National Teacher Day When I was growing up, both of my parents were educators in the public school system. I cannot tell you the number of times I was out with one of my parents and we would bump into one of their former students or coworkers, or a parent … Read more...

Holy Week Reflections from Saint John Baptist de La Salle As we begin Holy Week and approach the glorious celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord, I thought it would be fitting to simply provide you with two reflections from Saint John Baptist de La Salle in this week’s Servant … Read more...

National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) Convention and Expo The 2011 National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) Convention and Expo will be taking place later this month, April 26–28, in New Orleans. This annual event is a remarkable gathering of parish and school educators from across the country. Every year there are … Read more...

Blessed Pope John Paul II As I am sure you are aware, Pope John Paul II will be beatified on May 1 of this year. This year May 1 is Divine Mercy Sunday, which is the first Sunday after Easter. It was on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday in … Read more...

Child Abuse Prevention Month In all my years of ministry, I can honestly say that the most difficult issue I have ever dealt with was that of reporting a case of suspected child abuse. It was not an action I took lightly, because I was well aware of the consequences … Read more...

Saint John Baptist de La Salle Did you know that John Baptist de La Salle is the patron saint of educators, teachers, and principals? John Baptist de La Salle was born into a wealthy family in northern France in 1651. At the time, education was a privilege reserved for the … Read more...

Lessons from Saint Patrick Later this week we will celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. Beyond the "kiss me, I’m Irish" T-shirts, the wearing of shamrock pins, and the pinching of anyone who is not wearing green, there are lessons that we as ministers to young people can learn from both the … Read more...

Lent Is Near For this week’s Servant Leader, I would like to offer one more Lenten reflection as we prepare for Ash Wednesday later this week. The following reflection was written by Br. Stanislaus Campbell, the Visitor for the San Francisco District of the Christian Brothers. This reflection, originally written … Read more...

Lenten Reflection and Resources Continuing with the theme from last week’s Servant Leader of preparing for the season of Lent, this week I would like to direct you to an extremely valuable resource. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has created a wonderful resource for the 2011 Lenten … Read more...

Positive Additions, Not Painful Deletions Believe it or not, Ash Wednesday is in seventeen days. With this in mind, I would like to draw from a reflection I originally wrote in 2004 for the Saint Mary’s Press E-news (updated and expanded for The Servant Leader). This week’s reflection looks at … Read more...

God is Love "All you need is love""Love conquers all""Love is blind" I thought it was only fitting that today, Valentine’s Day, we focus on the topic of love. Each one of us can probably rattle off a dozen sayings about love (like the three above). Countless books, poems, songs, … Read more...

Sudan This Tuesday is the memorial for Saint Josephine Bakhita (see Saint Spotlight). She is the patron saint of Sudan, and this year her feast day coincides with an amazing global event that is taking place in Sudan. Between January 9 and January 15, the people of Southern Sudan took … Read more...

Curiosity In last week’s Servant Leader, we had part one of a two-part reflection written by Holly Hoey Germann on nurturing curiosity in the classroom. In her reflection she addressed the importance of creating a classroom climate of curiosity, and she explored safety as the first of three elements that … Read more...

Curiosity What does it mean to learn? Learning is so much more than the memorization of facts. True learning is a journey of understanding. It is about being inquisitive, asking questions, and seeking meaning. Learning is seeking to not only know the information but truly understand it and apply it … Read more...

Catholic Schools Week The Catholic school system in the United States of America is an amazing blessing in the lives of young people, families, and communities across this country. The contribution these schools have made and continue to make is immeasurable. Through the work of Catholic schools, young people receive … Read more...

National Vocation Awareness Week I pray the Christmas season and the arrival of the New Year has been a joyful and blessed experience for you. The start of a new year is an opportunity to reflect on where we are in our lives. It is also an opportunity to take … Read more...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year This past Sunday we celebrated the fourth Sunday of Advent, and now we are in the final week of preparation (both spiritually and physically) for the arrival of Christmas. In our home this means that the Christmas tree has been set up, presents are … Read more...

National Youth Ministry Award Last week the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry was held in New Orleans. The theme for the gathering was "March with the Saints." This biennial gathering is a chance for people who are committed to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with young people … Read more...