April 2013 Volume Twenty-Two Number 8
Dear Parents and Guardians, I am writing this letter at what is rather a fun moment. The date is actually March 12th. In a couple of hours, the 115 cardinal electors will go into the conclave. The first vote will follow shortly thereafter. By the time you read this letter, the identity of the new pope will be settled and old news (If it’s not, it’s probably time to replace the penne arrabiata on their menu with tuna noodle casserole in an effort to persuade the electors to speed things up a little!). Come April 1st, the media will have done their thing, communicated the
Similarly, they didn’t know how things were going to turn out, Peter and Andrew, James and John, at work on the Sea of Galilee, upon hearing some carpenter from Nazareth summon them: “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” On Good Friday it must have seemed that things had turned out very badly indeed. Yet, come Sunday morning, whatever their precise experience of that metaphysical event we call the Resurrection was, one thing is clear: it is because Peter believed that Jesus was alive that the disciples believed, that the Church believes, that we believe.
chosen cardinal’s C.V. to the world and ransacked his closet for any skeletons.
Isn’t that the reason – the profound, ultimate reason – that the partnership
For the moment, though, we don’t know how things are going to turn out.
between parents and educators in a Lasallian school accomplishes so much
Still, when you think about it, even by the end of the school year, we’ll
good for the young men entrusted to our care? It’s because we believe,
hardly know how things will turn out, ultimately be judged from history’s
believe that Jesus is alive, not only as an article of faith, but within and
perspective. Will the 266th pope be a rock star like John Paul II or earn more
among these teenagers as they stumble along the path to adulthood. It’s
modest, mixed reviews? Will he begin well but end tremulously like Paul VI?
because we believe that La Salle becomes not just an educational alternative
Will the tragedy of unfulfilled potential and optimism dashed be his as it was
but a sacred place, a sign of faith in the promise made to our sons and
for John Paul I, or will he confound minimal expectations to surprise everyone
students through the prophet Jeremiah: “For I know well the plans I have in
with the fresh vision and preternatural ability to radiate God’s love which
mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to
John XXIII brought to the world?
give you a future full of hope. When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I
Those of us who nurture or educate teenagers often have occasion to reflect on that mystery, don’t we? We don’t really know how things are going to turn out. In the last school I served at, I asked for a multi-year study of the top twenty finishers on the entrance examination who actually enrolled. Only 50% were in the top twenty at graduation. Why? An entrance exam
will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you.” Maybe we do sort of know how things are going to turn out after all. A blessed Easter season to you and your families,
demonstrates aptitude but is blind to work ethic. Likewise, many in that top 20 at graduation never make much of themselves, while some students much closer to the bottom of the class become extremely successful and even more
Brother James L. Butler, FSC
generous. Why? You don’t get graded very much on your team-building skills,
President
your ability to create buy-in for a vision or close a deal. But these traits count a lot “in the real world.” Surely, in matters both large and small, as parents you don’t really know how things are going to turn out. Should you let him play rugby? Won’t he get mauled? Is he ready for three nights away on a ski trip? For that girl? And then there’s senior week…. As far as college goes, should you encourage him to think big, stretch his wings, reinvent himself in a new part of the country or play it safe, stay modest, close to home, and enter the work world at age 22 without $200,000 of debt? Likewise, when he falls, should you rush in and pick him up or leave him there on the ground for a while to figure out both the cause of the problem and the solution for himself?