And they recognized that they have been with Jesus (Acts 4:13)
Nowhere in a Catholic school administrator’s job description does it say, “work in a fishbowl,†yet I think you will agree that we do. It seems like all eyes are on us, watching our verbal and nonverbal communications, tone of voice and body language. We must be aware of how others perceive us and be able to foresee the ripple effect of our actions and communication. We all desire to create a positive and supportive culture, but doing so can be challenging.
The life of a Catholic school leader is complex, multidimensional, loud and involves competing demands needing loving resolution. On any given day we may not get to our office until mid to late morning, and sometimes it feels like our day is upside down from the start. Despite the chaos and confusion, we continue moving forward, motivated by a divine purpose – the salvation of the souls entrusted to our care. In this way, a Catholic school educator is called to be a contemplative missionary.
The most effective form of leadership and being recognized as, “one who has been with Jesus,†arises from a place of stillness. This puts the leader in the present moment, relaxed, alert, with access to Christ’s guidance and wisdom. Leading from a place of stillness begins with believing, trusting and loving Christ, leading to a strong, virtuous and integrated character that is self-aware and attentive to potential blind spots within.
Catholic school leaders are often so busy it is hard to find time to cultivate an inner life that abides in Christ, is attuned to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and leads to this place of stillness. Even though my vocation provides silence, regular prayer time, retreat days and other opportunities for spiritual refreshment, I still need to find time for self-care. I am amazed and inspired by the dedication and commitment of lay staff who do not have a ‘rule of life’ to govern their day.
A common misconception is that we are to live for God, others and then ourselves. Instead, I propose what Saint Thomas Aquinas taught as the proper order of love – God, self and others. This is realized in the teachings of Jesus “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself†(Matthew 22:37-39). Before we can love others, we must love God and ourselves. Our self-love flows from the truth that God first loved us (1 John 4:19). From this reality, we live from God’s love and not for God’s love.
To be present to others, providing safety and empathy, your inner life and way of living must be integrated and nurtured from the love of God. I would like to suggest ways for you to nurture your interior life and find a place of stillness. For those in leadership positions, the adage, “you can’t give what you don’t have†should force us to pause and reflect. The question we need to ask ourselves is: When others look at us in the fishbowl can they recognize that we’ve been with Jesus?
A Medieval Carthusian motto, “The cross of Christ is still while the world turns,†brings our reflection into focus. A cross has two bars symbolizing Jesus’ two great commandments. The vertical bar, love of God, and the horizontal bar, love of self and others. If one bar is missing, the cross does not exist. Living at the intersection of the cross allows us to be grounded in the present and able to see God’s presence in those we meet each day.
We are often blinded or too preoccupied to recognize and understand the fullness of God’s love for us. Our relationship with Him needs to be cultivated and realized in our daily lives. Living the theological virtues, freely given to us with the other graces of baptism is a good place to begin living from God’s love instead of for God’s love.
Faith enables us to believe that God is who he says he is. We can trust him to calm the storms, heal us in body and soul and enlighten our intellect. Hope, more than optimism, means regardless of how I feel, I am anchored in knowledge and trust that I am a beloved child of God. Finally, love, the source and unity which flows from the heart of God, who is love, and extends to all.
As Catholic school leaders, living the relational reality of these virtues, we approach our vocation from a Divine perspective. As we cultivate our love for God, the vertical bar of the cross is more firmly rooted, our encounters flow from personal experience of knowing, trusting and loving Him, and we strengthen the horizontal, more intentionally loving our neighbors as ourselves.
A teaching from Vatican II sheds light on how to live in the tension of the cross, “The human person cannot fully discover who they are except through a sincere gift of self†(Gaudium et Spes 24). This may sound contrary to the proper order of love – it is not. Your sincere gift of self is most fruitful when you take care of your whole self – body and soul.
One of the best means of caring for your soul is to take time for a retreat. While this may be a practice in your (arch)diocese, are these actual days of retreat or does other business encroach on the time spent away? Do these times nourish you as a Catholic leader? I encourage you to follow Jesus (Mark 6:46), take leave of everyone to go up the mountain.
Self-care includes the body. Do you find time for exercise or healthy ways to release stress, giving your mind time to decompress? Neuroscience tells us rhythm is a means to calm yourself. We first experienced rhythmic patterns in the womb, our mother’s heartbeat and breathing. In this surround of safety and security, we experienced calm. Quiet prayer, the rosary, walking and running are ways we can be renewed through rhythmic patterns. This experience has a biological name called co-regulation whereby our nervous system is calmed by the presence of another. Not only is it a scientific fact; it is truth of our Catholic faith.
Living a sacramental, eucharistic life brings us into contact with the heartbeat of Jesus Christ, shapes our worldview and teaches us to live from a place of communion. Nourished by the body and blood of Christ we enter the mystery of His cross where we can offer our struggles, worries and anxieties. Strengthened by the theological virtues to believe, trust and love Him we know He takes our burdens and gives us rest, renewing us in mind, body and spirit for the rigors of daily life.
When we’re in the fishbowl, we have a still point of grace in the turning world. Time spent there translates to engaging with your school community in a more fully present and peaceful way. Your life in the fishbowl is transformed as others now recognize that you have been with Jesus.
Sister. John Dominic Rasmussen, OP, is an educator and administrator and currently serves as the executive director of Openlight Media.
Sr. John Dominic Rasmussen, O.P.sjdr@sistersofmary.org
