What Pope Francis says about "Instruct the Ignorant"

Jesus says, Go, for I am with you! This is what is so beautiful for us; it is what guides us.  If we go out to bring this Gospel with love, with a true apostolic spirit, with parrhesia, he walks with us, he goes ahead of us, and he gets there first.  As we say in Spanish, nos primerea...This is fundamental for us: God is always ahead of us!  When we think about going far away, to an extreme outskirt, we may be a bit afraid, but in fact God is already there.  Jesus is waiting for us in the hearts of our brothers and sisters, in their wounded bodies, in their hardships, in their lack of faith.  But can I tell you about one of the "outskirts" which breaks my heart?  I saw it in my first diocese.  It is children to don't even know ho to make the sign of the cross.  This is one of the "outskirts!"  And Jesus is there, waiting for you to help that child make the sign of the cross.  He's always there first.

Excerpt from: The Church of Mercy, pg 19

Be a Saint of Mercy: Instruct the Ignorant...like Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton!

The month of September brings along with it the end of summer break and the beginning of another new school year.  Perhaps it's my age, the inner workings of life with three children in our home, or just the simple change of pace...but for some reason this year's transition to a school routine seems a little more seamless than those of the past.  The intrinsic desire to move forward has taken over.

But maybe it's not as instinctual as one might think for a teacher to just hit this school groove so seamlessly...I wonder this year if maybe there's a more spiritual lesson at hand.  And I'm not so sure this is a lesson just for me, perhaps it's one being taught to us all.

In one respect, I see the Holy Spirit is opening my eyes to some things I need to see-some things to get glossed over as life rushed by.  And as a teacher, I can appreciate the efforts of the Holy Spirit's instruction in my life...so much of what I do daily is to help my own students transform themselves from ignorance to awareness...it's easy to forget as an adult that I have my own ignorance that needs tending to!

As this new school year begins, I have found myself turning more frequently to prayer, specifically silent prayer.

Somewhere inside me, I've discovered a deep desire to carve out moments for silence.  For me, this happens most frequently in those early moments of the morning when I first wake up, or on my morning jog, and if I'm lucky those brief, but so valuable, moments between one class and the next.

The Holy Spirit seems to be working in these silent moments...it's in my "break" that He continues to teach.

In many respects, it's in these silent moments of prayer and reflection that seem to generate the most fruit...the most direction...the most clarity as I ponder my daily musings.  The silence has become the perfect classroom in which to consider and instruct my child-like ignorance.

An the awareness that has been shared in my silent classroom of prayer has brought me to an abundance of joy that I did not expect!

The greatest lesson that I've taken away from my classes with the Holy Spirit-make time for silence.  Reevaluate the motions of life and cut out what isn't bearing good fruit!  This is something that I have personally struggled with for a long time-and the silence has been hard to find when I'm surrounded by noise and constant commotion.

But I'm realizing that it's because of the Holy Spirit's instruction that I find myself hungering for silence-wanting joy.  I'm changing because of it.  And I've needed the change.

I pray that you hunger for silence too!  And that you taste the joy that follows.

As a theology teacher it's the joy that comes from the transformation of ignorance to awareness that I so desperately want my students to experience.  There is no doubt that my students, and young people in general, are looking for it in their lives.  We see them looking to things like constant entertainment, an overindulgence of food, the constant litany of activities, numerous relationships that never move to friendship, and many other aspects of life for true joy. Along the way they only find fleeting and temporary tastes of it.  But the joy that the Holy Spirit lead us to is anything but temporary...it's overwhelmingly perfect and satisfying.

And so I'm always looking for inspiring and extraordinary stories of joy that will help my middle school students have an encounter worth going back to, time and time again.

So it is through my searching that I came to know Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, her life story, and her beautiful willingness to be led from ignorance to abundant joy!

Elizabeth's story begins like a fairy tale!

Born in the United States, shortly before the American Revolution, Elizabeth grew up in the high society of New York.  Among the many pleasures this lifestyle seemed to offer her, Elizabeth gravitated towards the simple things in life: learning to love and cherish the Holy Bible and the revelation of the scriptures.  Elizabeth found the Bible to be a consistent guide, one that aided her in navigating her youth, but also in her life to come.

in 1794, Elizabeth married the love of her life, Mr. William Seton.  William was a young and successful businessman in New York and offered Elizabeth a life of great happiness.

