ACE Advocates for Catholic Schools<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\nAn empty Catholic school is a lonely place, and when students go home for the summer the atmosphere changes drastically. It\u2019s quieter, of course. There are no screaming kids at recess, no buzz of conversation down the halls, no tramping of feet before the beginning of daily Mass.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s cleaner, too. The desks are empty, the lockers are bare. The remnants of the year get swept away into piles and then carried out to the trash–leftover tests, forgotten lunch boxes, old pens and pencils. The floors shine again, white boards sparkle, the bathroom walls glisten.<\/p>\n
A parish, too, feels different. There\u2019s a certain peace and quiet in a parish when school lets out for the summer. But there\u2019s also a certain hollowness. When Catholic school is in session there\u2019s an unmistakeable liveliness, an energy, a vibrancy in the parish. It\u2019s as unpredictable as the Holy Spirit, this mass of children who descend upon a parish school each autumn. They come like a mighty wind, waking up the community, bringing new life.<\/p>\n
Sometimes we like Church to be neat and tidy, but Church is a wonderfully messy reality. Church is the messiness of St. Francis of Assisi walking with the animals; it\u2019s the messiness of St. Catherine of Siena wrangling Pope Gregory back to Rome from Avignon; it\u2019s the messiness of Mother Teresa on the streets of Calcutta.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also the messiness of finger painting, glitter, and spilled milk. It\u2019s student lectors who don\u2019t read loud enough, and servers who fiddle with their robes, and kids who poke at each other during Mass.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the messiness of a young baby lying in a straw-filled manger; it\u2019s the messiness of Christ carrying a bloody cross to Calvary.<\/p>\n
Amid all the mess, noise, and chaos, the Holy Spirit is at work.<\/p>\n
The quiet of summer is all well and good, but there\u2019s a deep holiness in the tumult of watching children come alive in faith each day at a Catholic school.<\/p>\n
Thank God for children, thank God for our messy Church, and thank God for Catholic schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The following reflection was written for Catholic Schools Week 2013 as part of a series for\u00a0ACE Advocates for Catholic Schools. An empty Catholic school is a lonely place, and when students go home for the summer the atmosphere changes drastically. It\u2019s quieter, of course. There are no screaming kids at recess, no buzz of conversation … <\/p>\n
Continue reading “Holy Messiness: A Catholic Schools Week Reflection”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[24,11],"tags":[90,8,105],"class_list":["post-3119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spirituality","category-teaching-tips","tag-catholic-schools-week","tag-inspiration","tag-parishes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/prZ8V-Oj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3394,"url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/the-craziness-of-catholic-schools","url_meta":{"origin":3119,"position":0},"title":"The Craziness of Catholic Schools","author":"Deacon Nick","date":"January 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"My wife Brenda and I have four kids\u2014ages 9, 15, 19 and 22\u2014and they each drive us crazy in their own way. That\u2019s what kids do. They ask for money, they make messes, and they require lots of time and energy. Life would be much simpler without them. Simpler, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/category\/news"},"img":{"alt_text":"Catholic School Hot Air Balloon","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_1528.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_1528.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_1528.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_1528.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_1528.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IMG_1528.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2398,"url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/a-round-up-of-catholic-schools-week-videos","url_meta":{"origin":3119,"position":1},"title":"A Round-Up of Catholic Schools Week Videos","author":"Deacon Nick","date":"February 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Catholic Schools Week 2011 is over, but the celebration continues thanks to many schools who posted videos of their activities. From flash mobs to bishops' homilies, the following videos show how schools around the country celebrated this national event. Faculty-staff Flash Mob at Totino-Grace High School: Homily by Bishop Michael\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/category\/news"},"img":{"alt_text":"Catholic Schools Week 2011","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/csw2011-300x226.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":482,"url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/catholic-school-news-for-march-13-2009","url_meta":{"origin":3119,"position":2},"title":"Catholic School News for March 13, 2009","author":"Deacon Nick","date":"March 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's the good word in Catholic schools around the world this week: Priest Receives Award for Support of Autistic Catholic School Children: Fr. Andrew Umberg of St. William Parish in Cincinnati, OH, will be one of thirteen recipients of the NCEA Distinguished Pastor Award. Catholic School Teacher Flirts with Supermodel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/category\/news"},"img":{"alt_text":"Catholic Students Building Robots","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/picture-21-300x240.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3109,"url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/101-ways-to-support-catholic-schools","url_meta":{"origin":3119,"position":3},"title":"101 Ways to Support Catholic Schools","author":"Deacon Nick","date":"January 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It's Catholic Schools Week 2013, and to celebrate I've compiled this list of ways you can support Catholic education. The most important way to support Catholic schools is through prayer, but your Time, Talent, and Treasure are also of great benefit. I'm sure there are at least 101 more ways\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/category\/news"},"img":{"alt_text":"Support Catholic Schools","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/thankyoustmary.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/thankyoustmary.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/thankyoustmary.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/thankyoustmary.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/thankyoustmary.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/thankyoustmary.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2389,"url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/teach-them-something-that-lasts","url_meta":{"origin":3119,"position":4},"title":"Teach Them Something That Lasts","author":"Deacon Nick","date":"February 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Note: The following reflection was written for Catholic Schools Week 2011 as part of a series for ACE Advocates for Catholic Schools. 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,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/category\/news"},"img":{"alt_text":"Holy Spirit by Murillo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/HolySpiritByMurillo-213x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2876,"url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/catholic-school-closures-could-increase-tax-burden-and-cause-overcrowding","url_meta":{"origin":3119,"position":5},"title":"Catholic School Closures Could Increase Tax Burden and Cause Overcrowding","author":"Deacon Nick","date":"January 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Joan Hellyer reports on two of the most significant side effects of the Philadelphia Catholic school closures -- the impact on local public schools and the impact on taxes: \"This may severely challenge our school district, which has been experiencing increased elementary school enrollment coupled with severe state budget cuts,\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/category\/news"},"img":{"alt_text":"Empty Classroom","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Classroom-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/P2020010.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3119"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3128,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3119\/revisions\/3128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nicksenger.com\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/p>\n