#LasallianLife
What Do You See?
December 2, 2022
There are times when responding to the needs of a young person requires an attempt to inspire a different perspective. As you may remember, or maybe you have even experienced, young people do not always welcome a different perspective! For those times, I dig deeply into my desk drawer and share the following scientific and very professional image:
The student is typically very confused as they expected a more sterile and scripted response from their school President. After a few moments, I follow up with the question, what do you see, a “young lady” or an “older lady?” Sometimes, as hard as they try, all they can see is the “young lady.” I may remark somewhat rhetorically, “Can’t you see the old lady?” But, they cannot seem to alter their perspective.
To assist, I gently start to point out features that lead to a new recognition within the same picture, “Look closely at the necklace, it is the old lady’s mouth.” I subtly support a new perspective by revealing piece by piece, until.. Aha!
The metaphor within this newfound perspective spawns an opening to help the young person grow. Perhaps they were struggling with how they perceived themselves as a student. Or, perhaps they were struggling with how they perceived themselves as a person. They were stuck. Yet, through gentle and strategic “clues” they were able to begin to change their perspective to see something that was once unrecognizable, yet always present. Emerging from the conversation is another vision of themselves that they did not originally see - a vision that is far greater than their initial, trained, self perspective.
The Advent Season in the Catholic Church is strikingly similar to this illusionary image. Throughout the year, we can become caught up in one worldly perspective - lives filled with things, achievements, and busyness. In many ways, we cannot help it - it is just what “we see!” Advent provides the opportunity to refocus on a different, heavenly perspective - lives filled with hope, faith, joy, and peace. It can be a challenge! Sometimes, we try our hardest to see the “older lady” when all we can see is the “young lady.” Similarly, sometimes we try to refocus on a “heavenly perspective,” but all we can see is a “worldly perspective.” Despite this challenge, there are “clues” that renew our heavenly perspective.
Theologian Thomas Groome reflected, “Jesus invited people to think about their lives in a whole new way. He wanted his listeners to recognize that great things like the reign of God and their own eternal destiny were being negotiated in the ordinary and everyday of their lives.”
As a Lasallian community, preparing for Christmas means offering our students the “clues” that reveal a heavenly perspective. We offer experiences of prayer. We offer experiences to serve others. We offer experiences to recognize the blessings found through the presence of God “in the ordinary and everyday of their lives.” Each of these experiences change our perspective from worldly to heavenly. It is the unique experience of Lasallian Catholic education.
Just yesterday, eight of our students left for a mission trip to the Saint Francis Inn. They will spend four days living, eating, praying, and serving with the members of this Franciscan community. The mission of the Saint Francis Inn is to “ minister with the poor and homeless of Philadelphia." The Inn seeks “to build relationships with those whom they serve by respecting their human dignity, by helping them to restore hope in their lives, and by living simply among them." For our students, this experience provides a glimpse of “the heavenly” in the midst of “the worldly.”
The month of December will be filled with many tests and quizzes, but perhaps the most important question will be, “What do you see, a “young lady” or an “older lady?”
As we travel together through this Advent Season, may our lives be filled with the “clues” that reveal hope, faith, joy, and peace. With a sincere commitment, and with the blessings of each other, perhaps we will see the “older lady” after all!
God bless all of you throughout this Advent Season!
Mr. Matthew Keough
President, Christian Brothers Academy
