Alliance for Catholic Education
Friends,
Dan and I had a great time at NCEA two weeks ago. It was wonderful to see a few friendly faces representing your cohorts, including Corey, Keith, and Anita from RLP 13, and Craig and Bobby from RLP 12. There were also a number of recent Remick graduates presenting the research projects they completed at their schools during year two of the program. I have to say it was nice to see them there sharing their work professionally with other Catholic educators, but also that their community bonds of friendship have lasted beyond just their time in the program.
While it was great to reconnect with everyone, our primary reason for attending the conference was to present on "Re-imagining the Catholic School Leadership: Building a Pipeline for Systemic Transformation." Our presentation was well received, and hopefully it will help increase the focus dioceses place on strengthening and developing the leadership talent within their communities, and ultimately lead to more transformational leaders such as yourselves! Dan even gave a shout out to a theoretical "Aslan Program" in the "Diocese of Narnia" that I think you all might know a little something about...
Speaking of RLP, last week we hosted the entire Remick faculty here on campus to discuss and plan for your courses for this upcoming summer. It was a very productive day, and I left completely energized and excited to welcome you all back to campus this summer. We appreciate all of the feedback you have given us, and know that it has been very helpful as we continue to improve the program each year. Most importantly we've tried to be intentional about not scheduling any evening sessions this summer, to dedicate that time for you all to focus on class assignments and fostering your community and spiritual lives.
We are also proud to celebrate new life and share some new beginnings for many of you:
- Matt Moloney and his wife Julie welcomed their daughter into the world Monday morning.
- Gabe Moreno will take over as interim principal of Bishop Dunne High School, where he is currently Director of Financial Aid.
- Bobby Yevich will replace his mentor and principal Sister Florence Ann Marino, IHM, at Holy Family Catholic School in St. Petersburg as she prepares to "Transition with Zeal" and retire at the end of the year.
- Kari Buchinger will continue in her role as interim principal at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School in Memphis.
Please join me in congratulating Matt, Gabe, Bobby, and Kari! As always, please let us know if you have any updates to share with the Remick community.
God bless,
Greg
P.S. - I know many of you have been asking about the new cohort - we've been busy confirming the last few candidates, and are excited to introduce you to RLP 14 next week!
Spiritual Reflection
by Carleen Raymond
Obstacles to God's Love
"In an age like our own, marked in part by the quest for instant relief from suffering, it takes special courage to stand on Calvary. Uniting our suffering with that of Jesus, we receive strength and courage, a new lease on life, and undaunted hope for the future."
– Cardinal Joseph Bernardin
No matter how much we like to plan our futures, life tends to throw us curve balls. Despite our best efforts, we can't avoid experiencing loss, pain, and sadness at some point in our lives. When we are faced with this kind of suffering, it's easy to question God and distance ourselves from our creator. It's easy to let the darkness seep in, to let the sadness consume us and to look for ways to find "instant relief". But it is in these times of trial that we need God the most and in leaning into our faith, our relationship with God can be strengthened and he can lead us through the trials of our lives to find peace and hope on the other side.
When I was 25, in my last year of law school, my mom was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. In a split second, my whole world changed. I went from a being an incredibly driven, type-A law student to not caring about school, or my future career plans, or even my friends. All I wanted to do was spend time with my mom and my family. Honestly, the only reason I finished law school and passed the bar was because of my mom's encouragement. She refused to let her diagnosis derail my plans for the future. I had 16 months with my mom from the day she was diagnosed to the day she passed away. During this time, I got to talk to my mom about anything you could possibly imagine. I used to lay in bed with her after her chemo treatments and read to her. In some ways, this special time with my mom makes up some of my favorite memories and I was privileged to experience her immense and unconditional love. But this was also the darkest time of my life. Watching my mom becoming increasingly frail, uncomfortable, and eventually, wrought with pain as she neared the end of her life on earth, was the most heart-wrenching experience.
During that 16 months, I went from trying to pretend that nothing was happening, in this hopeful, naive way of "she's not really going to die," to plummeting into a really dark place where I began to question God's love for me and for my family. Why would God take my mom away from me? Why her? There are so many horrible people in this world; why not take one of them? Why take someone who was kind and loving, an amazing mother, wife and teacher? In that dark place, I got to a point where I was trying to do everything myself: be the strong one for my dad and brother, carry the weight of the situation all by myself and never let anyone see my pain.
The more that my life felt completely beyond my control, the more I watched my mom become at peace with her future. In the midst of his own battle with cancer, Cardinal Bernardin wrote, "While I know that humanly speaking I will have to deal with difficult moments, and there will be tears, I can say in all sincerity, that I am at peace. I consider this as God's special gift to me at this particular moment in my life." I saw this same kind of peace in my mom. Witnessing her tremendous faith in God at the end of her life helped me realize that the only way I was going to survive this ordeal was to lean into my own faith. The more I prayed and read scripture, the more peaceful I felt. Ultimately, I turned to God and trusted in his love enough to share with him my sadness and suffering and loss. And my faith helped me understand that my life (and my mom's life) was part of bigger a plan.
Having faith is being able to be at peace without necessarily knowing or understanding God's plan, but trusting that there is a purpose to our lives. The death of my mom was not something I could be type-A or rational or logical about. And so it is with faith. There's nothing rational about the immensity of God's love: God's willingness to become human, and enter into the mess of human life, to the point of Christ's suffering and death. The amazing part is that God is always there for us through the highs and lows of life having experienced them himself. I had to just give up and give my suffering over to God. I had to stand with Christ on Calvary. And I'm so glad I did, because in leaning into my faith, I was strengthened and my hope in the future was renewed.