Speaker Uses Humor, Faith to Encourage Educators

Catholic educators received encouragement as they enter the new school year following the spirit of St. Joseph  at their annual gathering Aug. 3 at St. George Church in Baton Rouge.

The gathering opened with a prayer service lead by Father Paul Yi, pastor of St. George.

After a welcome from Dr. Melanie Palmisano, superintendent of Catholic schools, attendees laughed, reflected and shared their stories during a presentation by Mike Patin.

Patin, who has worked in ministry settings since 1984, first asked teachers to gauge their energy level and share the one word that describes their feelings as they begin the school year. Responses included exhausted, cautious, overwhelmed, eager, anxious, inspired and courageous.

Afterwards, Patin said a heartfelt, “Thank you, thank you for showing up, thank you for wanting to do this, doing this against the odds, for being anxious, courageous inspired, cautious and all the other words you said.”

While the prevailing messages from society are negative, meeting challenges depends on how one looks at them or “reads the signs.” Patin illustrated by showing how “God is nowhere” can also be read as “God is now here.” 

Also, two side-by-side signs can be arranged with a message that can either be read as “Give up, you don’t matter” or “You matter. Don’t give up.”

“My dear brothers and sisters you matter,” Patin said.

He said educators enter each day not knowing in what ways they will have to respond or be Christ to others.

In taking a light-hearted look at the 2020 isolation, Patin shared humorous photos and anecdotes about Zoom meetings, “destination locations,” meaning rooms within the house, finding entertainment in the smallest things and “cabin fever” or “the need to get out.” He also noted how “disruption” or “disconnect” also occurred.

Audience members then reflected and shared what was “messed up” during the past year in their lives as a teacher and professionally.     

Connecting to the day’s Gospel reading about the apostles in the midst of a storm on the Sea of Galilee until Jesus calmed the waters, Patin said teachers are called to respond when troubles occur.

“You are a committed people, even when the storms hit us,” Patin said. 

He then asked educators to name and share two to three ways that they saw God “show up” during the past year.

Louisiana is no stranger to natural disasters, Patin said, noting it’s the nature of Louisianans to “rebuild.” He then invited educators to share where they saw people “rise up” or “step up.”

Patin’s concluding points featured Pope Francis’ declaration of this year as “The Year of St. Joseph.” He highlighted how many points Pope Francis made in his encyclical “Patris Corde” or “With a Father’s Heart” apply to the education profession. 

They included St. Joseph an intercessor, support and guide during times of trouble; Jesus learned at the school of St. Joseph to do the will of the father; he turned a problem into a possibility by trusting in divine providence; to plan, be creative and to find the solutions ourselves.

And perhaps, most loveable of all about St. Joseph, is that he was “an ordinary Joe.”

As an encouraging “sending out message,” Patin told the educators they will show up everyday as an “ordinary Joe” or “ordinary Jane” and, following the examples of St. Joseph, make a difference in the lives of the students.

Bishop Michael G. Duca then addressed educators before commissioning them. The bishop noted that in the previous day’s readings Moses complained because the people of Israel were angry they did not have fish to eat, only manna. Moses essentially told the Lord, “If you’re not going to help me, just kill me.”

That can express the feeling of burden of those who take up the profession of education, according to the bishop. 

The apostles were fearful when overcome by a natural power on the Sea of Galilee; they think they are in danger and cry out to God to save them, and he does. That comes with the feeling of being “overpowered” or “overwhelmed.”

Speaking about St. Joseph, Bishop Duca said when God asked him to do something, he “got up and did it.” Life did not go as he planned but with every twist and turn saw the work of God.

When faced with challenges, people are called to “die to smaller ideas” in order to “grow to bigger ideas,” according to the bishop.

“Patience is sometimes much more valuable than accomplishing a lot,” said the bishop.

World events such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the 2001 terrorist attacks on America and the pandemic shattered certain assumptions and trust in the things that we thought would always be there or not be there. Knowing that “you can’t go back,” Bishop Duca said the way to move forward is to build a deeper foundation based on the truth, knowledge and the faith and like St. Joseph, with obedience and trust in God.

He said educators are a source of peace, hope, knowledge and love, building up the churches, country and world. He stressed that in order to do that they must have a love for what they do and support of their peers.

Last year was a difficult and definitive year, but Catholic schools made some unbelievable accomplishments, said the bishop.

“I want to thank you for ‘standing in the breaches’ so that Catholic education can survive,” Bishop Duca said.