On Leaving Our Nets
Scraps from the Desk of the Principal
“Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Matthew 4:20)
How do we know when an about-face is in order? In the case of a Pauline conversion, the next action is clear. An abrupt turn away from a corrupt life, though difficult in the moment, seems obvious once the choice is made. The way forward is less evident when we must relinquish a good for the sake of a greater good. Such is the decision that faces Simon, Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee in chapter four of Matthew’s gospel. How are these men able to leave behind their livelihood– by extension, their families and communities– at the word of the man passing by?
In my sixth year as a middle school teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes, I was expecting my third child. My husband and I posed a question to the Lord: What are you asking of Erin; in service of our family, in service of this school? Through prayer, the Lord called me to step out of the teaching role that brought me joy, purpose, and fulfillment; in favor of precious time at home with my newborn. The decision was hard but good. It also wasn’t the end of the discernment, although I didn’t know it.
A year and a half later, on the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, I sat contemplating an offer letter from Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School, made quite remarkable by my signature at the bottom. Are you sure, Lord? I asked him then, and most waking hours since. At his invitation, I entered the cloister of my family life: set apart, domestic, unseen. I was content and comfortable when he came back, saying: Will you follow me again? Follow me into a role that is more demanding than any you have yet taken. Follow me onto a byway rocky with obstacles, tangled with questions, shadowed by uncertainty. Follow me!
I knew, as did the fishermen, that the Lord was looking intently at me, beckoning eagerly to me, to pick up this work, like a cross, and to follow him. In so doing, I learned the secret of all saints, great and small. No work is too difficult, no cross is too heavy, but Christ’s presence in it turns it into a joy deeper than deep waters. The Holy Spirit has moved in specific, powerful ways to reassure me that the work of opening SJPG, and my role therein, is needed, willed, and blessed by God.
Is the Lord asking you to follow him into this pursuit with us? His request might require you to leave your (safety) net– an easier family commitment, a more established experience, a thicker information packet, a catalog with more course offerings. Yet: If he is calling you into our school community, no menu of extra-curriculars or AP classes will compensate for the response that he longs to hear from you.
Our sustained prayer at SJPG is that the Lord will bring us the families that he wills to found this school in courage, faith, and joy. He has likely placed this call on the hearts of those families he intends for this new mission. Is yours one of them?
Erin Heule
Not comfort– Greatness!
