The Body of Christ

Last week I had a remarkable experience. A student in my class had a grand mal seizure. I knew that this child had had only one seizure before this, but I didn't even think about dealing with this situation. It never crossed my mind. However, the child had told his friends that if this were to happen, they should make room on the floor so that he could lay down without hurting himself or anyone else.

I had dealt with petit mal seizures before, and so when it happened I had a pretty good idea what to do. I was not looking at my student when the seizure started, but the other students calmly told me that he was having it. At this point things happened quickly - I held his arm so that he wouldn't fall from his desk onto the floor. A student asked if he could go get the nurse; I asked students to move some desks so that we had room. The class went into action. Desks were moved, the boy's backpack was flung aside and someone brought me a kleenex box to help with the frothing. I let helped him to the floor gently. There was no giggling and no crying. The students simply helped to make their classmate comfortable. The nurse arrived, and another teacher took the class into an unoccupied room where a teacher on break showed them an educational movie. The parents were called, 911 was called, the dad showed up and the paramedics did their jobs. The child was whisked away to the children's hospital.

My principal asked if I wanted help putting my classroom back together, but I assured her that the other students would want to help put everything back to rights. I collected my students and they, again, went into action as they put things away, put desks in order and talked about what had happened and how glad they were that they were there to help. I was proud of the way that they had behaved. I was also happy to see that they knew what it meant to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

I took the opportunity to point out to them that they were a living example of what it means to be the Body of Christ - people of God who are each individuals with different gifts, but were willing to use those gifts to help another person. I told them how they were all there, that they remembered their friend's warning if he should have a seizure and they had the presence of mind and body to give from their hearts; showing respect and dignity for their friend who was in a vulnerable position.

These kids did what we all hope we will do when we are confronted with an unexpected situation - they put their friend first, put into practice what they knew they could do, and stuck around to help pick up the pieces at the end of the situation. They did it with dignity and respect, and when he came back to school, they didn't make him feel like he was an oddity.

My hope is that we can see in this situation an opportunity to draw more closely to God. Not just because my students said a Hail Mary for their friend, but because they were prayer in action, being the kind of people who do the things Christ is calling us to. We are God's people, members of the Body who should be ready to see others as our friends, our family members and give them the dignity and respect that they deserve while we help them through the hard times and stick around to help clean up the mess.

Call me crazy, but these kids really inspired me. Don't you wish you had been in my class?

Excellent Weekend!!

What a fantastic weekend at the University of Dallas Ministry Conference! I have loved being the Co-Chair of the subcommittee - Hospitality - for the past 5 years and it is such a privilege to see so many wonderful people, to shake their hands and to welcome them to such a great conference! We have the second largest religious conference in the US, second only to Anaheim, California's R.E.Congress! And we have been told that we have been able to keep our 'small town warmth and friendliness'. It is very gratifying to hear that! In fact, last year, the evaluations by attendees of the conference commented that Hospitality was the best of everything at the conference - sooo, this means that these 150 or so volunteers are doing a GREAT job! I am so proud of them, their dedication and love for ministry! If you missed the conference this year, mark your calendars for next year, October 23-25, 2014, and come to the University of Dallas Ministry Conference - I think you will love it!

What's More Important?

Today at school there was a heated discussion between students who held distinctly different views on the Life issue of abortion. Most students were extremely Pro-Life, but one person was heatedly Pro Choice. Sadly, on both sides it became an argument - a heated argument at that! I was asked to help students come to the conclusion that we must tread with respect upon such an important issue, especially when we are young and just learning how to lead with our ear and our heart instead of our arrogance and determination to 'win' the argument. Pope Francis has been trying to show just that - that the way to influence others is to show humility and compassion for all of God's children, not just the ones who think the way we do.

It is more important to be loving than it is to be right! This concept helps to bring the issue into perspective, I believe, to explain the mindset of humble dialogue to numerous students over the years while they are trying to figure out how to find personal integrity while being true to their Catholic beliefs. No one could be more Pro Life than this mother of six, with three little ones in heaven. But we will never influence the hearts of those who don't believe the way we do by being arrogant in what it means to be holy and righteous, no matter which side of the issue we are on. We must remember that we are all made in the image and likeness of God and, as such, should respect the person even if we don't respect the view point.

May God bless us as parents, teachers and adults in the lives of children so that we can show respect, loving-kindness and a pastoral approach to our neighbor whom Jesus asks us to treat as we would like to be treated. May we come to see the value of prayer for those whom we love and those whom we should love more completely. And may we submit willingly to humble dialogue with those who don't quite see it our way...

What's a PEW DO? These are things that all kids should remember to do at a Catholic school Mass. Don't miss out on these little tips to help your Mass be the most reverent and meaningful, come to the University of Dallas Ministry Conference, in Irving, TX, on October 25-26, 2013, to hear Mary Kuterbach and me give our presentation: The Catholic School Mass - Better and Better! Hope to see you there!