Speaker encourages Catholic staff to be influences of love, hope, joy in students’ lives

Catholic teachers should be “reservoirs of grace” in their students’ lives, which may not feel like a worthwhile endeavour some days but can make a profound difference in the future.  

Steve Angrisano, a Dallas, Texas-based singer, songwriter and storyteller, was the keynote speaker during Holy Trinity Catholic School Division’s opening faith day, held at the Events Centre on Aug. 28.

Part of his message focused on a quote from St. Bernard, who suggested that people be “reservoirs of grace” or goodness in the lives of others — including students — instead of being channels with those qualities.

“Focus on being so filled with God, so filled with mercy, so filled with love, that you’re literally overflowing into the people around you,” Angrisano said. “If you think of yourself as a channel, you’ll always be exhausted, you’ll always be empty, and you’ll have marginal success.”

The motivational speaker added that the people in our lives to whom we tell good or bad news and from whom we receive comfort are able to maintain their strength through simple daily practices of being grounded in God’s strength.

A second point Angrisano made was that sometimes people who work for Catholic schools and churches forget to take time to recharge themselves spiritually. They should remember to have faith and then determine how to live a “contagious life” and how to let others see God in them.

Many people think that when someone is attempting to be holy, there is the attitude of “holier than thou,” which is inaccurate since the Bible says that God is love and all who dwell in love will live in God and God will live in them, he continued. Therefore, teachers have an “enormous opportunity” to be an influence of love, hope and joy in students’ lives.

“And they may not see that as holy, but I think it’s absolutely holy,” he added.

It can be difficult for faith-based people to take time to recharge their spiritual lives, especially since “the noise of the world” can be so loud, said Angrisano. The “greatest tool(s) of evil” in the world aren’t bombs and war but distraction and noise.

“No one takes a single moment to really think about who they are, to spend a quiet moment in reflection, with God or just with yourself,” he continued. “And when we do, I think we do hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit; we hear the promptings in our heart of how to be who we’re created to be.”

Angrisano said Benedictine monks from the St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana have had a great influence on him when it comes to the ordinariness of life. Their actions have shown him that it’s important that he works hard to honour his employer and commits himself to his wife and children to be the best husband and father he can be.

Meanwhile, Christians can spend a few minutes of their day inviting God to be part of it, such as by whispering a prayer in the car or reading a Bible passage on their phones, he continued. They should take these small actions several times a day to communicate with the Lord instead of once before bed.

“It’s very powerful to let God speak into your day,” Angrisano added.

The singer/songwriter pointed out that in a world that diminishes faith, he believes it’s important for faith-based people to allow simple moments of faithfulness to be part of their everyday lives. This includes being intentional with prayers since God was intentional in creating humans in His image.

“… with what God has given us comes great responsibility. And I think we should be mindful of that,” Angrisano added.