Dare Great Things

In today’s world it can be very confusing to figure out exactly what it is we’re supposed to do as leaders.  Many people will have many opinions.  Leaders bringing concord, leaders charging from the front, leaders supporting all with compassion.  St. Thomas Aquinas actually has a very clear vision for leaders.  He calls it unity.  But what exactly does he mean?

We all know that leaders have authority and that that authority has an impact on those that they lead.  But the question is, “How does that leader make that authority felt with strength while at the same time effectively build up the people that are under him with gentleness?”  In his work, De Regno, written to the King of Cyprus, St. Thomas Aquinas offers a valuable lesson on this subject.

The work of St. Thomas Aquinas remains at the center of Catholic tradition.  In his many writings Thomas treats of leadership in many different ways.  But nowhere is his treatment as concise or condensed as in his letter to the King of Cyprus in his book De Regno.  I’d like to continue lessons that I’ve given on this book about leadership.  This is lesson number two on Leaders of the Common Good.

St. Thomas Aquinas is one of the greatest minds in the history of the world.  He wrote about authority and leadership in many different ways and in many places.  Today, I’d like to begin a series studying his thoughts on leadership and the impact that that can make directly on our modern-day leaders.  Join me on this exciting adventure as we begin a ten part series on the leadership lessons of Aquinas.

Leaders lead in their own way.  Saints are the same.  Although most of us have preconceptions about Saints, describing them in terms of prayer and piety, Pier Giorgio Frassati shows us a different look.  He was full of life, energy, and activism.  He was a courageous leader for his age, his peers, and for us today.

I’d like to tell you of St. Margaret Clitherow, the patron saint of Catholic businesswomen and entrepreneurs.  This incredible woman left a legacy of courage as she gave up her life harboring priests and inspired her children to dedicating their lives to God as well.  Listen in to this amazing tale of leadership from the inside.

When most people speak about leadership today, they mean it in the context of business.  And there are ample examples of great leadership in the world of business, and ample examples of Catholics who have typified that same leadership in the world of business.  But I’d like to focus us today on the reflection of a great Saint who was not a business leader but in fact the Pope, Pope St. John Paul II, and see how his life teaches us about Catholic leadership.

Today, leadership requires courage.  In times like ours it’s easier to stop rather than to keep going.  But what’s the secret to courage?  In the lives of the saints we find many examples of courageous leadership.  But in the life of St. Stanislaus, Bishop of Krakow, there is a special lesson that speaks to each one of us: the strength of consistent integrity.

I think that most of us feel that when you do something heroic you should be recognized for it.  Almost like, “Good heroes usually win.”  In the story of St. John Bosco, however, this was not the case.  He had to defend himself, work hard, be under appreciated, and make his case boldly in a situation where people did not believe in him, or make it easy for him.  His is a story of true heroism.    

Courageous leadership requires courageous leaders.  And that’s what we find in the lives of many Saints, but few saints excel in the areas of zeal and apostolic labors like Saint Junipero Serra.  I’d like to look at his life in particular because it reminds us of the urgency to both spread the Gospel and the willingness to lay down our lives in order to make this happen.  Obviously this is something that we can apply to all the calls of God in our lives.

All of us are inspired by the lives of Saints.  I think it is important that we remember, though, that Saints come in all different stripes.  Some are poor and destitute and others come from lives of affluence.  What makes Saints great is not their background but how they use it for the love of God.  In today’s Saint, St. Catherine Drexel we learn the surprising story of a young woman of wealth who becomes holy for others.

When you read the lives of the Saints you can get the impression that things were pretty easy for them.  Afterall, they’re the Saints!  It looks like their lives just kind of roll along and they do wonderful things for God.  A far cry from what we have to go through.  When you read the life of Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini that impression can change.  This was a woman of terrific courage who faced amazing hardships and endured.

Heroes come in all sizes and stripes.  We are well versed in the lives of heroic priests and bishops in the Catholic church.  But not many of realize the heroism intrinsic in America women saints.  One of the most amazing of them is St. Marianne Cope.  I want to tell you about her life and her example of courageous leadership.

Fr. Nathan's series on courageous leaders to inspire us during difficult times!  Part 1 discusses the courage of St. Damien of Molokai.

There are many things that make us stop as leaders.  Things that keep us from doing that job that we’re here to do.  One of those biggest things is our fear of death.  How amazing then to follow Jesus Christ who came in order to die and to save us through His death.  What lessons does that hold for you and me today

I think all of us agree that preaching the Gospel is a good thing.  I think all of us actually understand that that forms the heart of our faith.  But I don’ think all of us understand how we who are engaged in the world in secular business and in professions can actually be expected to preach the Gospel.  What does it look like for a Catholic business leader or professional to preach the Gospel?

It goes without saying that leadership’s greatest problem doesn’t come from outside conditions but rather from working with people.  From ourselves and our own inadequacies to the various ways that the people we work with can perform well – or not.  If we could learn how to master the human heart, then everything else would fall into place.  The good news is that’s exactly what Christ came to do.  

Most people dread conflict.  It’s a simple fact.  In the life of a leader, however, conflict is necessary.  As a matter of fact many leadership organizational models teach you to mine for conflict – try to find it out and flush it out.  But is this really the role that Christ wants us to play as Christians?  When can conflict be healthy?  When is it to be avoided at all costs?  What does Christ have to say about this?  

Of all the sayings of Christ, His prohibition against judgement is one that has perplexed many for a long time.  Judging essential for leadership.  It is essential for living.  Then why would Christ forbid it?  What does this mean for us today?

For many Christians today, obedience is one of the hardest things to master.  Afterall, what exactly is its value?  Why should we try and inculcate a spirit of obedience?  How do we keep from being obedient and servile at the same time?  Christ speaks in John 6 of how He came to do the will of the Father and how this will of the Father is a good thing.  Let’s listen to His word.