From today’s second reading: “Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

From the gospel for Holy Thursday: “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow. . . ."

From the second reading for the liturgy of Good Friday: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin."

From De La Salle’s Meditation for Palm Sunday: “Be disposed today, then, to receive Jesus Christ fully by abandoning yourself entirely to his guidance and by letting him reign over your whole interior life, so absolutely on his part and so dependently on yours that you may in truth say that it is no longer you who live but Jesus Christ who lives in you."

Every day, our weaknesses are on display for a large number of students to see, and we share them with each other. As educators who are self-reflective and desirous of improvement for ourselves and our students, we work hard at eliminating these weaknesses, or turning them into strengths. Yet in this Holy Week, we are reminded by the scriptures and the Founder that it is humility (one of Brother Agathon’s Twelve Virtues of a Good Teacher) which allows us to take on the mind and attitude of Jesus Christ, the one for whom we are ambassadors and ministers. As we continue our mission of education during this most holy of weeks, may we reflect and humbly learn from our own weaknesses.

* Am I humble enough to work with those who are not as talented as the students I might prefer to teach? Do I welcome such students?

* Do students find me easy to approach? What attitudes might I improve that would make it easier for students to talk with me, especially students who might be shy?

* Do I learn from and honor the gifts and talents of others, especially of my students?

Live, Jesus, in our hearts!