Inspiration – Page 3 – Catholic School Chronicle

October 22, 2010October 21, 2010

Catholic Educators, You Deserve This Video!

Catholic educators, you are awesome! You work tirelessly, sacrificing yourself for the good of the gospel. Your commitment to sharing your faith and building up the kingdom is amazing! Don’t lose hope, don’t give up. Your life is truly inspirational. You deserve the following video to make you smile at the end of the week. Kick back, grab a glass of something soothing, and enjoy. And if you like it, share it with someone else who needs it:

A very special thank you to Joyce at Liturgy & Catechesis Shall Kiss, where I first saw Validation. Be sure to visit her site to see how she uses it with Confirmation students.

October 18, 2010October 17, 2010

What Catholic Teachers Can Learn from Guitarist Phil Keaggy

Phil Keaggy is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Regularly listed at the top of Guitar Player Magazine polls, he also has a voice as honey smooth as Paul McCartney’s. His musical style runs the gamut: solo acoustic, electric blues, melodious pop, classic rock, you name it. And since the mid-1970s, he has used his considerable talent to spread the Gospel.

As one of Christian music’s pioneers, Phil Keaggy has inspired hundreds of thousands of people, especially those fortunate enough to have seen him perform live. I count myself among the lucky, having seen him in concert several times. After each concert, I left with the desire to inspire my students the way Phil Keaggy inspires his audience.

What can a Catholic teacher learn from a musician like Phil Keaggy? I invite you to ponder that question as you watch an amazing performance of “Salvation Army Band.” Phil Keaggy performs the song with a single guitar and a device called a JamMan, which allows him to create several loops with the guitar and layer them over each other by using foot switches.

What are the lessons we can learn from Phil Keaggy?

Know your stuff: In order to inspire, we must first perspire. No doubt some of us are born with a natural ability to teach, as Phil was born with a natural ability to play the guitar. But that ability must be nurtured and developed through constant practice.

Innovate: Phil plays guitar like no one else, always pushing the creative envelope. Do we sit back and reuse our lesson plans year after year, or do we look for more effective, creative ways to bring the gospel message to our students?

Make technology work for you: As talented as Phil is, he also knows how to use the latest technology to be even more entertaining and expressive. Are we taking advantage of educational technology to be more efficient, interesting and relevant?

Enjoy what you do: There is a joy that radiates from Phil’s face as he plays. What radiates from our faces as we teach?

Give it all to God: Finally, Phil understands the source of his gifts, and is living a life of gratitude by offering those gifts back to God. We, too, have the opportunity to make our work a living offering to the great God of the universe.

October 8, 2010October 7, 2010

The Chicken Runs at Midnight – Catholics and Baseball

“The Chicken runs at midnight.” Stranger words were never spoken. But if you know the story of Major League Baseball coach Rich Donnelly, then you also know that more beautiful words have never been spoken. I first heard about Rich’s story through an amazing DVD called Champions of Faith. If baseball is your second religion after Catholicism, then you have to watch Champions of Faith. Some of the game’s biggest stars give witness to their Catholic faith: Mike Piazza, Mike Sweeney, David Eckstein, Sean Casey, Jim Leyland, Juan Pierre, Mike Scioscia…the list goes on.

The DVD is beautiful in every respect–gorgeous camera shots, poignant stories, inspiring music. With the baseball post-season just beginning, Champions of Faith might be a way to get your students more in touch with their own faith lives. The Champions of Faith website has resources for father/son retreats, youth ministry nights, and mini lessons for children. Take a look at the extended trailer:

For me, the most memorable part of the DVD is Rich Donnelly’s story about the origin of the phrase “The Chicken runs at midnight.” Here’s a low-quality video of Rich telling his story in a Lifetime channel special. You might want to get some tissue before you watch:

October 4, 2010October 9, 2010

The Glorious Month of October

October is my favorite month. In what other month of the year can you kick through leaves, watch post-season baseball and cheer high school football? October is glorious. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what Ray Bradbury has to say about October:

First of all, it was October, a rare month for boys. Not that all months aren’t rare. But there be good and bad, as the pirates say. Take September, a bad month: school begins. Consider August, a good month: school hasn’t begun yet. July, well July’s really fine: there’s no chance in the world for school. June, no doubting it, June’s best of all, for the school doors spring wide and September’s a billion years away.

