The Best Advice I Have Ever Received…

It seems the Good Lord blesses me with timely articles,

advice from my wife, mentors and peers, excerpts from

good books, sappy commercials that give me a runny

nose and watery eyes (my wife has long stopped buying

into my explanation that I have extensive allergies when

I see a sad commercial) and most importantly, a great

Homily with accompanying Holy Scripture to keep me

grounded. A strong ego can serve a person well but it

can also be a major detriment. In my case, God reminds

on a very regular basis that He is in charge and He

doesn’t need my opinions or suggestions to help Him

run the universe.

One of the journals I subscribe to is

Momentum. The

National Catholic Educational Association produces the

journal. It consistently has excellent articles from a

variety of contributing writers.

I hope the following excerpts from an article written by

Barbra Keebler,

taken from the April/May edition, will

be as applicable to you as it has been for me as we run,

jog, walk and sometimes crawl down this trail called

life.

This spring more than 278,000 students will graduate

from our nation’s almost 7000 Catholic elementary and

secondary schools. With the wonderful liturgies and

pomp and circumstances will come a tradition as old as

the ceremony itself: imparting of advice from the keynote

speaker, valedictorian, or student council president.

From this I thought that more good council could be

gathered from the NCEA St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award

honorees and keynote speakers over the years. Here is a

sampling of their wisdom.

Dr. Mary C. McDonald

: Former Superintendent of

Catholic Schools, Diocese of Memphis, “Right is right,

even if nobody does it; and wrong is still wrong, even if

everybody does it, so do what is right.”

James Martin, S.J.:

Editor-at-large, American

magazine, “Jim,” he said, “You don’t have to be

someone else to be holy. Just be you. That’s the person

God called into the Jesuits in the first place.

Pleasant T. Rowland:

Founder, Rowland Reading

Foundation and American Girl Collection, “Be gentle,

be generous, to yourself and others. What a different

world it would be if we all heeded this advice.”

Charles Geschke:

Co-founder, Adobe Systems,

“Chuck, it’s important to us that you pursue your

dreams. We will figure out how to make it work.”

Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh CSC:

President Emeritus

University of Notre Dame, “ In the middle of problems,

say, come Holy Spirit and a solution will come to mind

almost immediately.”

Thomas Moran:

Chairman, President and Chief

Executive Officer of Mutual America, “Do as much as

you can, for as many as you can, for as long as you can.”

Tom and Gayle Benson:

Owner, New Orleans Saints,

Patrons of Catholic Schools, “We must rely on the

Scripture, the teachings of the church and calling what is

right in the human spirit. These foundations are constant

reminders of what is right.”

Have any advice that you would like to share that has helped

you? Send me an email at PrincipalSPX@saintpiusx.org.