During my first year at Carondelet I had the joy of having Sister Ellie and Sister Kathy stop by my office as part of an evening stroll usually once every other week, at least.
They both said they didn’t want to bother me and were always so encouraging, but those visits also lasted at least 45 minutes to an hour…but they were wonderful visits.
When I spoke at the end of our PD day Friday, I hope I was able to convey the passion and belief I have in our CSJ Mission. You cannot read the history, or visit with our Sisters, or interact with our other CSJ schools in California and around the country, and not be moved by the dedication, selflessness, compassion and sense of purpose that everyone involved possesses.
As a Catholic educator, the teachings of Jesus Christ are the foundation of all that I do, even when dealing with “secular” content (I love putting Freud in a Catholic framework in Psych Realism).
This not only leads to some amazing discussions, but it also helps relate to students in so many unique and special ways. Try a Kairos or Corazon or Shalom and you will see our students in such a new way, and your colleagues as well. We are given the gift to do things like this.
And what a gift that is to us as educators. We get to do what we love with the content we love, and we get to do so while encouraging and focusing on helping young women become agents of change in a world that so desparately needs positive change not just with curriculum, but with what makes them most human.
Much of what I talked about with Sister Ellie and Sister Kathy was related to our curriculum and the programming we were moving forward with, but I also received a great deal of history and a great deal of personal information from them. They were excited about where we were headed, and they both said they wished they were a part of what we were doing. They understood the need for us as a school to adapt and grow in order to continue our existence as a school. And they were both amazingly loving and kind.
So we do move forward carrying the rich charism and mission of the CSJ order. That is why we exist, and that is our guiding principle-it is why we do what we do.
Carondelet Professional Blog
Reflections from our community
Amen to getting to see students – but especially colleagues – in a new way on retreats! Some of my best memories of last year were getting to connect with colleagues during down time on retreats. In thinking about helping people feeling a sense of belonging on campus this has to be one of the best ways. Thanks
Kevin, thank you for sharing this beautiful memory. I came late in the day but I was blessed to get even a moment with these great ladies… I even got the great fortune to have a visit with Sister E when I went to LA to see my kids, after she had moved back to LA… my great takeaway from my talks with them and the stories they shared was the unifying love of the sisters! I am happy to be part of a team of educators that strive to build that into everything we do!
Kevin, I feel blessed to work at Carondelet, the school that helped to form me–instilled the charism of "unifying love". And now as a faculty member who is also a CSJ Associate I am grateful to give back to this wonderful community and help out ladies realize all that they are. (I also am blessed with the ability to take part in cool CSJ activities with the Sisters in LA, such as retreats and special trips).
Kevin, lately I've been thinking about the idea of stewardship at Carondelet. While we get so immersed in each individual school year, the reality is that each of us will be here at Carondelet for a finite amount of time, and we have a responsibility to balance our CSJ traditions while moving the school forward so that it can continue to thrive in an ever-changing world. When I think of myself as a steward instead of a fixture, I feel a different sort of responsibility to this school, and more of an obligation to build from the great work that has gotten us here today.
I really admired the tenacity of Sr. Kathy and Sr. Madeline when they shared their vision of technology for Carondelet with me back in 1996. But it wasn't until I heard the story of the Sisters back in France dressing up as widows so they could sneak out of the convent to help the "dear neighbor" that I began to understand the true nature of these sisters. This subversive tradition followed right through to Sr. Eleanore's favorite saying, "Don't ask for permission. Ask for forgiveness." These sisters knew from the beginning the the right path was rarely the easy path. What's not to love about that mindset?
In my year in the convent I was blessed by the two of them coming in for such chats as well. Their spirit is still here and I am grateful to see their mission and spirit continue in so many ways – both big and small!
I wanted to share a video I recently rediscovered of Sr. Ellie. We filmed her for the Fontbonne forum in 2013 and I didn't know exactly where to share it and remembered this post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCzF_2EYMIE