God Never Changes

Change. My school has undergone a lot of it. For the past forty five years most Catholic schools can say the same. They have been grappling with change and the insurmountable tension that coexists within its grip.

Whenever I give a workshop I start with two things. The first is the St. Teresa of Avila prayer:

Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.

The second is a graph that shows how Catholic schools have changed since 1920 in relation to vocations. In 1920, Catholic schools were run by the Religious at 90% and Lay people made up about 10% of the staff. In 2017, we have quite the opposite. The Religious make up only about 3% of our staff and Lay people about 97%. 

Sometimes I just let people stare at this and I ask them to infer and wonder what implications this has on today’s reality for Catholic schools.

The implications are many…the absolute necessity for lay people to be well formed in the faith…the financial reality of paying a fair and just wage to teachers and principals and then balancing that with tuition costs…the need for deep and substantive religious education programs…the list of insights can go on and on.

Yet, our goal remains the same as it did in 1920. 

Save souls.

Give the children everything they need, so that in the thick of it all they know how to love like Jesus did, how to sacrifice, and how to let virtue be the light that guides their path in a broken world.

What is the answer? The answer is what it has always been. We need to receive the Eucharist. It will nourish a growth mindset like that of the saints - disciplined, courageous, and willing to be led by the Spirit. It will nourish Christ centered relationships in our lives that will be transformed by sincerity, honesty, and love. 

“Let nothing disturb you.

Let nothing frighten you.

All things are passing away…”

We have seen Catholic schools consolidate, close, and in some cases grow in the last 15 years. For the latter, it takes a positive response to change and a team with a true attitude of discipleship amidst the growing pains. We have been creative with our budgets so as to ease the burden that a parish will bear to keep its doors open. We have been blessed by volunteerism and the generosity of benefactors.

Yet, trying to stand firm as to the great gift every child receives when he or she is at the table of the Lord more often - well that is hard to communicate amidst the daily frustrations of miscommunication, homework, classroom management, and all the little fires that are a natural result of an institution whose core is "people." As a principal, I find myself often sorting through various conflicts amidst individuals all trying to do their best to parent and to teach and to keep our school open. 

God never changes.

Patience obtains all things. 

My peace this past year has come from a trust in the divine and providential. It has come from seeing beneath every moment of distress, the love that brought it to the surface, and responding with the same impulse of love. I have learned that all things truly are passing and God’s will be done… I do not question Him. I lean into the wind.

Whoever has God lacks nothing;

God alone suffices.