Saints for Back to School

It’s August, and while summer is not officially over, I know my own mind is going to “back to school.” Vacations are ending, school supplies are being bought, Old Navy has a million ads with children in popped collars. So, let’s embrace it, and for those going back to school, or sending their children back to school, get to know some saints who can go with you.

Saint Scholastica: the name says it all. The sister (possibly twin) of the great St. Benedict and the foundress of Benedictine nuns, she is considered a patron saint of education, reading, and tests.

Saint John Henry Newman: Ever been to a Newman Center on a college campus? It’s named after Saint John Henry Newman, who famously converted from the Church of England to Catholicism, losing a lot of worldly power and honor along the way ( which was then restored as a cardinal in the Catholic Church). He was himself an academic and wrote The Idea of a University.

St. Thomas Aquinas: He is the OG Catholic scholar and a big ol’ doctor of the Church. ‘Nuff said.

St. Carlo Acutis: He is not traditionally associated with education, but he died while a teenaged student. We see many pictures of him with his friends and in recreational activities, living the life of a normal kid. I always think of that common image of him on a hilltop wearing a backpack. I just learned you can buy a Carlo Acutis backpack.

St. John Paul II: I have to throw him in here as a personal favorite, and because of his extraordinary work with young people and students. He was himself a lifelong writer and scholar, as well as a professor in the 1950s and 1960s. See if you can find pictures of him with his young people, celebrating Mass on an overturned canoe-turned-altar while on an outdoor adventure.

These are just a few of those you can call on to help you prepare and enjoy back to school time. God bless all the students and families of students!

The latest on the radio: keeping the faith through changes

This week I joined the Mark Swartzberg Show officially for the first time. We did one practice take before the show went live a couple weeks ago, which he references, but I don’t think it ever ended up live anywhere. So, it was good to officially be back with Relevant Radio and I am excited for these future conversations. To me, the show feels more like a podcast than a quicker-paced morning interview show, as Morning Air was. As a guest, it’s a whole new way to plan and think about how to approach the topic at hand, drawing much more from personal experience than what would be considered more broad teaching or tips. It must have hit the mark because I got two new subscribers out of it. To those two people and all the others: welcome!

Anyway, we talked about transitions, and you can hear the playback here. And yes, that means I shared some news about a big transition coming for my family, which is a move back to my home state. It’s just time! DC is no place to raise normal humans (because there aren’t any here. Or, at least very few).

My favorite part of the conversation was Sarah’s question: have you been able to see in the past where God has taken care of you, and does that make you stronger and give you more confidence for a future big transition? And she is, of course, exactly correct. I mention the lesson during one part of the 19th annotation prayer retreat that asks the pray-er to recall times in their life when God was present with them. It’s a wonderful exercise, and one that should be done a few times a year. Through relationships, work changes, loss of a loved one - we don’t survive these things alone or by our own grace. God is always there, pulling us through. Indeed, recognizing that is a truly comforting thing.

There were lots of great insights in this conversation. Enjoy!

Dealing with transitions

True to recent form, my announcement of being on the radio Monday was not to be. After some late night rescheduling Sunday night, my talk on keeping faith through transitions was postponed, though I am very excited to share it with you when the Mark Swartzberg Show schedule opens back up. That’s because: transitions happen all the time! Births, deaths, moves, jobs ending and beginning, children starting school, your hair stylist retires…it happens all the time. And we are called to keep the faith through life’s transitions, and use transitions as an opportunity to grow in both prayer and faith. Lemonade outta lemons, you know? So stay tuned for that bit of encouragement in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, I was interested to learn today there is something called a “Hail Joseph” prayer, see more here. I have a strong devotion to St. Joseph, as patron of my own vocation, and to learn he has his own “hail,” as Mary does, is cool. Here it is:

Hail, Joseph Son of David, the just and the chaste, Wisdom is with you; Blessed are you among all men and blessed is Jesus, the fruit of Mary, your faithful spouse.

Holy Joseph, worthy foster-father and guardian of Jesus Christ and of the holy Church, pray for us sinners and obtain divine Wisdom for us from God, now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Evidently the prayer was composed in the 19th or 20th century. I like the idea of spontaneously composing prayers, driven by an inspired faith. Have you ever written a prayer?

Hail Mary, and hail Joseph, and pray for us.