But you take October, now. School’s been on a month and you’re riding easier in the reins, jogging along. You got time to think of the garbage you’ll dump on Old Man Prickett’s portch, or the hairy-ape costume you’ll wear to the YMCA the last night of the month. And if it’s around October twentieth and everything smoky-smelling and the sky orange and ash gray at twilight, it seems Halloween will never come in a fall of broomsticks and a soft flap of bedsheets around corners. — Something Wicked This Way Comes

In addition to beautiful autumn leaves, moderate temperatures, and baseball playoffs, October brings with it some towering models of faith for us to contemplate. If there’s a month with more outstanding saints than October, then I’d be mighty surprised. October celebrates some of the greatest saints in Catholic history, which is another reason it’s my favorite month of the year:

St. Therese of Lisieux – the Little Flower, whose simple piety influenced so many that she was named a Doctor of the Church; October 1
The Guardian Angels – “to light and guard, rule and guide;” October 2
St. Francis of Assisi – perhaps the most beloved saint in the world; October 4
St. Faustina – the mystic whose devotion to divine mercy led to Divine Mercy Sunday
Our Lady of the Rosary – commemorating perhaps the most widespread Catholic devotion; October 7
St. Teresa of Avila – Spanish mystic, author of The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection, another Doctor of the Church; October 15
St. Luke – author of the longest gospel and Acts of the Apostles; his gospel emphasizes prayer and the caring for the poor; October 18
St. John of Capistrano – the saint whose namesake mission church in California receives the cliff swallows back from migration each year; October 23
Sts. Jude and Simon – two of the Twelve, apostles of Jesus; October 28

Which feast is your favorite? I’ve set up a poll in the left sidebar, so be sure to cast your vote.

October has also inspired some magnificent poems:

Finally, here’s a beautiful video set to U2’s “October”:

September 12, 2010September 11, 2010

Losing Sight But Not Faith

When Ryan Brink, a senior at Central Catholic High School in Toledo, Ohio, faced the prospect of losing his sight, he chose to adapt rather than quit. Ryan has retinitis pigmentosa and Stargardt’s disease, two conditions that will most likely lead to blindness. But, as the following story from WTVG shows, Ryan’s faith in God gives him confidence and optimism, and has inspired his school community.

September 7, 2010September 6, 2010

150 Positive Songs for Use in the Catholic Classroom

I’ve been a Catholic school teacher for over twenty years, and I’d like to share one of my secrets with you: music. I’m a music fanatic, and I love having a song playing as students enter the classroom. The right song helps students come into class feeling good about life and ready to learn. An opening song is also a great signal device to start class. I sometimes have an entry task on the overhead, and my students know that it needs to be completed by the time the song ends.

But the music is not just for my students–it’s for me, too. In fact, I don’t think I could have made it these last two decades without the energy, enthusiasm and life-giving joy that music provides.

The following list of songs is from my personal “Affirmations” playlist. It’s not every song, but it’s most of them. Of course, it’s highly subjective. That’s why I’m hoping you’ll share some of your own favorites in the comments section at the end of the list. Here we go…

Nick’s Positive Songs for Use in the Catholic Classroom

The first thing you need to know is that my absolute favorite song of all time is “Over the Rainbow,” so I play that song quite a bit. I have over one hundred covers of the song, from country to alternative to dance remix versions, and everything in between. I think it’s the greatest song ever written. Period.

Second, there are several Catholic artists below that I want to draw your attention to: Matt Maher, Popple, Ceili Rain and Joe Hand. These artists are some of the best Catholic musicians working today, and I highly recommend any of their albums.

Finally, clicking on a song will take you to a page at Amazon.com where you can listen to a sample or purchase the song. All purchases help support the work of Catholic School Chronicle.

Ace of Base