Love Anyway

by Michael Havercamp, director of Young Life Catholic Relations

Luke Ebener directs youth ministry at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church and leads WyldLife.

Mother Teresa (now Saint Teresa) had a poem hung on the wall at Shishu Bhavan, her home for children in Calcutta. This poem is often referred to as the “Love Anyway” or “Do It Anyway” poem and is almost universally attributed to the Albanian nun whose calling to “the poorest of the poor” inspired the whole world. The poem was actually written by Kent Keith in 1968 when he was a sophomore at Harvard College, and the poem won worldwide acclaim only after it was discovered in 1997 after the death of Mother Teresa.

A couple weeks ago I couldn’t help but notice a similar poem scribbled on the wall of our parish youth minister who is also a Young Life leader. Luke Ebener is the director of Youth & Young Adult Ministry at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Davenport, Iowa, where he also serves as a WyldLife leader. Luke’s poem was enough to stop me in my tracks and encourage my spirit at a time when I really needed it. Borrowing from the scope and meter of the “Love Anyway” poem, Luke wrote:

Kids will make mistakes, disappoint you, break the rules, and take advantage of you. 

Love them anyway.

Kids will not return your phone calls and text messages and may laugh at your awkward attempts to connect with them. 

Pursue them anyway.

Kids will not accept your invitations. 

Invite them anyway.

Kids will avoid your questions and talk about anything but the topic at hand. 

Ask questions anyway.

Kids will think you are "too holy" or talk about Jesus too much. 

Be holy anyway.

Kids may not respond to all of the creative ways you try to articulate the Gospel. 

Be creative in communicating the Gospel anyway.

Kids will talk over you, not listen, be distracted, and not believe what you say. 

Speak truth anyway.

The seeds you plant in these kids today you may never see grow. 

Plant seeds anyway.

In the end, God isn’t going to ask you how these teens responded, how far they got while you were their leader, or how cool the kids think you are. He’s going to ask you if you loved them like He loves you. And did you witness the Good News of the Gospel?

Keep loving those teens. Keep fighting the good fight. The Spirit is alive in you.

Luke’s words speak to us all as we love kids, share the Gospel, and keep fighting the good fight. Even when our best efforts seem to come to naught, we keep working, believing in the resurrecting power of Jesus.

His words serve as a reminder to me in Catholic Relations. Even though what takes us years to build could experience roadblocks and setbacks, we need to build anyway. Even though the healed and reconciled hearts we foster today could tomorrow be wounded once again by small-mindedness and division, we need to heal and reconcile anyway. Even if the global call to a “new evangelization” could be mired in a mentality that says, “We’ve always done it this way,” we need to evangelize anyway. Because in the end, we trust that “no word from God will ever fail” (Luke 1:37). Yes, Jesus has promised us, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). 

Catholic Schools: Are They Worth It?

Last week we dropped Jackson (5) and Addie Rose (2) off at school – equipped with new shoes, new backpacks, and lots of prayer from their parents! We made the decision to send our kids to Catholic school, not because we’re on this hyper-academic, ace their ACTs and get-them-into-Harvard track. Sure, it’s a National Blue Ribbon School but that’s not why we’re sending them there.[1] The Catholic high school in town has racked up 38 state championships in the last 21 years, but that doesn’t really do it for us.[2] So why Catholic school?

Catholic schools are not mere college-prep stepping-stones toward elite colleges and high-paying jobs. Athletics are great and we’ll surely encourage our kids to participate, but state championships do not define Catholic witness. For us, the decision to send our kids to this particular Catholic school came down to two things: Jesus and discipleship.

What impresses us most about St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School is that making intentional, mission-minded disciples of Jesus Christ is the priority that informs everything they do. The school’s mission is the same as the parish’s mission – to build up a community of disciples who celebrate, live and share the Good News of Jesus Christ.[3] “We take seriously our commitment to family, stewardship and academic excellence,” says Julie Delaney, principal of the school. “But at the end of the day, we want these students to leave here as strong, intentional, missionary disciples of Jesus. St. Paul the Apostle is first and foremost a Catholic school focused on building up the kingdom of God. This is our defining mission.”

And that’s not just a message coming down from the top. From the principal’s office (which Jackson visited on his first day of school – long story but it had something to do with him looking for a raccoon) to the lunchroom ladies, this particular Catholic school is unequivocally committed to Jesus and the abundant life that can be found only in him.  “We can give these kids so much more of a foundation that just reading, writing, and math. We can give them the ultimate foundation of life – Jesus Christ,” notes Monica Burchett (who has the distinct privilege/punishment of serving in Jackson’s kindergarten class – pray for her).   

Luke Ebener, the Catholic youth minister serving both parish and school, can always be found among kids – sharing a meal in the lunchroom, playing kickball on the playground, or talking to kids waiting for buses. Luke’s passion is Christ and everything he does flows out of his relationship with God. “I just can’t imagine going back to life without Jesus, because He is life!” Luke says with enthusiasm. Luke had the opportunity to see the ministry of Young Life up close this summer as a participant in the Catholic Adult Guest Week at Timber Wolf Lake. While he admitted that the music was a little louder and the games a little crazier than your typical church camp, “The bottom line is the youth loved it! They heard the Gospel and it hit them right where they were at. It broke down walls and allowed the Gospel to penetrate their hearts and lives. It opened my eyes to reaching youth in a whole new way.”

Luke, Monica and Julie spend their time pouring into kids, not simply to teach them math, science and social studies, but to introduce them to the person of Jesus Christ, the one that changed their lives and they one they’re convinced will change the lives of kids like Jackson and Addie forever. Makes me wonder, “What if every Catholic school was just as excited about forming intentional disciples of Jesus?”

“Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”

Pope Benedict XVI

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[1] For more information about National Blue Ribbon Schools see http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/index.html

[2] Assumption High School in Davenport has won 42 state team championships since its founding, 38 in the last 21 years. This doesn’t include a slew of state titles won by individuals in cross country, golf, wrestling, track and field, cheer and dance.

[3] For a complete list of the guiding values of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, see my previous post, “What Are Catholics All About?” at: http://ylcatholic.blogspot.com/2014/08/what-are-catholics-all-about.html