Alliance for Catholic Education
Happy New Year!
Welcome back from the holiday break! I hope you are all rested and excited to start the Spring semester. As we kick off the new year, we are excited to announce a few special additions to the Remick community:
Mary Carlson got engaged to her fiancé Travis shortly before the holidays. Congratulations to you both, and enjoy the special months ahead as you prepare for your wedding! In addition to the exciting news of Mary Carlson's engagement, both Mike Jacob and Corey Heroux celebrated Christmas early this year with with arrival of a new family member.
Mike and Kristin welcomed their son into the world on December 17th. Mike shared that Kristin is doing well, and that he tested positive for "being awesome."
On December 20th, Corey and Dave celebrated the birth of their first child. Hopefully we will all get to meet Jack in a few weeks at the Bethany Center
Speaking of the Bethany Center, it is hard to believe that our retreat is only a mere eleven days away! We are eagerly looking forward to being back together with you all, and hope you are as well. Later this week, I will be sending out personalized emails to each of you with your flight information, transportation arrangements in Florida, in addition to any other details to help you prepare for retreat.
As you prepare for what to wear, please feel free to dress comfortably throughout the weekend. Throughout the weekend we will be together just as our own group, until we celebrate Mass with the Bishop on Sunday morning. However, do be prepared for all-types of weather throughout the weekend, as Florida typically receives a lot of rain in January. Currently the 10-day forecast is predicting highs between the low 60's and upper 70's, with overnight lows between the high 30's and low 60's. I for one am looking forward to escaping the arctic cold that hit South Bend yesterday!
Some of your instructors have begun to send out updates about your courses that begin next week. There will be an opportunity for them to touch base with each cohort individually at the beginning of retreat regarding Spring semester, if you do not hear from them before then.
Lastly, as a reminder applications for cohort 14 are due in less than a month, on February 1st. We have begun to receive application submissions, but if you nominated someone for the program, please follow up with them and remind them to get all of their materials in by the deadline!
Blessings,
Greg
Spiritual Reflection
by Matt DeBoer
Luke 12: 22-34
"He said to [his] disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds! Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your lifespan? If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be."
"…Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." Jesus' closing words in this beautiful passage from Luke's Gospel remind us very clearly that when God looks at us, God looks at our hearts. God is not concerned about what is in our wallets and purses or what accolades we hang on our walls in our classrooms, office, and homes. The material possessions we have and aspire to attain are very rarely – at least in my case – driven by spiritual motivations. Yet, how often do we let the material things and day-to-day stresses of our world, work, and other responsibilities dictate our moods and actions? Jesus shared this reflection with his disciples and many other eager listeners who were so keen on listening to him speak at the beginning of Luke 12 that they "began tramping one another underfoot." Jesus' wisdom to us in this passage is an invitation to pause, to look at our lives, and to recognize within ourselves where our current focus lies. Are we taking the long view and making decisions with the Kingdom of God at the front of our hearts and minds? If not, we are likely caught up in the stress and busyness of daily life. This is exactly the state that many of Jesus' listeners were in that day when they were so eager to hear his words. They knew that he had something to offer them, but Jesus knew – as he does with us – that they were not prepared to receive what he had to offer because of their focus on worldly things. Are we prepared to receive Jesus' message today? We all want the best for our children, and we worry about this often, but are we taking time to listen to what God desires for us, or are we only imposing our own hopes and dreams on our children?
While it is nearly impossible today to function in our society without a so-called "smart" phone, how often do we depend on these devices to tell us where to go, who we need to meet with, and what we need to do? Has anyone misplaced their phone recently? How do you feel when you can't find your smart phone? I know that for myself – a smart phone holdout until June of this year when I accepted the principal position here at St. Therese – I have had to have my 11-month old son remind me on more than one occasion that the message on my phone is not important when I get home – family is what matters! I too often put so much stock in organizing my schedule for the following day that I lose sight of what truly matters – whether that is father-son time, a greeting to a neighbor, reaching out to someone in need, or a life-giving conversation with my wife. While technology has certainly made our lives simpler and more connected, many of our devices and capabilities today also pull us away from each other and from our shared mission of building the Kingdom of God. I think that this is what Jesus was warning his contemporaries about – losing sight of what really matters by getting caught up in the details of daily responsibilities.
Jesus isn't inviting us to neglect our professional responsibilities and to not care about our physical health in this message when he tells us not to worry – these things do matter. Rather, Jesus is reminding us to depend on God, the source of all good, and to put our faith in him to have our needs met. God takes care of the ravens and the flowers, yet they were not the high point of Creation – we were! I don't say this to brag – all living things have a purpose in our world – but we have been chosen by God to be co-creators of our world and to build up the Kingdom of God. We cannot do this well when we are mired in the busyness of everyday life. We will simple worry and stress if we stay focused on the day-to-day. Rather, we must take the long view. We must remember that we are in the business of sanctification. Our mission is to make saints of our children! As we embark on the remainder of this school year, let us persevere with our hearts on our mission and make the education and formation of our children our treasure so that we may work not just from our heads, but from our hearts.