Do Your Students Hear the Voice of the Shepherd?
Advent and Christmas are great seasons of family time and reflection in our home, and the New Year always provokes deep questions from the Lord in my heart. This year the Lord is asking me, “Do your students pray?” So, I thought that I would ask you, “Do your students pray?” They likely know prayers. They can probably recite many prayers. I was asked, and I am asking, do they know Jesus; do they hear and respond to the Shepherd’s voice?
Jesus calls Catholic educators to model and to nurture a vibrant prayer life in our students. The devastating physical, intellectual, spiritual and mental health effects of living separately from Christ demand that we repeatedly invite and remind our students to pray about the things that concern them, and that we model a wide variety of prayer styles from our great Catholic tradition of prayer, including heartfelt spontaneous prayer. In John 10:27-28 Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.” One of the most important things that a Catholic school can equip their students with is a heart that has personally experienced deep meaningful prayer and has a thirst to seek the Lord moment to moment.
Coaches and activity leaders have special opportunities to model deep and meaningful prayer, in and out of the classroom. Competition and team building create organic and emotional opportunities to bring souls closer to Christ by praying through challenges and adversity. Actors, and musicians listen to directors. Those in our wide range of activities, listen to and are formed by their leaders. I have coached more than 30 seasons of high school soccer, and I have witnessed time and time again hard-hearted teens grow into committed disciples. Players listen to coaches; they deeply listen. Players are coachable, in X’s and O’s, but also in their core spirituality and prayer life. Catholic schools that are mission driven need to be especially attentive to hiring and forming mission driven coaches and activity leaders.
People remember their teachers for decades, good and bad. Mission driven teachers can witness their faith across the entire curricular spectrum. Mission driven teachers who effectively accompany students listen to their student’s stories. They guide students to pray about the things that most concern them. They create learning environments where conversion is likely, by asking and listening to the Lord. Every teacher moves the culture closer or further away from the mission.
I have been so blessed to witness many administrators that are powerful missionary disciples. They pray with great reverence and tenderness. They hire strong teachers who are great witnesses to the power of prayer. They create environments where you can feel the Holy Spirit, and their communities are invited deeper and deeper into Christ’s peace and mission.
When students leave our enriched environments, they will quickly encounter the bumps and bruises of the adult world. Some may serve in hostile places defending our country, some will face serious mental and physical health issues, many will experience the exhaustion of rigorous post-secondary academic life, most will be navigating complex relationship issues and all will deal with the unpredictable events of adult life, but the students that leave with a vibrant heart of prayer, and a love of the Catholic faith have a firm foundation and a peace that passes all understanding, as they navigate those bumps and bruises. We pray in the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass that God will gather his children scattered throughout the world. God wants us near to him. He wants to care for and protect our souls. Mission driven schools offer a Catholic understanding of reality to their students, and one of most important realities that a Catholic school can equip their students with is a heart that has personally experienced deep meaningful prayer and follows the voice of the Shepherd.
DIA Executive Director
Deacon Dana Nearmyer