In the Spring of 1990, I got a phone call from God. I wasn’t home to get the call, but my answering machine picked it up. It’s a good thing, too. Brenda and I were about to be married, we were moving to Boise, Idaho, and I had no job. God had called to offer me a teaching position at Sacred Heart Catholic School. (Click here to find out what God sounds like.)

Ok, so the call was from Marge Ransley, the principal at Sacred Heart; but one of the most important things my Catholic education has taught me is that God speaks to us through other people. That answering machine message may have sounded like Marge, but it was really God calling me to begin my vocation as a Catholic educator.

Catholic schools are in a unique position to help students hear the voice of God in their lives. Today’s young Catholics are bombarded with hundreds if not thousands of different messages each day. From tweets to text messages, from TV shows to YouTube videos, God’s call can get lost in a cacophony of misleading and distracting noise. Kids need help discerning God’s invitation to wholeness and holiness, and that’s where Catholic schools come in.

Catholic schools nourish and strengthen the gift of faith present in each student so that he or she can trust that God’s call will lead them to fullness of life.

Catholic schools provide the academic background students need to pursue their call and respond to God’s invitation.

Catholic schools show students how to place their vocation at the service of the world to care for the least among us and help build up the Kingdom of God.

Faith. Academics. Service. These have always been the hallmark of a Catholic education. Catholic school students don’t learn how to make a living, but how to make a difference.

This summer, God willing, I will be ordained a deacon, and the prospect is both exciting and frightening. It has been the same with all my vocational calls. Before Brenda and I got married, before our first child was born, and before I first stepped into that classroom in Boise twenty-two years ago, I wondered if I knew what I was getting myself into. Of course the answer was no, I didn’t really know. How could I? How can anyone? But the faith, academics, and service I received from St. Pius X Elementary School, Billings Central Catholic High School, and Gonzaga University prepared me for each of those vocations in ways that are impossible to measure.

Every child has a vocation, a particular call from God. The Holy Spirit whispers the call deep in their hearts, quietly beckoning them to a way of life that will lead them to ultimate holiness, happiness, and eternal life. Perhaps they are called to marriage, perhaps to the priesthood; maybe the whisper leads them to consecrated religious life or to serve the poorest of the poor.

How sad it would be to miss that call. With all the noise and confusion in the world, isn’t it comforting to know there is a sacred place kids can go to learn how to hear God’s invitation, trust it, and act on it? This is the mission of Catholic schools: Faith. Academics. Service.

“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” So says Galadriel to Frodo in Peter Jackson’s film of Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring. The same sentiment could be applied to the money that gets donated in the following short film Change for a Dollar. Even the smallest amount of money can change the course of the future.

I am sorely tempted to list discussion points or viewing questions that you could use with this video after showing it your students, but I think this time I’ll just let the video speak for itself. I’d love to hear how you would use the video, or what you would focus on with your students. To share, leave your suggestions and thoughts in the comments section.

Thanks to CatholicTV for posting this video on its Facebook page.

This blessed virgin agreed not only to give birth to the Son of the Most High God. She also consented to enter into a unique relationship with God, a relationship that is so intimate that only the bond between a mother and a child comes close to explaining or understanding it. The message of this first disciple of Jesus is clear as we begin a new calendar year: God invites us into an authentic relationship of shared life and sacrifice. It is a relationship in which we come to know who we are in knowing God, and he wishes us to know him in a way that gives us new life.

As this new year dawns, may we all actively answer the invitation that Bishop Cupich writes about, entering more deeply into shared life and sacrifice with God. Happy New Year!

Cross posted at One Catholic Life.

I’ve written a few points for discussion but watch the video closely yourself first to avoid spoilers.

For Meditation/Discussion:

• God is always present in our lives, but we often fail to see him. We get caught up in the details, the busyness, the distractions of our day-to-day lives–in other words, we get so busy counting the passes that we miss the moonwalking bear. God is the moonwalking bear, and when we notice him, we can’t help but break into a smile.
• When was the last time you noticed a “moonwalking bear” in your own life? What was it?
• What are you so focused on that you miss the moonwalking bear?

