I think we are all familiar with our story of lace. How the first Sisters in Le Puy taught women
how to make lace so that they could sell a product instead of selling their
bodies. Which brings me to my first
point – that which seems extravagant or superfluous was actually very
practical. I can only image how
expensive hand-made lace of that era was.
Definitely something only for the very wealthy and probably used as a
way of showing off their wealth. But for
the Sisters this extravagance was very practical – it was their livelihood –
funding not only their ministry but also giving the women of Le Puy a viable trade
– a way to support themselves and their families. That
which is extravagant to the world is practical to us.
Secondly, lace is not very fashionable now. Back in the 80’s many loud, flowery dresses
had lace collars. Just go back and look
at the pictures in our yearbooks from that era.
But even though lace is not fashionable or in style right now, it is to
us. Lace is a key part of our
story. We tell the story to our
freshmen. We have a piece of Le Puy lace
framed in the Garaventa Center. It is
woven into our activities. At Mass on
our staff retreat we blessed a lace altar cloth from Le Puy that will be used
at our liturgies. That which is out of
style to the world is foundational to us.
Lastly, did you ever watch someone make lace? Or even notice the first stitches when
knitting or crocheting? It looks like a
bunch of knots – it’s very messy. And
for a novice like me, it’s easy to get confused and make a mistake. But with time, with care, with patience, the
threads are delicately interwoven and interconnected, and the project turns
into something beautiful. So, too, are
our lives interwoven and connected. We
come from all different backgrounds and experiences and have been dumped
together here at Carondelet to make something beautiful – to make lace out of
knots. That which looks knotted to the world is beautiful to us.
So what does this have to do with unifying
love?
Unifying love is very practical. However it is not a central component of most
schools. It can’t be. For the context in which we use it, that is,
the gospel, is not permitted in most schools.
For them it is superfluous. For
us it is key. Who are we if we do not
love our students? We are called not
only to teach them, but also to love them.
If we as a staff embody and model unifying love, that is, if we love one
another – treat each other as the precious creations of God that we each are,
then we cannot but convey that love to our students as well. We want them to “see how they love one
another.” We do our best work – we are
our best selves when we act out of love.
That which is superfluous to the
world makes us who we are.
Unifying love is not very fashionable right now. We need look no further than the halls of
Congress or our local governments. It’s
fashionable to argue, resist, disrupt.
But not for us. For us unifying
love is foundational. It is what drove
the first six Sisters to reach out to the women of Le Puy and teach them lace
making. It is what brought the first six
Sisters to St. Louis to teach the deaf.
It is what called six women to open Carondelet High School. We are called to go against what the world
says is fashionable. We are called to
reach out in love. That which is folly to the world makes us who we are.
Unifying love can be messy – like a knot. We don’t always agree or get along. To be honest, we don’t always like each
other. And we’ve all had at least one
student who drove us crazy. But unifying
love sets aside our weakness – our desire to notice differences – and shifts
our focus to what we share – our common story, our common purpose, our common
love – grounded in Christ and rooted in our love of the dear neighbor without
distinction. That which is messy to the world makes us who we are.
So what do we do with this unifying love? How does unifying love call us to act? I invite you to watch this video:
The passage from Colossians really resonates with me. It challenges me to look at my life – not
only my actions, but also my attitudes toward others. It calls me to find ways to live the unifying
love that Jesus modeled for us in the gospel.
I invite you to reflect on what you can do this school year to make real
one aspect of unifying love.
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves,
you must clothe yourselves
with
tenderhearted
mercy,
kindness,
humility,
gentleness,
and patience.
Make allowance for each other’s faults,
and forgive anyone who
offends you.
Remember, the Lord forgave you,
so you must forgive others.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love,
which binds us all together
in perfect harmony.
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.
For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.
And always be thankful.
Colossians 3:12-15 NLT