But the happiness was short lived.

Four years of happy marriage suddenly became a time of obstacle and trial as William's father passed away, leaving behind seven children to care for, as well as the family business to run.  And life got more difficult when their import business quickly fell on hard times, ultimately taking its toll on William's health.

And at the infant stage in their marriage, William Seton's travel and stress caught up with him.  As he eventually died to to contracting tuberculosis during a family visit back to William's birthplace in Italy.

It was ultimately William's death that pushed Elizabeth to enter into a deep personal prayer life.  It was in the silence of prayer that Elizabeth found a joy that was so contagious that she couldn't help but change the way she lived her life.  She was transformed. There was an awareness that came from her time in silence.  And it had a profound effect on her and her family.

Elizabeth's journey from ignorance to spiritual awareness happened quickly.  Within a few short years, Elizabeth came to embrace the teachings of the Catholic Church, the honor offered to the Virgin Mary, and a deep desire to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist! 

Desiring to share the same conversion she had experienced with others, Elizabeth returned to the United States and opened the first Catholic School in Baltimore, Maryland-offering a free Catholic education to all of it's students.

Elizabeth's transformation continued to unfold in dramatic ways as she eventually joined the sisterhood, becoming Mother Seton!  Today there are six religious communities that can trace their origins back to her initial acceptance to the religious life and the community she founded.

Today, we turn to Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton as a model for all who desire to find joy in silence and the courage to rise above our personal ignorance.  She serves as the perfect intercessor for us during our first month back at school!

As we reflect on our Christian call to Instruct the Ignorant this month, may the story of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton give each of us the desire to yearn for silence and the willingness to be transformed by it.

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton...Pray for Us!

Guest Blogger:
Joe Tallman
SPX Middle School Religion Teacher

Spiritual Work of Mercy: Instruct the Ignorant

This month’s work of mercy at first glance sounds harsh.  Instruct the ignorant!  But when we pause to consider what this work is really calling us to, it makes more sense and seems much more in keeping with what we have come to experience of our merciful God.

While our common understanding of ignorance may point us in the direction of rude or discourteous behavior, a more positive and perhaps accurate definition of the word ignorant means,” lacking knowledge or awareness.”   When we pause to think about the life we live, none of us has all the information or awareness to navigate the twists and turns of life.  There is always more to learn and room for growth, and, we can always be more aware of things and people, situations and realities around us.

This work of mercy is one we are all called to employ.  But, we must be prayerfully intentional when we “instruct the ignorant.”  The instruction we offer needs to be grounded in the teachings of Christ, and needs to reflect the values that have been handed down to us through Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.  Value based instruction, Gospel based instruction, is what we are called to offer to each other by virtue of our common baptism.  

Our instruction of each other is intended to be done with humility; not in a way that says to the other, “You don’t know anything,” or, “I know more than you, so listen to me!”  No, our sharing of knowledge and assistance in raising awareness should always be done with the good of the other in mind.  We have a responsibility to raise each other up, not tear each other down.  Sometimes our words may need to be blunt, but they should never be discourteous to each other or rude (that would be ignorant…that is disrespectful of the other!).

Speaking of rudeness and discourtesy, we also have a responsibility to call each other to proper respect of one another.  Rudeness, curtness and discourtesy are contrary to the Gospel; we ought to call each other to respect of and for each other…to honor the reality that all human beings are worthy of dignity and that we are all made in the “image and likeness of God” (Genesis 1:26)

It seems appropriate that this is the spiritual work of mercy we look to as we enter into a new school year.  Naturally, our attention focuses again on the instruction of our children and youth.  It is also a time when we who are beyond school years recall  the learning that has been a part of our lives…and it is a call for us to continue to learn and grow; to throw off the ignorance that is ours about circumstances that encompass our world, our nation, our state, our city, our parish.

“Instruct the Ignorant” is indeed a work of mercy.  It calls us to look at the individual as a child of God and seek to assist each individual in living his/her human dignity in the most complete way possible.  When we humbly share knowledge and insight with another, and assist another in awareness of their surroundings and situation, we lovingly open the world to them so that they may become more completely who God called them to be; a dignified human being made in God’s image and likeness.

Guest Blogger: Dr. Cheryl Fournier