Note From Father Joe: Mary's "Yes" is a Christmastime Call to Teachers

During Advent and Christmas, we are reminded of how Mary enters into salvation history. The Gospel of Luke 1:39-45 provides an account of the Annunciation. The angel Gabriel came to Mary and announced that she had found favor with God and would become the mother of Jesus. Mary responds to this invitation:

 Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.

We know Mary’s “yes” is important and brings about the birth of Christ. But Mary did not know what this would mean—that eventually she would stand at the foot of the cross. Our ACE teachers are excited to be accepted into each new cohort for formation, but they say “yes” without knowing where they will be sent to teach and live in community.  

Let me tell you how this worked out for one teacher.

This teacher learned about ACE as a freshman at Notre Dame and discerned this program as her post-graduation goal. She was elated when she was accepted, but she did not know where she would be assigned until late March. I can remember seeing her face when she saw that she was assigned to teach in the one place where she did not want to go. It was too far from home. She was angry and thought ACE owed her an assignment that would make her happy. After much discussion and prayer, she reluctantly said “yes” to ACE.

This teacher went to her assignment and began working very hard. She discovered that she loved her school, her principal, and her students. She learned an important lesson. She thought she should get to do what she wanted, but it was not to be. The driving force was to fill a need that a particular Catholic school faced.

Mary reminds us that we are called to do God’s will and that is not necessarily what we want for our lives. Doing God’s will is the constant invitation to which teachers must be receptive. This means everything—all of the hard work—is about the students. If you want to be Christ the Teacher for others, you need to love your students, to give completely for them every day, just as Mary gave completely.

Let us pray that we can look to Mary’s guidance, her “yes” to God’s will, her acceptance of the invitation to be the mother of Jesus.

As we complete this semester and discover in Advent the essential role Mary plays in bringing Christ to the world, let us remember our role in bringing Christ to others.

Father Joe Carey, our ACE chaplain whose monthly blog posts have reflected on teachers' experiences illuminating the Church’s recently completed Year of Faith, will continue to write about our commitment to follow Christ in faith and hope. His focus remains connecting our lives as Catholic educators to the call of Christ the Teacher.