments and avoidable disputes.  

Be careful and attentive to all the matters God has committed to your care, but if possible do not be solicitous or worried; that is, do not burden yourself over them with uneasiness or anxiety. This worry only disturbs reason and good judgment and prevents you from doing well the very things you are worried about...A job done anxiously and hurriedly is never done well; we must do things with coolness and calm.  

With gentleness and peace, make your small efforts to better serve the Divine Goodness, but do not be frightened by the difficulties that crop up. What good, what precious thing has ever been obtained without effort and hard work? On our part, it is only necessary to remain faithful to our resolution to reach the perfection of holy love by doing all we can to make it perfect. If we do not do that we are not aiming very high. 

your brother in Christ,   

Francis de Sales

[Source: Oblates of St. Francis de Sales,

Daily with de Sales, from various entries in July]

Francis de Sales icon from Bridge Building Images

feast day: January 24, 2013