To date, 87 videos have been submitted, and I’ve embedded some of my favorites below:

See the entire playlist here, and learn more about Confession Monday at I-Confess.com.

Spiritual reading is one of the most powerful and oft-recommended Lenten practices. This year, you might consider reading de Caussade’s Abandonment to Divine Providence. Here’s why:

• It’s an acknowledged classic of spirituality, providing fruitful material for mediation for hundreds of years.
• de Caussade’s simple message is an effective antidote for a world that tends to complicate things unnecessarily.
• At 119 pages, the book is a perfect length for the forty days of Lent; 54 short chapters make it easy to divide into daily passages for contemplation.
• For teachers, its message can profoundly affect the way we approach our students and our teaching, leading to a deep inner peace.

I count Abandonment to Divine Providence as one of the most influential books I’ve ever read, and have gotten into the habit of reading it each year during Lent. As a member of the Catholic Readers group on Goodreads, I’m very glad that they have chosen it as their Lenten book. If you’re looking for some profoundly inspirational spiritual reading this Lenten season, look no further than this classic by Jesuit Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade.

When I taught Amy she was a bright, athletic, beaming eighth grader. She loved her older sister, her younger brother, and playing soccer. A short two years later, her body was ravaged by leukemia, and after a long and valiant battle, she passed away. Attending her funeral was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. And yet, though it was many years ago, I still remember the theme of the homily: Amy’s life is changed, not ended.

I sometimes imagine Amy looking down from heaven and saying to me, “These students you teach will not be here forever. Teach them something that lasts.”

And that, indeed, is the mission of Catholic schools: to teach something that lasts. Not for a decade. Not for a generation. But forever. As a guest speaker once told our faculty, “Our calling is to get students into Heaven, not Harvard.”

Not that Catholic schools don’t care about providing a rigorous education. Any of numerous studies will tell you that Catholic schools provide an outstanding academic foundation–high graduation rates and top scores on standardized tests. However, what Catholic schools uniquely offer our children is the one thing that lasts: the opportunity to develop in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

In a culture that increasingly marginalizes religion, Catholic schools keep faith at the forefront. Each day students witness the lived faith of a believing community and learn how Christ permeates every aspect of life. From learning about Catholic contributions in science to exploring religious themes in literature, from daily school prayer to weekly school liturgies, Catholic schools offer students an ongoing invitation to recognize God in their lives.

Catholic schools give students the x-ray glasses they need to see through the false promises of our culture. Catholic schools give students the hearing aids they need to listen the voice of the Holy Spirit in their own lives. Catholic schools give students the inner compass they need to find their way to their true home.

Life is beautiful, but all too short. I advocate for Catholic schools because Catholic schools offer students an education that lasts a lifetime…and beyond.

It’s like trying to bowl a strike, but ending up doing what this guy did on his third throw:

You just never know what you’re going to hit. It may not be what you were aiming for, but with God’s grace, you’re going to hit something.

Tree of Jesse, 16th Century Athens

Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City and Deacon Greg Kandra of Brooklyn have recently challenged us to not lose sight of the importance of the Advent season. Bishop Wester even went so far as to make it the subject of his first pastoral letter to the people of Salt Lake City. Titled “Waiting in Joyful Hope,” Bishop Wester suggests several ways to celebrate Advent more fully:

• “Schools should not decorate for Christmas, but can decorate with simple wreaths and greenery.”
• “I encourage each home to display and bless an Advent wreath…”
• “I urge you to hold-off on displaying a decorated Christmas tree until the season of Christmas begins.”
• “You may want to incorporate a Jesse tree in your family’s observance of the season.”

What do you think? Can we as Catholics be counter-cultural, the way some denominations are counter-cultural? Jehovah’s Witnesses do not participate in Halloween. Seventh Day Adventists rest on Saturday rather than Sunday. Can we reclaim Advent from secular culture? Is it possible for Catholics to resist the pull of our society and wait until Christmas Eve to celebrate, and then to extend that celebration until the Epiphany?

How far would you be willing to go? Take the poll below and/or leave a comment.

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